Why Publishing Reports Can Be Valuable

One of the features we offer here at SurveyMethods that we’re especially proud of is the ability to publish reports online for easy access. It’s a feature with a wide variety of uses, and one that very few other survey software providers have programmed into their platforms. Most people think that published reports are designed solely to show a couple of other people the data, or to use it when discussing the results over the web. But the reality is that online publishable reports have a variety of uses, many of which affect modern day businesses.

When we talk about reports, we’re talking about visual and numerical representations of data. Our software has many different types of reports, including graphs, data tables, and more. To generate a report, you simply run a report and program in the queries you want answered, such as the mean of the data, standard deviation, breakdown of specific answers, and more.

The software runs through all of the data automatically and places it in the tables and charts you’ve requested. You can also update these as needed. More on SurveyMethods’ reporting and analysis features .

Most people think of reports in terms of printouts that are handed out at meetings. But reports are more than that. When you run a query, even if the survey is over, you’re running a live query.

You’re looking at all of the data as it stands right at that moment (in the case of a closed survey, the data won’t change, but the query is still looking at the data as it currently stands). When the survey is closed, these data can be used to look at the results in the past.

But when the survey is live, these queries can actually be used to look at live, updating data. They can be programmed to look at things like “last month” or “today,” and since these time measurements change, the data will be different, giving you an opportunity to view live updated data as needed. This makes a report something more valuable than simply something you present at meetings.

It’s an opportunity to view issues or data changes as they happen, and respond to them immediately. Companies can benefit from this in numerous ways. Let’s us take a look at a hypothetical example of how a company can utilize these reports in a way that will provide them with valuable information – information that can drastically improve the way they run their company.

WeInShure is an insurance company. They run a call-in service, where potential customers can call a representative in order to get a new policy on the spot. The representatives are the face of their company, so if they are failing to do their job the company is going to fail.

WeInShure decides to run a regular survey for those that call in. Immediately after calling in (in order to get a policy quote) the company takes the person’s email address. Exactly 24 hours after they have taken the email address, regardless of whether or not the person has ordered insurance from the company, they send a survey to the individual asking them about their experience.

The survey has all of the necessary information already tacked on, including: Who did they talk to? Did they order insurance? What type of insurance were they looking for? What was their quote? What was the person's first name? All of the information that the company may find relevant is pre-programmed into the survey, so the respondent doesn’t have to answer it.

All they have to do is answer some questions about satisfaction – how communicative the representative was, how formal they were, did they answer questions, and so on. Then they click submit and it’s sent. Thanks to the live-updating reports, at any point during the day, a manager can log into the report directly and see how a specific representative looked during a specific timeframe, such as “Month to Date” or “Yesterday.” They’ll see a specific, updated report on the representative, and that report will let them know if the rep is having problems closing deals, or if they’re giving poor customer service, etc.

From there, WeInShure can take action. They can talk to the representative, or discuss problems, or offer re-training. They can see if it’s a habit or if there is something the person can do to improve their customer service.

They can even respond to the customer directly. Here’s a look at the reasons this is valuable, and other features SurveyMethods offers that are applicable for this type of use.

From the above example, we see how an insurance company can use these live reports to get an idea of how well a rep is doing on any given day, using a report that updates regularly with the satisfaction of the people they spoke with on the phone. The benefits of this are obvious: Getting real-time analysis of a rep's customer service skills. Seeing if the reps are insufficient with some aspect of the business.

Ensuring that your company is employing enough representatives, and so on. Any company that hires people that work as the face of the company, such as help desk, IT support, sales, etc., can benefit from this type of live reporting system, and thanks to the system there is no guesswork or waiting. You can get live, immediate updates that give you accurate and thorough answers – answers that will help you make decisions about the employee(s) and your company.

In addition, you can pair this up with other features in the SurveyMethods software system, such as the “notify via email” feature, which allows you to be notified if someone fills out a survey with less than favorable reviews so someone with excellent customer service skills can call the individual and try to salvage the relationship. It can also be paired with your own data, to see if someone is both good at closing sales and good at customer service (there isn’t always a direct relationship). Without live updating reports, you’d have to wait until large surveys are completed with the knowledge that the information they provide may be stale and poor.

You wouldn’t be able to view the information from anywhere, or you would have to log into a system and waste countless amounts of time running the same query over and over again in order to get the results you need. Live updating reports simply make more sense, which is why it was one of the first features we wanted to offer on our SurveyMethods platform. Contact us today to find out more about our services or sign up now to start an account.