The following is an excerpt from The 7 Keys to Marketing Genius by Michael Daehn

Surveys are a good way to gain feedback from current and potential customers. Most people wish they could tell manufacturers what they want and how to make it, but are never given the opportunity. When constructing a survey, make sure it is easy to use and can be completed with minimal effort on the part of the participant. At the same time, make sure the survey will provide accurate, easily quantifiable results.

Start easy- Ask for the easy information first. Start with name, address and telephone number to get people warmed up, and then move on to the tough questions. I saw a church survey that had formatted the layout of their survey in such a way that the question “How much money do you make?” was centered at the top of the first page. While I was excited to see the church using a survey to improve the organization, I was concerned to

see such a sensitive question jumping off the page at first glance. This design can cause respondents to not fill in the questionnaire before they get started.

Avoid response setting- Response setting is the psychological pattern of grouping answers in a similar pattern. For example, if you ask ten questions that all regard the performance of the company with one being disagree strongly and ten being agree strongly, some respondents will just go down the list and check all high or low responses without reading the questions. To avoid this occurrence, alter the questions. For example, make question one “The company does a good job” and the second question “The company is not doing a good job.” If they score a “ten” on the first question and you are getting honest responses, you should get a “one” on the second question. There should be at least one question where you reverse the positive and negative to determine whether you are getting honest answers or the respondent is giving response-setting answers.
Use a quantifier- Quantifier is a big word for using numbers. To gain results that are easy to use, implement a quantifier into the responses. If you receive 1,000 surveys, you will want to be able to plot the results such as a 90% customer satisfaction rating and a 50% approval rating of prices. If the responses are all fill in the blank, there is no way to put a number on the amount of customer satisfaction without it being a subjective, arbitrary number. By using numbers in the responses, you can quantify the results and make fancy charts and graphs. Internet surveys and Scantrons also make it easy to get the data into a usable format quickly.
Avoid limited responses- Give the respondents room to vary their opinions. If the customers feel the service was above average they might give a 70%, but they need the option to do so. If the scale is from one to three, then they will probably give a two, which is 50%. If the scale is one to ten they will probably give a seven, which is 70%. Using a scale of one to ten is better than using a scale of one to three because it provides more options and will gain more accurate results.
Allow for customization- Give respondents a place to write their comments and give feedback. While this is more difficult to quantify, it can provide information you never thought to ask or explain why some scores are high or low.
Keep it short- Most people do not enjoy filling out surveys. Your first response motivator is to keep the survey short and easy to complete.
Enhance the relationship- Use the survey to provide useful information to the clients and strengthen the relationship. Thank them for partnering with you. Getting people involved and interested in the company enhances commitment.
Gain marketing information- Ask if there are any projects you can help with and/or if they know anyone else that could benefit from your product.
Provide a response motivator- How do you get people to fill out a survey? Most people, unless highly motivated by an extremely positive or negative experience, will not take the time to fill out and/or return a survey. A response motivator must be attached to surveys to get a high percentage of them returned. Companies must provide some product or service in exchange for a completed survey.

When I began doing marketing consulting for a graphic designer, the first thing I suggested was creating a survey. He already had a group of past and present customers, and a survey was a good way to measure the depth of the relationship and determine customer satisfaction. Some customers did business on a regular basis, while others stopped talking to the designer after their first project. We sent a letter that announced celebrating five years in business and thanked the customer for being a client. The letter also said we wanted to hear from them so that we could better meet their needs in the future. The graphic designer created five-year anniversary t-shirts and delivered them to his customers. Since he had only a few customers, and most of them were local, he delivered the surveys and t-shirts in person. When the survey process is done correctly, it greatly enhances the connection between the customer and the company (Key 5), especially when the customer sees his or her information put into action (Key 7).

This is a proactive approach that asks for input instead of waiting for customers to call and complain or give compliments. The survey asked what we were doing well and what we needed to work on improving. It also asked the customers to rate their experience with the designer. Each question had a scale from one to ten with a space to write comments for each question. There was also additional space provided for open feedback from the customer. We asked if the customer had any projects that we could assist with in the future. Finally, we asked if they knew anyone that could benefit from our services. By using this last question to ask for a referral we were able to gauge the strength of our relationship with the client and gain new business. The survey was a way to strengthen our relationship with the customers (Key 5), let them know we recognized them, cared about their business, and were taking steps to improve our services to them (Key 7).