Let your fingers do the talking

Editor's note: Dr. Cindy Ford is vice president and director of research, and Roy Ralston is a project manager, for Service Strategies International, a Dallas research firm.

How many times have you received a customer satisfaction questionnaire at a store or restaurant? Did you complete the form and return it? Chances are, if you were totally delighted or extremely disappointed and/or upset about something, you completed the survey (assuming that you were not in a hurry and that you had a pen or pencil available). What about all those other customers who did not bother to fill in the form? How can a business find out what these customers think about its products and services?
One relatively new technology that may be used in many instances is interactive voice response interviewing (IVRI). This allows respondents to "let their fingers do the talking" by calling an 800-number and responding to a prerecorded survey using the key pad of a touch-tone telephone. (See page 12 for a case history on in-bound surveys.)

Developing an IVRI survey is quite similar to developing more traditional (e.g., telephone) surveys. Individual questionnaire construction generally involves a decision regarding the number of closed-ended and open-ended questions as well specification of the reportable form such open-ended statements will take (transcribed, taped, etc.). The interview (which may include personalized greetings) can last as long as 15 minutes with response rates expected to fall within ± 5 percent of traditional methods, though response must vary across studies, products and respondents. Nonetheless, recent research has found that 96 percent of respondents finished two- to three-minute interviews (99 percent with incentive); 90 percent finished five-minute interviews (95 percent with incentive); and 70 percent completed 10-minute interviews (88 percent with incentive).

In further contrast to more traditional approaches, previous research indicates that respondents perceive automated interviews to be less intrusive and more interesting and shorter than paper interviews. Respondents are also more willing to be honest (in terms of negative and positive responses) during automated inquiries. Many find greater comfort in the anonymity of the IVRI process.

In the end, all is for naught if the responses are not reliable (across the same or similar subjects). Used in conjunction with sound methodological development of the survey, IVRI can produce as reliable results as many other survey methods while providing some significant advantages. In terms of survey administration, the problem of interviewers "coloring" the open-ended questions while capturing them is avoided, as the recorded responses are truly verbatim. Further, in more traditional telephone survey methods, the window for customer interviewing is short (generally in the neighborhood of 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.). However, with IVRI, automated interviews can be conducted 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

IVRI has other advantages. For instance, each respondent hears the same recorded voice with no tonal variations caused by interviewer fatigue or discouragement. In concrete fashion, each respondent hears each question presented in exactly the same manner, which minimizes the effects of respondent-interviewer interactions. Further, as each open-ended response is recorded exactly as articulated by the respondent, it can be replayed (during the coding stage) as many times as necessary if not understood.
One of the most exciting capabilities of IVRI in this area is its multilingual capacity. This capability allows for efficient and accurate survey administration across populations (constituting masses of consumers) with greatly varying cultural orientations. Regardless of the languages associated with any particular sampling frame (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, etc.), IVRI can be employed to reduce the cost of multilingual interviewing (compared to human interviews) while streamlining the process.
Interviewer cheating and/or error is virtually eliminated, allowing expanded control (by the survey administrator) of the entire survey process. Quota samples can be readily monitored with confidence in the automated data collection and entry procedures. The process incorporates abilities to employ elaborate branching patterns, explain questions, re-contact, etc.

The IVRI process

IVRI may be used in any consumer market regardless of the duration of sales contact. Our company, Survey Strategies International (SSI), has conducted various IVRI surveys across populations as diverse as counter services (i.e., fast food, public athletic facilities, etc.,) where end-users are not identified by a list as well as other services for which end-users can be identified via a list (i.e., banking/financial services, certain retail operations, private clubs/resorts, etc.).

Regardless of the nature of the customer base, the IVRI process typically begins (after questionnaire development/pre-testing) with distribution of incentive coupons. Previous research indicates that incentives do work, but that merchandise tends to be more effective than cash. Consumers like believing they are getting something for free. Though the appearance of the incentive coupons may vary dramatically, they all contain basic items. The coupon contains a request that the customer call an 800-number to participate in a survey in which their opinions are important. Identification of the incentive and the instructions to obtain it are also reflected on the coupon in an attempt to fully inform the consumer prior to the interview.

When the customer calls, they encounter the greeting (individualized if desired) and instructions. Automated skipping provides the capability to move the respondent through the questionnaire depending on the pattern of response. "Hot buttons" are available to record verbatim statements as needed. Further, during the course of the interview, the respondents are asked several questions allowing coding of surveys to differentiate business sites, products/services consumed, etc. This provides detailed information on patterns of operations in and across the client's business base. Finally, the respondent is given a code which he/she records on the incentive coupon to validate the coupon for redemption.

Case studies

In one IVRI study we conducted on sports programming, viewers were asked to respond to a survey on their pay-per-view habits. The survey was conducted to determine under what conditions the pay-per-view program was purchased (i.e., for a party, one host vs. various contributors toward the price of the programming, pay-per-view customers rotating home to home, etc.) and what the viewer's attitudes would be toward adding commercials to the programming. Prior to, at half-time, and at the conclusion of the event, an 800-number was displayed and the intent of the survey explained. A six-item questionnaire was administered via IVRI. Viewers who completed the survey were given a $1 credit on their next cable bill.

Our firm has also used this methodology for a group of public golf courses wishing to obtain feedback in regard to customer satisfaction with employees and facilities. As golfers paid for their round of golf at the pro shop, they were given a coupon with an 800-number and instructions for completing the survey. Each course had a unique ID number which participants keyed in at the beginning of the survey. Use of the ID number allowed responses to be tabulated and reported separately for each course. Respondents were provided an incentive of a 1/2 cart fee credit on their next visit to the same course. Additionally, the coupon asked for the respondent's name, address, and telephone number. Accordingly, when the coupon was redeemed, the name could be included on a customer database for the course.

SSI has developed extensions of IVRI for adaptation in two additional contexts: customer support/care groups and employee surveys. Companies can put to good use the flexibility of IVRI in surveying the attitudes of customers calling in to customer service help lines. Information relative to satisfaction with the product, sales or service forces, etc., can be readily obtained. This approach allows almost complete coverage of the respective universe (i.e., customers having problems in need of service) allowing management to immediately track customer attitudes, needs and concerns.

Using IVRI to confidentially assess employee attitudes is a way to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between employee satisfaction, organizational efficiency, product quality and customer satisfaction. IVRI offers a confidential interviewing format. There is no handwriting through which employees can be identified; comments are transcribed and delivered in a typed format. To facilitate the survey process, employees may be notified via computer login messages or usual office correspondence. Names or employee ID numbers can be cross-referenced against available databases to avoid duplicate interviews.

All in all, IVRI facilitates development of an integrated understanding of the dynamics between employee satisfaction, organizational efficiency, product quality and customer satisfaction on a company-by-company basis. The phrase "let your fingers do the talking" is bound to become as famous as its predecessor.