Partner With Medallia: Transform Your Business & CX [Guide]

Nina West 10 May 2025

Ever feel like your voice vanishes into the void after a shopping trip? Your feedback, especially through digital surveys, is more powerful than you think, directly shaping the businesses you frequent and the services you rely on. But what happens when those pathways for your voice to be heard become blocked, leaving you frustrated and unheard?

The modern marketplace thrives on customer feedback. Companies invest heavily in gathering insights, using platforms like Medallia and dedicated portals such as com/ge, aiming to refine service delivery and boost customer satisfaction. Giant Eagle, for instance, utilizes its "Gianteaglelistens" survey to understand customer experiences and improve its offerings. These surveys, often triggered by a recent purchase and accessible through a code on your receipt, promise a chance to share your thoughts and, in some cases, even unlock perks or rewards. But when these digital avenues become tangled, leaving customers unable to access surveys, complete them, or even receive promised benefits, a critical breakdown in the customer-business relationship occurs.

Attribute	Details
Name	Medallia
Type	Customer Experience Management (CXM) platform
Founded	2001
Headquarters	Pleasanton, California, USA
Core Services	Customer feedback collection (surveys, social media, etc.) Data analytics and reporting Action management Personalized experiences
Industries Served	Retail, hospitality, healthcare, financial services, automotive, and more.
Key Features	Real-time feedback analysis Text analytics Role-based dashboards Closed-loop feedback Mobile survey capabilities
Website	Medallia Official Website

Imagine this scenario: you've just completed a shopping trip to Giant Eagle. Armed with your receipt, you're ready to participate in the "Gianteaglelistens" survey, hoping to share your recent experience and potentially snag some perks. But the link refuses to load. Error messages abound. You call customer care, only to be met with frustration and unresolved issues. The promised transfer from "Giant Eagle listens" fails to materialize. This is the reality for some Giant Eagle customers, who find themselves locked out of the very system designed to gather their valuable feedback.

Such scenarios highlight a crucial gap in the customer feedback loop. While companies like General Electric (GE), through platforms like com/ge portal, actively seek customer feedback to improve service delivery, the execution can often fall short. The com/ge portal, designed to gather customer feedback, becomes a source of frustration when technical glitches prevent access to surveys. Similarly, while Medallia hosts customer surveys via specific URLs, encountering errors, incorrect data, or expired surveys can leave customers feeling unheard and undervalued.

The problems are multifaceted. Some customers report persistent issues accessing surveys, despite multiple attempts and phone calls to customer care. Others face technical difficulties within the survey itself, such as the inability to proceed to the next page or encountering messages indicating the survey has already been completed. These issues are further compounded by vague error messages like "We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us" or "The site is currently loading and unable to display a description," which offer no actionable solutions for the user.

The lack of clear guidance and technical support further exacerbates the frustration. While Giant Eagle provides instructions on how to take the customer satisfaction survey with a valid receipt, navigating error messages or resolving access issues often requires more than basic instructions. Customers seek clear answers to common questions such as "Why can't I get to the next page?" or "Why does my survey tell me that I have already completed it?". When these questions remain unanswered, the entire feedback process breaks down, undermining the company's efforts to gather valuable customer insights.

Beyond the technical hurdles, there's a growing need for greater transparency in how customer feedback is used. While companies assure customers that their feedback will help improve products and services, the specific actions taken based on this feedback are often unclear. Customers want to know that their time and effort in completing surveys translate into tangible improvements. This requires companies to be more transparent about the changes they implement as a direct result of customer feedback.

Moreover, companies should strive to create a seamless and user-friendly survey experience. This includes ensuring that surveys are accessible on various devices, minimizing technical glitches, and providing clear instructions and support. The Medallia Experience Cloud Ask Now feature, which allows CX professionals to build and adapt customer surveys on the fly, represents a step in the right direction. However, the true value of these tools lies in their ability to create a positive and engaging experience for the customer.

Addressing these challenges requires a multi-pronged approach. First, companies must prioritize technical stability and ensure that their survey platforms are robust and reliable. This includes regular maintenance, thorough testing, and prompt resolution of technical issues. Second, customer support teams need to be equipped with the knowledge and resources to effectively address survey-related inquiries. This may involve providing specialized training for customer service representatives or creating dedicated support channels for survey participants. Third, companies must actively monitor customer feedback and identify recurring issues or pain points. This requires analyzing survey data, tracking customer inquiries, and engaging with customers on social media.

Ultimately, the goal is to create a customer feedback loop that is both efficient and effective. This means making it easy for customers to share their experiences, providing timely and helpful support, and demonstrating a clear commitment to acting on customer feedback. By addressing the challenges and embracing best practices, companies can transform their customer feedback programs from a source of frustration into a valuable asset that drives innovation and improves customer satisfaction.

Consider the scenario of a customer encountering incorrect data within a survey ("Los datos de mi encuesta son incorrectos" or "Die einzelheiten meiner umfrage sind falsch"). Without a clear mechanism for correcting this information, the validity of the feedback is compromised. Similarly, the inability to participate in an expired survey ("Wie kann ich an einer abgelaufenen umfrage teilnehmen?") highlights the need for clear communication regarding survey deadlines and alternative methods for providing feedback.

