The greatest benefit of sending satisfaction surveys via email is their reach. You can collect valuable information from a large number of guests without spending much time, which will allow you not only to understand their experience but also to build loyalty and increase your direct bookings.
To achieve an automated survey strategy with good results, you need to consider these nine tips.
1. Have Only One Feedback Collection Channel
It's common to see paper surveys in hotels. If you are using or thinking about using an automated survey system, it's important to eliminate paper surveys. This way, your online response rate won't be affected, and you'll also be helping the environment.
2. Create an Appealing Subject Line
Make sure the email subject line is attractive and encourages opening the email. This is the first thing your guests will see when they receive the survey, and if they don't open it, they'll never give you feedback on their stay.
Recommendations:
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"Thank you for your preference"
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"Share your experience with us at (hotel name)"
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"(Hotel name) Experience"
3. Let Guests Know the Survey Length
By telling guests in advance how long it will take to answer the surveys, you are being honest and respectful of their time. They will thank you by answering correctly.
Recommendations:
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"This survey will only take 3 minutes to complete."
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"We invite you to answer this brief 2-minute survey."
4. Make Your Surveys Short and Concise
Make sure your surveys are not too long. It's preferable for the survey to take your guests 2 or 3 minutes to answer instead of 5 or 6; an overly long survey can cause them to give up halfway through.
Recommendations:
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Create surveys with 6 to 8 questions.
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Do not exceed 2 comment questions.
5. Be Clear About Your Objectives When Creating Your Survey
You might want to create a survey to evaluate the overall satisfaction of your guests, or you might want to collect specific information that will help you build loyalty and increase your future bookings. For this, you should ask yourself a few questions:
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Do you want to evaluate the overall experience in different areas or delve deeper into some?
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Do you want to learn more about your guests to then create marketing campaigns?
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Do you want to pinpoint a problem by focusing on a specific area?
Remember: Measuring your objectives must be accompanied by the goal of creating short surveys to ensure a good response rate.
6. Calculate the Probability of Recommendation
In addition to knowing the rating of different areas, it is important to measure the probability of your guests recommending you, so you can identify promoters and detractors of your brand.
It is important to ask this question at the beginning of the survey, so that the answers are not biased by any of the other questions in the survey, and you get to know the true probability of recommendation.
7. Ask About One Thing at a Time and Give Questions an Order
Do not try to combine several elements in a single question; it is better to be clear and concise. This way, it will also take less time to analyze the different responses. It is also important to order the questions in a certain way to make it easier for guests to read them.
You can order the questions from general to specific, chronologically around the guest's experience at the hotel, or however you prefer, as long as it follows a logical order.
8. Do Not Ask for Personal Data
Ensure your guests' privacy. If you start requesting too much personal information from your guests, you might cause them to stop completing your survey because they feel distrust.
You can add a disclosure in the body of the email stating that no personal data will be requested. This way, your guests will feel confident about the authenticity of the email and will answer your survey.
It is also necessary to have the necessary permissions to send them information; make sure to request this permission at reception or within your survey so you can later send them discounts, promotions, or relevant information.
All these factors influence the success or failure of your survey. If you consider these tips when creating it, you will be on the right track to obtain the information you need, with a survey that attracts and accommodates both the guest and you.