A few weeks ago, for the 3rd anniversary of Apt Design, I sent out a survey to all of my previous and current clients. It was an opportunity to get some honest feedback from people who had really worked with me, and look at how those responses could make my company better. Overall the 2010 Client Survey was pretty successful and I wanted to share some of my results and findings from it.
I received survey responses from about 30% of my clients (I offered them the chance to be entered into a drawing for a prize), and am trying to determine whether or not that is a good response rate.
The Numbers
Here are the averages for some of my survey questions (all scored from 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest):
- How would you rate your overall experience with Apt Design? 9.5
- How satisfied were you with how easy it was to contact Apt Design when you needed to? 9.15
- How well did you feel Apt Design met deadlines? 9.6
Overall my highest average rating was:
- How satisfied were you with customer service AFTER your job was completed? 9.7
And my lowest average rating was:
- If we used Basecamp (my online Project Management System) how would your rate your experience with it? 8.3
The Words
There were lots of positive responses in fields where clients could fill in their own answers. Some of these were:
It has been great. I am impressed and have wondered how Brad keeps up on the whole thing.
Always very creative and open to suggestions.
It was casual yet professional. The way we like it.
Above par across the board.
Brad has the important ability to become calm when challenges arise.
At this point Brad has our vote and we will happily enter into business again!
[Brad] has been helpful, creative, and supportive and I was so thrilled to be able to hire him to create my website. Thanks for asking for my input.
Things to work on
Of course, there was some constructive criticism as well, and I took this to heart. After comparing answers from multiple clients I created a list of things to work on and change to better help my clients.
- Be even easier to contact, especially by phone. (My voicemail directed people to email me, and that has been changed)
- Give lots of warning about when I’ll be unavailable / out of town
- Make each client feel like a priority
Things I learned
Overall the survey was a great learning process. A few of the things I learned:
- Word of mouth = best advertising
- Really gained loyalty through eating costs of mistakes, even if they were made by the client
- Tell clients about my other services, they may be really interested
The most confusing part of the entire survey was this: that while most people indicated this blog helps them decide whether or not Apt Design is an expert in the design field, not many clients read the blog more than “rarely.” Something for me to wonder about…
What interested you most about these survey results? If you’ve done something similar, what kind of responses did you get?
I’m actually pretty excited to get to hear anonymous thoughts from people I’ve worked with and use that feedback to help Apt Design respond to customer needs better and provide better services. I’ve already written out many of the things I want to ask, including questions like: