How Amazing Are We? (Survey Invite Review #2)
Of the three invitations up for review in our mini-series on survey invitations (see also: #1 How Bad Are We? and #3 How’s Our Relationship?) this is the laughably obnoxious one:
What do you think about Acme?
Tell us about your experience with Acme products and solutions to help us understand what’s going well, and what we can do better.
It will take less than 10 minutes. Take it before June 8, 2018.
Your feedback is essential to help us empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
We appreciate your time and feedback!
Thanks,
Patrick Curtis
Vice President
Acme Corporation
Why is it laughable? Because my feedback will presumably be used to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Please. And why is it obnoxious? Because it is all about Acme. As my friend Jim used to joke, “Blah blah blah, enough about me. What do YOU think of me?”
But they did some things right. Here is our take on the good and the bad.
What they did right:
- They say exactly what is involved—what the survey is about, and how long it will take.
- The invitation is concise and easy to read. It’s visual design (not shown here) enhanced that simplicity even more. In fact, it was so simple and direct, it was hard not to read it.
- They create a sense of urgency by including a deadline.
- It is signed by a real person.
What they did wrong:
- They are entirely focused on themselves, not on me, the customer. Their first sentence says it all: “What do you think of us?!”
- They offer me nothing in return. Even if there is no monetary incentive, they ought to say how participating in this survey will benefit me.
- The pitch for why I should participate is absurd and not believable. No, my feedback will not empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
- There is no way to contact a real person with questions or concerns. Why didn’t Patrick give me his phone number and e-mail address?
OK, it is easy to be snarky … don’t you like anything, Joe? Yes, I do. So coming up next: a survey invitation that strikes just the right tone and gives me all the right reasons to believe in their effort and want to participate. It is an invitation from an insurance company which they have cleverly branded as being a “Relationship Assessment.”
