What would you say is a great superpower to have? Perhaps the power of flight? Superspeed? Or maybe invisibility? Hmm, it’s something to think about, isn’t it? However, if you ask us, we’d say it’s probably none of them.
Yes, yes, they’re all great powers to have! But as an entrepreneur, there’s another one that’d be more useful to you. And this, dear readers, is the ability to craft a fine follow up email survey! Most of the time, it’s not enough to just send out a post-purchase survey to your customers. You also need to bring out some big guns and follow up on them. And now, backed by this superpower, you can improve your response rates in no time!
So, if you’re eager to know more about writing the best follow-up emails, you’ve come to the right place! Below we’ve compiled a quick guide that’ll help you master this art in the blink of an eye. And now, if you’re all settled in, we’ll begin!
Why Should You Write A Follow-Up Survey Email?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of a follow up email survey, aren’t you curious to know why they’re so important? Well, we certainly are! So, let’s take a peek at some of the reasons.
- To Understand Your Weak Points
Let’s be honest. Would you enjoy having your faults pointed out? No, right? Sadly, in business, this is the only way a product or service can grow and improve. And the best way to find your weak points is through a customer feedback survey. But what happens if you don’t get enough responses? Well, in that case, it’d be hard to know how well your company has fared. So, you need to follow up that survey with an email! This way, you’ll be able to get at least some of the non-responders to reply.
- To Tell Your Customers, ‘We Care!’
Would you agree that all customers want is to feel valued? Yes? Great! Then you can see why they’d like to share their opinions with you. However, sometimes they need a little more than a nudge to voice their thoughts. And this is where a follow up email survey comes in! So by sending that email, you’ve now told your customers that you care, and you’ve got your responses! Pretty cool, right?
- To Boost Your Sales
If there’s one thing that can boost your sales, it’s word-of-mouth recommendations. But for that to work, you’ve really got to hit your customers where it matters. Now, how could one possibly do that? Well, you could start by improving your products or investing in better marketing ideas. Or, you could just ask your customers what they want and give it to them! And to do all of that, all you need is a survey and some reminder emails.
7 Things Your Survey Follow Up Email Template Needs
Now, are you all set to write your follow up email survey? If so, there are a few things your email template needs. And below, we’ve listed them! So, let’s have a look.
- A Catchy Subject Line
Our first stop? Writing a witty subject line! If you get this right, you can rest assured that you’ve got them, hook, line, and sinker. Here, there are two things you want to do. First, you really want them to open your email. So, you can either create a sense of urgency or surprise them with a witty remark. For instance, let’s take the company Zillow. In their follow up survey, they put down a subject line that said ‘What Can You Afford?’ And just like that, they caught the eye of their customers!
The second thing is to make the subject more relatable. So, go on, talk about how this survey benefits your customers in as few words as you can. But do remember to make it convincing. And if you can come with a relatable and on-point line like Zillow, you’ll have hit gold!
- Your Unique Brand Voice
While you’re out there trying to get your customers to find their voices, make sure they hear yours too! So, make your template as unique to your company as you can. Here, you can add in some images, your company logo, and craft words that reflect the spirit of your brand. And to do this, you must come up with your own questions. So, while it’s okay to rely on some standard questions, we’d urge you to customize them in your own ways.
For example, let’s say you’re sending out an NPS survey. And in the NPS follow up question to your Detractors and Passives, you can ask this: ‘Could you tell us why? Your feedback will help us improve.’ Meanwhile, to your Promoters, you could say something like this: ‘We’re glad to know that! Care to tell us why?’ This way, your questions will come across as more personal and unique.
- An Offer Of Some Great Incentives
There isn’t much a customer can gain from taking a survey, is there? Sure, a company might one day work on their feedback. But that’s not really a given. So, you might need to offer them some incentives to take your survey. A discount, perhaps? Or some really cool gift cards and vouchers should do the trick! This will then tell your customers that they’re not wasting their time here.
But, hold on! Before you hand out those vouchers, take a moment to think about what you’re asking of them. Are you giving them these perks for any and all feedback? Or are they only for positive feedback? Because only one of those is ethical! We’ll let you figure out which one.
- Some Dose Of Honesty
Now, this one’s a no-brainer! But let’s still take a look at it.
When you’re making your follow up email survey template, put down as many honest details as you can. So, tell them why this survey is necessary. Or how you’d like to use their responses. You can even give them a free text space to put down more of their thoughts. And now, when you’ve shown them all your cards, they’ll be more likely to take your survey.
- A Shorter Alternative To Your Usual Survey
Can you think of one big reason a customer may not finish a survey? Yes! Because they are too long. Very often, people lose interest in a feedback form because the questions seem to never end. And to combat this, you can give them a shorter option. So, in your follow up survey, you can ask just the critical questions and study customer behavior through these.
- A Way Out
Now, you really cannot force a customer to take your survey. So, you must give them a choice to not hear anymore of your customer feedback or NPS follow up emails. This is why your email must have an unsubscribe button. What’s more? In many countries, it’s straight-up illegal to not provide one or hide it from view. So, be mindful of these when you send out your follow-up emails!
- The Final Query
Let’s say even your last NPS follow up email got no responses. Tough luck, right? Well, not quite! Before you give up, there’s one more trick you can try.