Furthermore, language barriers can pose a significant challenge for some customers. While some surveys may be available in multiple languages, the availability of multilingual support is not always guaranteed. This can create frustration for customers who are not fluent in the primary language of the survey ("Artculos populares desea informacin sobre quin es medallia y qu es lo que hace?" or "Haben sie informationen darber, wer medallia ist und was medallia tut?"). Companies should strive to provide surveys and support in a variety of languages to ensure accessibility for all customers.

The implementation of digital surveys offers numerous benefits, including the ability to collect and analyze data efficiently. However, it is essential to consider the potential challenges and ensure that the survey process is seamless and user-friendly. This includes providing clear instructions, offering multilingual support, and addressing technical issues promptly.

To maximize the value of digital surveys, companies should also consider the design and structure of the survey questions. The questions should be clear, concise, and relevant to the customer's experience. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that may be confusing. Additionally, the survey should be designed to capture both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data, such as ratings and rankings, can provide valuable insights into overall customer satisfaction. Qualitative data, such as open-ended comments, can provide more detailed feedback on specific aspects of the customer experience.

The analysis of survey data is also crucial. Companies should use statistical methods to identify trends and patterns in the data. This can help them to understand the key drivers of customer satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. Additionally, companies should segment the data to understand the needs and preferences of different customer groups. This can help them to tailor their products and services to meet the specific needs of each group.

The use of digital surveys can also be integrated with other customer feedback channels, such as social media and online reviews. By monitoring these channels, companies can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the customer experience. Additionally, companies can use social media and online reviews to respond to customer feedback and address any concerns or issues.

Ultimately, the success of digital surveys depends on the commitment of companies to listen to customer feedback and act on it. This requires a culture of customer centricity, where customer needs and preferences are at the forefront of all business decisions. By embracing this approach, companies can build stronger relationships with their customers and drive long-term growth.

In conclusion, while the use of digital surveys offers significant advantages for gathering customer feedback, it is essential to address the potential challenges and ensure that the survey process is seamless, user-friendly, and accessible to all customers. By prioritizing technical stability, providing clear instructions and support, and actively monitoring customer feedback, companies can transform their digital survey programs into a valuable asset that drives innovation and improves customer satisfaction. The ability to adapt customer surveys on the fly, as demonstrated by the Medallia Experience Cloud Ask Now feature, represents a positive step towards creating a more responsive and customer-centric feedback system.

The goal is to ensure that digital surveys not only collect data but also empower customers to share their voices effectively, contributing to a cycle of continuous improvement and enhanced experiences. Failing to address issues such as access problems, technical glitches, and language barriers can undermine the entire feedback process and leave customers feeling unheard and undervalued. Therefore, it is crucial for companies to prioritize these issues and invest in solutions that create a more seamless and engaging survey experience.

The ongoing evolution of digital survey technology also presents opportunities for companies to explore new and innovative ways to gather customer feedback. This includes the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze survey data and identify patterns, as well as the integration of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to create more immersive and engaging survey experiences. By embracing these emerging technologies, companies can further enhance the value of their digital survey programs and gain a deeper understanding of the customer experience.

Consider the implementation of gamification elements in digital surveys. By incorporating challenges, rewards, and leaderboards, companies can make the survey process more engaging and motivating for customers. This can lead to higher response rates and more detailed feedback. However, it is important to ensure that the gamification elements are relevant to the survey content and do not detract from the overall purpose of gathering valuable customer insights.

Another important consideration is the protection of customer privacy. Companies must be transparent about how they collect, use, and share customer data. They must also comply with all applicable data privacy regulations. By prioritizing data privacy, companies can build trust with their customers and ensure that they feel comfortable sharing their feedback.

The effective use of digital surveys requires a holistic approach that encompasses technical stability, user-friendly design, multilingual support, proactive customer service, and a commitment to data privacy. By addressing these key elements, companies can create a digital survey program that not only gathers valuable customer feedback but also enhances the overall customer experience and builds long-term loyalty.

The ultimate objective is to transform digital surveys from a transactional data collection tool into a meaningful and engaging interaction that fosters a sense of connection between the company and its customers. This requires a shift in mindset from viewing surveys as a mere means of gathering information to recognizing them as an opportunity to build relationships and demonstrate a genuine commitment to customer satisfaction.

The future of digital surveys lies in their ability to adapt to the evolving needs and expectations of customers. This includes providing more personalized and relevant survey experiences, offering a wider range of feedback channels, and leveraging emerging technologies to create more immersive and engaging interactions. By embracing these trends, companies can ensure that their digital survey programs remain a valuable asset for gathering customer insights and driving continuous improvement.

Digital surveys include questions that can be compared across a customer journey. This enables businesses to identify pain points and areas of excellence at each stage of the customer experience, allowing for targeted improvements that enhance satisfaction and loyalty.