Page 73 - Six Sigma Demystified

54 Six SigMa DemystifieD

critical- incident interviews, and nonconformance reports or complaints is use-
ful input for survey development. The survey will provide a means to statisti-
cally validate the information received from these other sources. Surveys also
can be used as a continuous feedback mechanism, particularly for the service
aspect of processes. For example, surveys can be sent to all customers, or survey
cards can be provided at the point of service or in delivery notification e- mails.
The construction of a useful customer survey is more science than art. The
wording of questions, the topics addressed, and the use of open- ended versus
multiple- choice responses are but several of the issues that need to be consid-
ered. Surveys that lack depth may be useful for feel- good marketing campaigns,
l
but they do little to provide input to Six Sigma operations or process- evel
teams that can use the survey responses to make dramatic improvements in
customer satisfaction, retention, and growth. For example, production- oriented
businesses may tend to focus on the product in their improvement efforts, fail-
ing to realize how important service is to their customers. An effective cus-
tomer survey can help to redirect these efforts.
When dealing with a consumer market, it’s useful to provide an incentive to
encourage customers with positive experiences to participate because often
only customers who are upset about something will take the time to complete
the survey cards. Incentives include discounted products or services, entry into
a raffle for free products or services, or complimentary dinners for participants.
In B2B dealings, incentives may be forbidden or even illegal, but generally in
this environment the customers are more than willing to provide feedback on
what they like or dislike about the product or service. When a broad sample of
customers, with both positive and negative experiences, is included in the sur-
vey response, then statistical bias can be avoided in the analysis results.

Pyzdek and Keller (2009) offer these guidelines for developing the form of
the survey questions:

• Format a question based on its purpose. The way the question is asked is
relevant to the information required by the survey group.

• Ask only relevant questions. Respect your respondents’ time by asking
only questions that are truly important. Ask yourself, “How are we going
to use the information from this response?” If you’re unsure of the value
of the information, don’t bother asking.
• Use clear, concise language that is familiar to the respondent. Use the
terminology and language level of the respondents so that they can pro-
vide answers that are truly relevant to the questions.