Khuram's reference to what I call the "gap technique" is spot on. Few people will rate something 10/10 or A+. This gives you the opportunity to ask them how to achieve that highest rating. Once you do that: "Shut up and listen!" :) -- One of the worst mistakes is to get a participant talking (and many people talk way too much) but then to cut them off even though they're giving you substantive information (obviously, if it's drivel, then you do want to move on). You also have to assess those you survey: some are founts of information and insight while others have nothing to say. All are not created equal, as it were.

In all surveys, whether in person or on-line, I recommend open-ended (i.e., unprompted) questions (where possible) followed by close-ended (i.e., prompted answers) questions. In other words: What is your favorite brand of cookie (with no list specified)? Perhaps they say Oreos. Later on, after they've forgotten that, you have a list: Which is your favorite cookie brand: a) Little Debbie; b) Mrs. Fields; c) Oreo; d) Duncan Hines? Now if those two don't match up, how valuable are these answers? So that gives you the ability to test for validity. Once you present the prompted answers, you've poisoned the well, which is why they have to come later.

Hope this helps and should you have any questions, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss with you.

Best,
Steve

The question is a little broad so hard to answer with something very specific, but as a general rule you really want to identify their objections and constraints. You really want to identify criticisms and negative feedback so you can make the product better.

I had a marketing course which was originally rated 1 and 2 stars by most customers. I went back and asked them what it would take for them to give me 5 stars. I got my answers.

Also, I asked them what it would take for them to tell their friends and they told me, it'd have to be a 5-star course for them to share with friends.

I know this isn't as helpful as could be given I don't know the product, but it should give you food for thought.

Two other quick points to add to the above suggestions. Questions regarding what made them buy the product or service in the first place will give you a lot of insight as well. For example: What made you choose our product over others available? You can send the question open ended to a small percentage of your 10,000 customers and provide a multiple choice option for the remainder (or once you get some insight from the open ended responses). Secondly, understanding what customers were doing as a workaround before purchasing your product will give insight into how to best target future customers, so include questions regarding this as well.

Effective customer satisfaction surveys include three main sections:

* Overall Satisfaction Questions
* Dimension Questions
* Demographic Questions

Here are some good overall satisfaction questions to ask:

* How would you rate your overall experience with our service?
* How likely are you to return to our store?
* How likely are you to recommend our services to your friends and family?

You can check out a full list of questions in the blog about customer surveys, too: http://www.fieldboom.com/blog/customer-service-surveys/.