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Guest post by: Stephanie Ward Become an Author

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As a business owner you have all kinds of ideas about what
products and services you want to offer to your clients. If
you’re like me, you probably think about it a lot.

The question is, do your clients really want what you are
offering? Are you meeting their needs and helping them with
the issues that are most important to them?

Imagine being able to see inside of your client’s brains and
know what they are thinking. It is actually possible and you
don’t have to be a mind reader. The way to find out is to ask!

Yes, the ultimate marketing source is each of your clients.
They know better than anyone what they want and need. It seems
obvious yet many business owners don’t ask their clients
specific questions about how they can best serve them. To get
you started, here are some examples.

You can ask your clients questions about:

- Existing products and services

- New products and services

- The biggest obstacles they face

- What might be missing from your offer

So now you know what you want to find out, but how do you do
it? There are many ways to ask your clients are thinking.
Here are some ideas to get you started.

You can:

* Call them yourself

* Hire a third party to call them

* Send them a survey in the mail

* Create an on-line survey (Survey Monkey offers a free option
http://www.surveymonkey.com and has a helpful demo)

Since you are asking your clients to spend a few minutes of
their time, it is normal to give them a reason to answer your
questions. What could you give to your clients as a way to say
thank you for their willingness to share their insights with
you?

What about:

> Offer to include everyone who answers into a lottery to win a
valuable prize

> Give valuable information to everyone who completes the
survey

> Offer a discount on future purchases to people who respond

Ready to stop guessing what your clients need and find out
directly from them what they really want? First, think about
the best questions you can ask. Questions that will reveal
information that you will be able to use to create products and
services that will really help your clients.

Next, take a look at your client base and decide on the best
method to use to ask them your questions. Then offer your
clients something in exchange for their cooperation. Once you
have the results of your survey, analyze it and create
something your clients are really waiting for!

(c) 2006

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