There’s a chance that the lack of responses from your clients is because you’ve been barking up the wrong tree. So, this is the time to ensure that you’re talking to the right person. Here, you can, very politely, send an email asking if you’ve got the right person and request them to confirm their name. Then, you can contact the right person and get your feedback all sorted out!
When Should You Send Out A Reminder Email?
Has this question been bugging you all this while? Well, no problem. We’ll answer it for you now.
When sending a follow up email survey or a reminder, you really don’t want to come off as pushy. But at the same time, you also need to know that you get enough responses. Quite the dilemma, right?
So here’s what you can do. When you send out an email survey, give your customers 2 to 3 days to respond to it. And if you think your clients may need more time, you can wait another day. Then, let your first reminder email make its way out.
But what if you still receive zero responses? Well, there’s no harm in trying again, so give yourself a few rounds of reminder emails. Ideally, this shouldn’t be more than three to four times. After that, you might as well cut your losses!
How Should You Follow Up Survey Results?
And now, your follow up email survey has gone out, and it has brought you some helpful feedback. So, what should you do next? Well, it’s pretty simple! There are FIVE things you should do:
- Set Up A Survey Response Team
What’s the one thing that every project needs? That’s right, some good old teamwork! And your survey responses should be no different. So, set up a team to handle all responses, freebies, updates, and so on.
- Send Out Some Updates
Nex, update your responders! So, if you sent out an NPS follow up email, tell them you got their responses. Let them know that you’ve heard what they had to say and will soon make some changes. This will put them at ease and gain you some brownie points for prompt action.
- Keep Your Promises
We don’t have to tell you how important keeping your word is. So, if you’ve promised your clients a freebie or a discount, give it to them now! This way, you’ll get to keep the faith your customers have in you. And in the future, they’ll be more open to taking your surveys.
- Work On The Feedback
Next, go about working on the feedback you’ve just received. So, take those negative reviews in stride and make some good changes around the company. At the same time, convey your positive feedback to your teams and commend them. Finally, once you’ve locked down the updates to policies, products, and services, let your customers know!
- Plan For The Future
While you evaluate your past errors, make sure you don’t lose sight of the future! So, you might as well start planning next year’s customer feedback and NPS follow up right away. Based on the responses you get right now, you can make some changes to future surveys. And while you’re at it, why not find new and improved ways of keeping your customers in the loop?
Here’s Why You Might Not Be Getting Enough Responses
Are you still worried about the low response rates to your follow up survey email? If so, let’s take a look at why this might be the case.
- Emails Get Ignored
Despite your best efforts, customers may just not want to open a follow up survey and answer your questions. But that’s alright! Because even if you can’t force them to take your survey, you can still offer them some attractive incentives to catch their attention.
- Responders May Not Care
If your responders don’t care enough about the company, they’re unlikely to give you any feedback. So, to get them to respond, you’ll need to connect with them better. And in doing that, you’ll have proven your marketing skills.
- Poor Email Structure
Would you want to respond to an email with a vague body of text, an unclear subject line, or very little transparency? Well, neither will your customers. So, before you send out a survey, check to see if these are in order!
Feeling Stuck? Just Hire An Expert!
Alright, so now, you’ve finally mastered the art of writing a follow up email survey. But if you’re feeling a bit stuck, don’t worry! With the help of an expert survey company, your life will now become a tad easier. And to aid you in this, here are three top survey firms you can work with.
SurveySparrow
SurveySparrow offers one of the best online survey programs that is sure to get your response rates soaring. With their top-notch features, you can draft great email surveys and follow-up emails in no time. And so, let’s take a closer look at them:
- Personalized Emails
With this online survey tool, you are free to make the templates your own. All you have to do is choose one of the many customizable options for your subject line, greeting messages, and so on, and run with it!
- Scheduled Surveys
When it comes to surveys, the more regular they are, the better! But it can be a chore to keep track of them all. However, with scheduled surveys (SurveySparrow feature), this is no longer an issue. So, go on, set down a schedule for your email surveys, and this software will take care of it for you.
- Reminder Emails
Sending out the initial recurring surveys (SurveySparrow feature) may not always get you a response. So, you may need to send a reminder to your customers. And if you’re unsure how to handle that, don’t worry! With this feature, you can now send out some gentle reminders to your non-responders and partial responders.
SurveyGizmo
The SurveyGizmo’s Alchemer Email Campaigns is a feedback tool that lets you send out your surveys as emails. It sends out a quick access link to your contacts on Alchemer, allowing them to record their responses. What’s more! Since this software prevents users from responding to the same link twice, there’s no risk of duplicate answers.
Winding Up…
The follow-up game is certainly not an easy one! But studies have shown that very few companies actually send out reminders and follow-up emails to their customers. So, if you believe in the power of persistence, you’re already a step ahead of most! However, unless you can find sure footing on that thin line between persistence and annoyance, your emails may never get any responses. But there must certainly be a way around this, right? Well, you’re in luck, because there is!
To put it simply, you must now walk a mile in your customer’s shoes. So ask yourselves questions like ‘How often would I like receiving these emails?’, ‘Would I be too annoyed by them?’, ‘Do they let me voice all of my thoughts?’ and so on. And once you’ve done your research here, you’ll have come one step closer to mastering the art of follow up email surveys!
