On Customer Surveys: A Case Study of The Economist

I've been a subscriber to The Economist, or as I like to call it, "the thinking man's newspaper,"* for the better part of a year now. It's a wonderful weekly packed with thoughtful pieces on global political news and excellent in-depth reports. These blandishments aside, I wanted to comment on their customer surveys.

Really?

Yes - the customer survey, an important tool for any organization interested in data on its customers but oh-so-annoying for customers to complete. Surveys are very interruptive: Why should I take 10 or 15 minutes out of my busy day to help this company - who I'm already paying for product/service X - find out how to be more profitable?

The key, assuming that a company has good relations with its customers already, is to make surveys short, convenient, and at least potentially rewarding. The Economist Insighters - info and opinions from its readers - has the best customer surveys I've ever seen, and I've completed my fair share.

1. They are short - no more than 10 minutes long
2. They have an attractive incentive (entered to win a $100-250 AmEx gift card)
3. They are interactive and very well-designed. Answering questions through an often graphical UI makes it far more palatable than, say, a Survey Monkey questionnaire.
4. They are fun. I almost look forward to filling out the next survey from The Economist Insighters. That right there is the holy grail of customer surveys, I imagine.
   

Gathering research from customers doesn't have to be a boring, painful process. Other companies should take note of The Economist's best practices in this area.

*Although it's a magazine, the blokes at The Economist always refer to the periodical as "this newspaper" so I have adopted this terminology. I'm not sure if this is a Briticism, intellectual snobbery, or both, but either way it works for me.