Case Study Online Survey Facilitates Customer Feedback
By Tracy A. Gill
Problem: Robeez Footwear wanted real-time access to its customers.
Solution: Design an online survey program.
Result: Feedback helps Robeez optimize its e-commerce Web site.
For British Columbia-based Robeez Footwear, a manufacturer of children's soft-soled leather footwear, customer input is not an occasional goal, it's a way of life. "We have a very loyal group of customers who love to give us feedback," explains Tricia Burton, Robeez's Internet marketing manager. "And we value this dialogue because it keeps us in touch with what our consumers want and need."
To facilitate feedback, the company, which sells a large selection of shoes and booties through more than 4,000 retailers in North America, Europe and Australia, as well as its own e-commerce site, wanted an online survey program that would allow it to create surveys easily, run an unlimited number of surveys simultaneously, version surveys for different geographies, and then analyze all that data quickly—ideally in real time.
The solution Burton and her team settled on was WebSurveyor Pro, from Herndon, Va.-based software provider WebSurveyor. In March, Robeez launched a post-purchase online survey to gauge the effectiveness of a redesign its Web site underwent in February. The survey, which appears as a pop-up after a customer completes an online purchase, includes eight questions on the quality of the content; ease of navigation and ordering process; reason for purchase, e.g., personal or gift; what led the customer to the site and if this is her first visit; and what other functionality she would like to see. The survey also includes open text boxes to allow for what Burton refers to as "unprompted" feedback.
Three months into the cycle, the survey has garnered a 45 percent response rate with no abandons. And interestingly, it's not just that loyal customer base responding to the survey; results are split 50/50 between first-time buyers and repeat visitors.
