It’s not about consumer greed but reflection of the era we now live in and value-based engagements. I understand that paying for feedback may not yield the desired effect of receiving honest and independent feedback, but paid views. At the same time, companies run these questionnaires, yet we rarely improvements implemented. Something has to give. I’m just not sure what the way forward is, but for now, I believe companies must just pay for requesting customer feedback, so they are forced to implement the ideas they paid for, so they realize value for money. Otherwise, their inaction on improvement suggestions for which they paid would result in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 22 October 2024.
At the heart of the payment requirement is acknowledgement that the survey participant is giving the company IP and IP is valuable and not something to be given for free. After all, those companies would never do anything for anyone for free. We already have Vodacom fighting Makate on the “Please Call Me” idea, showing that simple ideas can become billion-dollar business opportunities.
Without exaggerating and expecting companies to pay top dollar for improvement suggestions, but when there’s acknowledgement that ideas are assets worth mining, it should therefore not cost the company nothing soliciting such. At the same time, it should not be prohibitive for companies to receive feedback form their customers on products created for their benefit.
If companies can provide expensive vehicles to so called influencers more likely would never have been customers in the first place, surely, they can do something for their real customers. That something is compensation for filling in their questionnaire. Time is money. Letting customer spend their valuable time filling in time-consuming surveys for free is not right. Pay them in kind like giving away points or some voucher to a spa or coffee shop, whatever. Just do something and take the feedback seriously by either giving customers feedback on the website as frequently asked questions and state your position, whether in favour or against the idea. That way, companies would show bravery and boldness by confronting issues head-on.
Tips are required nowadays even when buying takeaways. Using some public bathrooms is also not free. Many malls no longer offer free parking for the first few minutes while looking for parking, but you start paying the moment the entrance boom opens. Nothing is for mahala, so should filling in questionnaires. It’s not hatred, nor is it about you, but about doing business in this era.
Businesses must thus avoid hoisting their beggar signs for free advice and start paying for what they value. It’s only fair.
