The Role of Customer Surveys in the Sharing Economy

The sharing economy allows people to exchange both intangible and tangible resources with each other at scale. They form an exchange relationship that often undercuts traditional employment or retail arrangement and reduces transactional friction.

Sharing economy makes it much easier for people to exchange resources amongst themselves on demand and increases efficiency. However, this wouldn’t be possible without the technology we have today. 

But what exactly do customer surveys have to do with it and what is the role of customer surveys in the sharing economy? Keep reading to find out.

What Is The Sharing Economy?

The sharing economy is a peer-to-peer economic model that is based on acquiring, providing, and sharing access to various goods and services via a platform that is community-based. Even though people have shared assets for thousands of years, the internet has updated this practice.

The use of the internet and big data has made it easier for owners of assets and those who are looking to use or obtain those assets to find one another. Through sharing economies, individuals and even groups of people can make a profit from their assets that were previously unused or underused.

Why is Customer Experience so Important for Sharing Economy Companies?

The sharing economy keeps getting bigger by the year and we can see that in companies like Airbnb and Uber. This market keeps getting more saturated and companies are looking for ways to distinguish themselves from the competition.

To distinguish themselves, they have started to use great customer experience and offer amazing customer service.

Customer experience in the sharing economy, usually built with the help of feedback, allows customers who have never tried out a product or service to build expectations and see if a company adheres to their values.

The importance of customer satisfaction is vital in all types of economies, but especially in this one. Happy customers in the sharing economy are willing to share their positive experiences with family and friends, which in turn grows the businesses they’re talking about.

Here are some ways you can improve the customer experience of your sharing economy company:

• Creating trust through an established community.
• Taking necessary preparations to scale with a growing customer base.
• Building policies that ensure users on both sides have a flawless experience.
• Using data-driven analysis to optimize the products or services you offer.
• Designing a simple and straightforward flow.

How do Uber, Airbnb, and Other Big Players Use Customer Surveys for Growth?

As we already established, customer feedback in the sharing economy is very important and you can clearly see how some big players in this economy use feedback to their advantage.

For example, if you take a look at how Uber uses customer feedback, you’ll notice they have a two-way feedback system that is beneficial for both parties. Drivers with bad ratings are either fired or motivated to improve their services. On the other hand, customers with bad ratings don’t get picked up by drivers, and this protects their employees.

Next, let’s take a look at Airbnb. This company operates in 191 countries and Airbnb customer satisfaction relies on textual feedback, the company’s NPS (net promoter score), and the general experience of the person using the services. They use the data they collect from their customer feedback questions to make business decisions based on Airbnb customer satisfaction.

Finally, we have TransferWise, which offers cross-border money transfers and measures its NPS after every transaction. This way, they have a clear picture of how satisfied their customers are as well as a clear target metric they need to focus on.

Using customer surveys in sharing economy is beneficial for several reasons:

• Helps service providers improve their services.
• Gives customers a clear picture of the service quality.
• Builds a strong, honest community.
• Protects employees and service providers (e.g. Uber).

If you provide a service in the sharing economy, take a look at these customer feedback survey examples. They can serve as an inspiration for your own surveys.

Final thoughts

The sharing economy is a unique environment where businesses have two distinct types of customers. The first is the product or service the business provides, such as the homeowners who list their homes on Airbnb, and the second is the traditional customer.

To keep this business model running, you need to make sure both sides are happy. If you use customer surveys for both of those types of customers, make it easier on yourself by using customer feedback tools and you’ll enjoy all the benefits of the sharing economy.

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