Why customer surveying is more important than ever before

For companies who want to be aware of what their customers are thinking, customer surveying has always been an important part of the business model. Yet changes in markets and technology have made this truer than ever. After examining some of the major changes, it's easy to see why customer surveying is more important than ever before.The Internet Decades after the dawn of the Internet, it might seem silly to still be talking about the way it has transformed business - but it has, and continues to do so. In addition, some of the biggest transformations have come in the last 5-10 years, as online shopping has become increasingly popular and many businesses have migrated online. In the past several years, mobile Internet usage and apps have also become more popular. (On that note, companies can use customer surveying to gauge the efficiency of their websites and apps.)The Internet also provides an open forum for customers to air their opinions about a company, good or bad. It's as easy as logging onto a review site such as Yelp, posting a blog, or Tweeting. A company’s public image has always been important, but perhaps at no other time has it been so easy for customers to change a company's image.The good news is that the Internet has also made it easier than ever to survey many customers at once, and modern software makes data analysis quicker and more straightforward than in the past. The very things that make surveying so important also make it easier to survey.Speed The Internet is largely responsible for another trend - the speed with which the market can change in today's world. Trends come and go quickly, and customer opinions can virtually change with the winds, so continually collecting information on customer demographics and opinions helps companies stay on top of today's rapidly changing marketplace.Expectations As customer surveying has become easier to execute online and more companies have adopted the practice, it has become an expected standard for customers in all industries, which is another reason why customer surveying is more important than ever before. Customers expect to be able to give their input through a variety of mediums, starting with surveying but encompassing everything from physical review cards to telephone surveys to comments on social media. Many industries are more interactive than ever, which makes things like customer surveying an expected practice.