Understanding the full customer experience requires hearing from all voices—whether satisfied, disengaged, or frustrated. This article explores why including disengaged customers, rejected transactions, and call center drop-offs in surveys is essential for accurate CX insights, preventing churn, and driving meaningful improvements.
IN TODAY’s CUSTOMER-CENTRIC LANDSCAPE, businesses must constantly seek feedback to enhance their services, build stronger relationships, and retain customers. While many organizations recognize the value of customer surveys such as Relationship NPS (Net Promoter Score), Journey CSAT (Customer Satisfaction), and Call Center CSAT, the decision of who to survey often sparks debate. Should companies focus only on those with successful interactions, or should they also include customers who have experienced friction, rejection, or abandonment? This white paper explores why surveying disengaged, rejected, and dropped-off customers is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of the customer experience (CX) and how it can help companies address potential issues proactively.
The purpose of Relationship NPS is to assess a customer’s overall loyalty and likelihood to recommend the brand based on their experience. A common debate arises when considering whether customers who have had little or no interaction with the company in the past 12 months should be surveyed.
Customers who have not interacted with the company in over a year may provide feedback based on outdated experiences. These customers are less likely to give accurate, actionable data because their perception of the company may no longer align with the company’s current offerings or service quality. Surveying them could lead to biased results, as their responses might reflect past issues that have since been resolved or improved. Including these customers may also dilute the relevance of the data, especially when trying to understand the current relationship between active customers and the brand.
However, disengaged customers can offer critical insights, especially when viewed through the lens of potential churn. Lack of interaction over 12 months may signal a deeper issue—disengagement, dissatisfaction, or indifference—all of which are significant churn indicators. Surveying these customers can uncover the reasons behind their lack of engagement, whether due to service failures, lack of perceived value, or competition. Understanding their perception of the relationship, even if negative, provides valuable information that could lead to targeted interventions to re-engage them.
For instance, a low or neutral NPS from a disengaged customer may highlight the need for better communication, targeted promotions, or new product features that resonate with their needs. Proactively addressing their concerns can prevent attrition and re-ignite their interest in the brand. Ultimately, excluding low-interaction customers risks overlooking potential early signs of churn, while including them can lead to strategic insights that strengthen customer retention efforts.
A balanced strategy for Relationship NPS involves segmenting the customer base. For example, businesses can survey both actively engaged and disengaged customers, providing tailored questions to each group. Active customers can give insight into the present relationship, while disengaged customers can share why they have lapsed. This segmentation allows for more nuanced data and informed decisions on customer retention and engagement strategies.
Journey CSAT is a powerful tool to measure satisfaction at key moments in the customer journey, whether applying for a credit card, submitting a claim, or purchasing a product. The challenge is whether customers who faced a negative outcome—such as rejection—should be surveyed.
When customers are rejected during a journey, such as a denied claim or credit application, their feedback is essential for understanding friction points that may not be apparent from successful transactions alone. Even though their journey didn’t end favorably, the quality of the experience remains important. For example, how well the company communicated the rejection, how easy it was to submit their application, or whether they felt fairly treated can all significantly affect their overall satisfaction.
Rejected customers can shed light on process gaps, unclear documentation requirements, or poor communication, which may have caused unnecessary frustration. Surveying them provides insights into how to improve transparency, streamline application processes, and better manage expectations. Moreover, this group is often at higher risk of churn due to negative experiences, making their feedback crucial for retention efforts.
Excluding rejected customers from Journey CSAT surveys would skew results toward positive feedback, leading to a distorted understanding of customer satisfaction. The true value of Journey CSAT lies in capturing all customer experiences—both positive and negative. Rejections, although unfavorable, are a critical point in the customer journey. By understanding how rejected customers feel about the process, companies can work on improving the clarity of the rejection, offer more transparent explanations, and potentially soften the blow by offering alternative products or services.
For instance, in a loan application, if a customer is rejected but receives timely, clear communication about why their application was denied, their satisfaction with the journey may still be high. However, if the rejection is vague or delayed, or if the process was cumbersome, their overall journey experience will likely be negative. Capturing this feedback helps businesses refine their processes and make the rejection process feel less frustrating.
By surveying rejected customers, companies can also identify potential churn risks. Rejected customers are often dissatisfied and may consider switching to a competitor. Engaging with them through a survey signals that their experience matters and can even offer an opportunity to re-engage them. For example, a customer whose claim was rejected could be offered an alternative service or a discount on a future product. Understanding the rejected customer’s perspective provides valuable opportunities for improvement and helps prevent future churn.
Call Center CSAT surveys typically aim to measure customer satisfaction after an interaction with a call center agent. But what about customers who dropped off before speaking to an agent? Whether due to long wait times, confusion with the IVR system, or difficulty finding the right menu option, these drop-offs represent an important part of the customer experience.
Capturing the Full Call Center Experience: The call center experience doesn’t begin with speaking to an agent—it starts the moment a customer dials in. The IVR system, menu options, hold times, and overall accessibility of the service are critical components of this experience. Dropped-off customers often abandon their calls out of frustration with these elements. Surveying them can reveal pain points in the system that may not be apparent from customers who successfully reach an agent.
Understanding Wait Time Sensitivity: Long wait times are one of the primary reasons for dropped calls. Customers who hang up after waiting too long are signaling dissatisfaction with the call center’s ability to handle demand. Capturing feedback from these customers allows companies to assess whether staffing levels, call routing efficiency, or callback options need improvement. Without their feedback, businesses risk missing critical insights into how long wait times impact customer satisfaction.
Reducing Friction in the IVR System: The IVR system is designed to help customers self-service or route them to the appropriate department. However, poorly designed or confusing IVR systems can frustrate customers and lead to drop-offs. Surveying customers who abandon their calls before reaching an agent helps companies identify where customers are getting stuck or lost in the system. This feedback is invaluable for improving IVR design, making it easier for customers to navigate and find the help they need without excessive frustration.
Preventing Churn and Negative Word-of-Mouth: Dropped-off customers are often among the most dissatisfied because their issues remained unresolved. If a customer drops off due to frustration and their concern is never addressed, they are more likely to churn or share their negative experience with others. Surveying these customers provides an opportunity to identify their concerns, understand why they dropped off, and take corrective actions to improve the call center experience. Addressing these issues proactively can prevent churn and reduce negative word-of-mouth.
Including dropped-off customers in Call Center CSAT surveys also helps companies optimize their operations. By understanding why customers abandon calls, businesses can adjust staffing levels, reduce wait times, improve the IVR experience, and offer better self-service options. This leads to a more efficient call center that can handle customer inquiries more effectively and keep satisfaction levels high.
To achieve a true understanding of the customer experience, businesses must take a holistic approach to surveying, including all types of customers—whether they had a positive interaction, were rejected, or dropped off mid-process. Excluding key segments such as disengaged Relationship NPS customers, rejected Journey CSAT customers, or dropped-off Call Center CSAT customers creates a biased view of the customer experience, skewing results toward the positive and masking critical pain points.
By surveying all segments, companies can:
Including these customers in feedback loops not only improves the accuracy of the data but also helps businesses create better experiences for all customers. Through targeted interventions, companies can improve processes, enhance service delivery, and ultimately increase customer satisfaction and loyalty across all touch-points.
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