A company investing in VoC clearly cares about the customer experience—but if your survey looks like an afterthought, what message are you really sending?
Remember, the survey experience IS part of the customer experience!
Customers notice when a survey is slapped together with a generic, low-budget tool.
If it lacks branding, feels impersonal, or looks like it was designed in seconds, it signals that you don’t care that much about their feedback.
A sloppy survey can undo all the goodwill you built during the initial interaction with your customer.
Cheap Surveys Undermine the Customer Experience
At PeopleMetrics, we ran a test:
- Survey A: A branded, customized email invitation featuring the client’s logo, colors, attractive fonts, and a handwritten digital signature from an executive.
- Survey B: A generic survey email—no branding, no personalization, just a standard "Click here to take the survey" link.
The result? Survey A had double the response rate of Survey B.
This isn’t surprising. Customers expect a seamless, branded, high-quality experience—even when providing feedback.
Think about it - if a customer had a premium experience with your product or service but then received a survey that feels like an afterthought, it’s a disconnect with your brand.
And here’s the kicker: if your survey experience is poor, your response rate drops.
If your response rate drops, your data quality suffers.
If your data quality suffers, your VoC program is useless.
AI’s Potential to Make Survey Design Smarter & More Engaging
Right now, AI isn’t fully replacing VoC survey platforms, but it’s beginning to reshape how surveys are designed and delivered.
Here’s how AI could transform the VoC survey experience in the near future:
1. AI-generated, brand-consistent surveys in seconds
- Instead of manually designing survey invitations and formatting branding elements, AI can automatically generate professional, customized surveys that match your company’s look and feel.
- Example: You enter your brand guidelines, and AI produces a survey that seamlessly integrates logos, fonts, color schemes, and brand voice—eliminating the need for designers.
2. AI-powered personalization at scale
- Right now, basic personalization (like adding a customer’s name and transaction details) boosts response rates.
- AI could take this much further by customizing survey wording based on the specific customer’s profile, purchase history, or past interactions.
- Example: A hotel guest who stayed in a premium suite receives a survey emphasizing luxury, while a budget traveler gets a different, relevant survey tone.
3. Conversational, chat-based surveys
- Static surveys are being replaced with AI-driven, chatbot-style surveys that feel like a conversation.
- Instead of answering ten multiple-choice questions, customers chat with an AI assistant, making the feedback process feel more natural and engaging.
4. AI-enhanced feedback interpretation
- As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, AI-driven text analytics can categorize and summarize open-ended responses in real time, helping businesses understand trends without manually reading thousands of comments.
- Example: AI detects that many customers are complaining about "long check-in times" and flags this as a priority issue in reports—without requiring human intervention.
The Future: AI Will Make Surveys Better, Not Necessary Cheaper
Let’s be clear—AI won’t replace the need for high-quality VoC platforms. But it will make survey design, personalization, and analysis much smarter.
That doesn’t mean AI-generated surveys should replace thoughtful, strategic survey design.
Human oversight will always be needed to ensure AI-generated surveys make sense, align with business goals, and provide valuable insights.
But for companies still relying on generic, cheap surveys, AI could make it easier to deliver a professional, high-end survey experience—without hiring a designer or researcher.
Checklist for Delivering a Great Experience at the Feedback Touchpoint
- Include the customer feedback process as a critical touchpoint in your CX strategy.
- Ensure your surveys are fully branded—logos, colors, professional fonts, and branding elements matter.
- Use a VoC software provider with customization options (most cheap DIY tools won’t cut it for enterprise VoC).
- Make sure survey invites include transaction details ("Thank you for visiting our store on March 10!") to increase engagement.
- AI-powered VoC platforms are on the horizon—consider how automation could enhance survey design, personalization, and analysis.
Final Thought: Don’t Let a Cheap Survey Undermine Your VoC Program
You wouldn’t serve a gourmet meal on a paper plate, and you shouldn’t send out a bargain-basement survey after delivering a high-end customer experience.
AI is not yet replacing VoC software, but it could soon help eliminate ugly, generic, unbranded surveys—removing excuses for companies that still treat feedback as an afterthought.
Your Turn
Let’s discuss: How do you currently brand and personalize your surveys? Are you seeing any AI-driven enhancements in survey design?
