How IKEA Increased Response Rates With SMS Surveys

IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at affordable prices. They use SmartSurvey’s advanced survey software to engage with consumers in order to get instant feedback that they can act on to improve long-term customer satisfaction. We spoke with Alastair Ross, Customer Fulfilment Manager about how surveys have helped develop IKEA’s business strategy…

The Challenges They Faced

IKEA carries out several thousand deliveries a day and survey their shop-online customers regularly. Customers fall into three main categories and their challenge is to gather feedback from relevant segments:

1. Happy Customers – who had a great experience and will become repeat customers
2. Unhappy Customers – who did not have good experience due damaged or missing items
3. Middle Group – customers who did not quite have a great experience

“We tend not to hear from the middle group and can lose them as a customer. Our business strategy is to go after these consumers, understand what the issue was and then identify a way to resolve it”, commented Alastair.

IKEA use SmartSurvey to gather feedback from customers in order to specifically monitor individual’s experiences. The results allow them to strengthen their offer to customers by improving company processes. By constantly appraising customer feedback, IKEA can reach potential detractors, re-engage them and keep them as customers.

Engaging with Customers

SmartSurvey allows IKEA to export survey results into weekly spreadsheets for further analysis. The results are distributed to:

1. Transport partners
2. Other Ikea stores
3. Additional Stakeholders

The reports mean they can take action immediately, offering the best experience possible for customers. They are able to use the data to identify parts of the customer journey that require attention or change.

Benefits of Mobile Surveys

IKEA has utilised our SMS feature, allowing them to deliver survey invitations via text message. This mobile-friendly strategy has resulted in three main benefits:

1. Increased open and response rates
2. Enhanced personal contact with customers
3. Allowed strategy to evolve along with consumer buying habits

“We are experiencing a much higher open and response rate by using text messaging. The response rate for SMS surveys range from 10% to 15%, whereas the response rate for email is less, ranging from 7% to 9%”.

Due to the success of sending surveys by SMS, plans are in place to further develop the mobile survey programme by reaching out to shop-online customers. The company fully expect response rates to jump up immediately.

To increase awareness of our SMS survey strategy, IKEA is using leaflets in-store to explain the process, as they find that when people are made aware of marketing initiatives they are more likely to respond.

“We have experienced really good results with sending surveys via text messaging and want to continue to build personal relationships with customers via this channel. In addition, SmartSurvey software allows us to build trust and increase engagement with branded templates and domain links”.

Communicating via mobile responsive surveys allows IKEA to take a personal approach, which in turn, increases retention rates. The Customer Care department can follow up on feedback and react quickly to recover customers who may not have had the best experience.

Today’s fast-paced technological environment means people have their mobile phones with them all the time. Shopping habits have changed and online purchasing via mobile phones is increasing so it is essential for IKEA to stay ahead of the trend when engaging with consumers.

The Results of using SMS Surveys

IKEA is currently experiencing huge growth and feedback from customers is very positive, telling them that they feel informed and engaged. As a result, their Net Promoter Score is 26% higher, which has more than doubled since the beginning of the year.

“Thanks to SmartSurvey, our communication strategy is making us stand out from the crowd. By sending surveys via SMS, asking the right questions and acting on results, reinforces the message to our customers that IKEA is one step ahead of the competition”.

“The support team at SmartSurvey has repeatedly provided great service, helping us deal with any issues we have experienced. Every query has been dealt with really quickly and efficiently”.

Due to the success of using SmartSurvey software in the UK, IKEA is looking to increase usage and roll out the customer engagement programme into Europe.