The Likert scale is a methodology proposed by the psychologist Renzi’s Likert. It consists of surveying a group of respondents according to a one-dimensional system. In other words, we are looking here to know the opinion of a marketing target according to their degree of satisfaction, for example. This tool is essential for better questioning consumers since it covers all segments of the customer journey. When should it be applied? What are its main advantages? All the answers to these questions are accompanied by various examples of the use of the Likert scale.
What is a Likert scale?
A Likert scale is an indispensable tool for creating a market research questionnaire. It makes it easy to collect the opinions of respondents regarding a particular offer. Academics even use this one-dimensional scale to conduct awareness studies.
The American psychologist Renzi’s Likert developed this method in 1932. He then wanted to offer new response options to people participating in surveys and questionnaires.
In order to get out of the classic “yes or no” model, the Likert scale requires more concrete feedback.
Therefore, the respondent is faced with propositions like:
- Totally agree
- OK
- Neutral
- Disagree
- not agree at all
This scale is special since it can be adapted according to the needs of the study. Indeed, we find three main types of Likert scale: those with 4, 5 or 7 points. Although the 5-answer model is the most common, it is possible to qualify the statement by adding:
- Somewhat agree
- Rather disagree
Choosing this approach to answering a question allows for a finer analysis. Indeed, this amounts to detecting favourable or unfavourable inclinations among respondents with more neutral opinions.
Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that the 4-point Likert scale is problematic. Furthermore, it “forces” respondents to choose a side, since “neutral”, and “no opinion” options are not available.
In which cases should it be used?
In fact, this instrument is part of a set of essential marketing tools to better identify consumer needs. In short, it helps companies see what motivates consumers before, during and after the act of purchase. Here are 3 contexts conducive to the use of the Likert scale. We have also compiled 6 concrete examples of questions constructed using this scale.
Test consumer reactions
Any company wants to know in advance the reactions of their potential customers to their new offer. Thus, do not hesitate to build a questionnaire in the case of a product/service launch! Ask your target marketers directly what they think of your value proposition. In this case, keep in mind that you need to learn the perceived usefulness of your offer, its good understanding, or the importance of its price.
Here are two examples of questions following the Likert scale model to test consumer reactions:
- How do you rate the usefulness of this product?
- Very useful
- Useful
- A bit helpful
- no opinion
- Not very useful
- Useless
- very useless
- How important is the price to you for this particular service?
- very important
- Important
- Neutral
- not important
- Not at all important
The Likert scale assesses customer experience
In addition, this scale is equally useful for evaluating the customer experience. Thus, questions designed according to Likert make it possible to understand the perceived quality of your customer service. It is also possible to assess the importance that consumers attach to the organization of the point of sale. To be more concrete, affirmations are good practices for combining the Likert scale and customer experience analysis. This method is essential in order to confirm or invalidate the image you have of your brand.
Here are two examples of questions following the Likert scale model for evaluating customer experience:
- Do you agree with the following statement: “This new feature has completely changed the way I use [such application]”
- Totally agree
- OK
- Neutral
- Disagree
- not agree at all
- Do you agree with the following statement: “The customer service of [such a brand] is impeccable? »
- Totally agree
- OK
- Somewhat agree
- Neutral
- Rather disagree
- Disagree
- not agree at all
Measure customer satisfaction
There are many ways to assess customer satisfaction. We find scores such as the NPS, or even indicators such as the repeat purchase rate. In this context, the Likert scale is a simple way to obtain an overall view of your customer’s satisfaction.
Thus, the Likert scale proves to be extremely useful when launching a new product or service in the market. In addition, its ability to assess all kinds of emotions (both positive and negative) makes the questionnaires very customizable. Moreover, this type of question is relevant for commerce, marketing, but also for business life. This is why we frequently find satisfaction questionnaires in circulation among the employees of a structure.
Here are two examples of questions following the Likert scale model to measure customer satisfaction:
- How would you rate your level of satisfaction with your structure?
- Very satisfied
- Satisfied
- Neutral
- Dissatisfied
- Very Unsatisfied
- How satisfied are you with delivery times for [such product]?
- Very satisfied
- Satisfied
- Rather satisfied
- Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
- Rather dissatisfied
- Dissatisfied
- Very Unsatisfied
The Likert scale and its 3 advantages
This scale is not only applicable in many areas, but its benefits are just as abundant. Research article writing services conclude this article by presenting the 3 most convincing advantages of the Likert scale. Its ease of planning, the simplicity of its responses, and the magnitude of its results are detailed below.
It is easy to set up
You could see it thanks to our sample questions: the Likert scale is easy to program. It’s the easiest way to cover all possible answers to a wide variety of topics. Moreover, because it is applicable in a short time, it is therefore very affordable to implement!
Respondents appreciate the Likert scale
The inherent ease of the Likert scale has another advantage. It avoids the traditional pitfall of questionnaires: that of questions that are too broad and poorly understood. Some respondents even feel tempted to choose the “Neutral” option or even skip the question. For this reason, the response rate induced by this scale is very high. Therefore, the quality of the data obtained thanks to Likert is optimal!
Ideal for observing the amplitude of public opinion
The last big advantage specific to the Likert scale concerns the very broad overview it offers. Indeed, by covering all possible aspects of public opinion, this scale makes it easy to classify the thoughts of respondents. In addition, the anonymous nature of the questions designed according to Likert frees the respondents from any social pressure.
