The 1 Question I NEVER ask clients.

Survey Design 101

Jun 2

I never asked if people are satisfied with a service or offer.⁠ ⁠

Because I don't care.⁠ ⁠

Whoa. Bold statement, I know. But before you start thinking I don’t care about client experience - allow me explain. I never ask that question precisely because I DO care about client experience.

I find any variation of the word "satisfaction" to be SUPER unhelpful in evaluating my work. ⁠ ⁠

What the HECK does it mean if someone tells me they were satisfied or unsatisfied?

In some sense it means - generally, I did a good job or a bad job. Okay… but, I'm not over here trying to make decisions based on ambiguous terms. I someone thinks I did a bad job, I feel bad - but I don’t know how to make things better. If someone thinks I did a good job, I feel good… but I don’t know what aspects of the service really sealed the deal for them.

I want SPECIFIC insights to drive my business.⁠ (And, you should do!). ⁠

Personally, what I want to know when I work with people is was... was the feedback I gave them USEFUL? Did I make something EASIER for them? Did they have FUN? Did they feel RESPECTED?

Knowing if they were "satisfied" is too big and general.⁠ ⁠ And, I don’t want to waste my clients’ time OR mine with information that is not actionable (you know - information I can use to make a decision).

Next time you're tempted to have someone rate their satisfaction, pause. Take a deep breath and ask yourself: