A Major Failure: How I Failed to Seize My Biggest Opportunity

I have been feeling down for the past few days.

I had a major failure.
I failed to take advantage of what was the biggest opportunity of the year.
Even though I call it a major failure, it is a self-contained matter that does not inconvenience others, which is the only saving grace, but...

To start with, the lessons I learned from this major failure are...
"Strike while the iron is hot"
and "Design for the purpose of achieving your goals."
That is all.

To be specific...
I always ask my clients for a survey upon completion of our work,
and I use the results as PR material for myself.
(With permission for use.)

I had a somewhat large project, and I intended to make full use of it for PR without missing anything, but the results were lackluster, and I failed miserably at promoting my track record.

I did post the survey results, but for the reader,
they were completely uninspiring and failed to convey the value of my work.
Although I have a track record from my previous job, I still have few achievements since starting my own business, so this was a perfect opportunity to promote myself, but I failed to capitalize on it, which is a painful loss.

Why couldn't I utilize it?

The results were a string of "Very Satisfied" ratings on a 5-point scale, and while I am grateful for the high praise, there was almost no text information (raw feedback).

I wanted to use the client's raw feedback in posts to add persuasiveness and emphasize the strengths of the content I provide to attract more customers, but I couldn't get that material at all.

The client was cooperative with me from the start, and around the time the work ended, they said, "I'll write plenty in the survey! I'll praise you! Please use it for promotion!"
So I was shocked by this result because I had high expectations.

I believe there are two possible factors for missing this valuable opportunity.
・The timing of the survey request
・The content of the survey

The timing of the survey request

When the client's work was finished,
I couldn't send the survey form immediately.
(I hadn't decided on the content of the survey and couldn't prepare it in advance.)

In the end, I was only able to send the survey form three days after the work was completed.
The client told me they were busy and would answer within 2-3 days, and to remind them if they hadn't,
so I waited.

Then, after about 3 days, when I was about to send a reminder,
the client contacted me to say they were feeling unwell.
It took over a week for them to recover.
It would be tactless to urge them right after they recovered, so I waited a little while before sending a reminder, and they answered immediately.

Because time had passed since the end of the project,
it is easy to guess that the client's enthusiasm had cooled down.
Therefore, it is wrong to blame the client for not meeting my expectations.

If I had conducted the survey while the "iron was hot"—that is, while their enthusiasm was still high—I might have received various comments.

The content of the survey

This time, because the survey was long and I wanted to ask everything I wanted to know without missing anything, but also wanted to reduce the burden of answering,
I made the survey based on a 5-point scale, with separate text questions for insights and special notes.

When I asked the client for their honest opinion about the survey afterward, they told me, "It wasn't fun to answer."

Drawing on my experience with survey tasks in my previous job, I used the format mentioned above, but I noticed a major difference compared to the surveys I conducted there.

[Previous Job] Surveys about products (things) / Targeted at an unspecified large number of people
[This Time] Surveys about experiences (services/events) / Targeted at one individual client

In an environment like my previous job, considering the convenience of data aggregation, the results obtained, and the objectives, a 5-point scale format might actually be the best.
For products, it is better to establish metrics and quantify results, but for experiences, it is different.

Therefore, this time, I probably should have just used a descriptive format without worrying about the burden on the respondent or the specific content I wanted to ask.
I thought that even if a survey has a bit of a response burden, since a relationship has already been built, a descriptive-centered approach would likely be acceptable as long as it is within reasonable limits.
If I had done that, I might have been able to receive the various raw feedback that was my goal.

In this world, timing is sometimes everything.
If you miss the appropriate timing, what you gain can change drastically.

That is why you must not misjudge the timing.
You can learn about appropriate timing through internet searches, but
you have no choice but to experience it and learn it for yourself.

Also, among various factors, I must design things by considering what should be prioritized to achieve the main purpose and objectives.
This might have been something I could only understand by experiencing it,
but I believe I have no choice but to reflect, look back, judge for myself, and turn this major failure into a learning experience.