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Do you need a low cost marketing technique? Don’t we all? Well here’s one: ask your customers for feedback and respond to what they say.
I can sense how much this idea blows you away. It’s an earth-shattering concept on behalf of which I will be applying for a Nobel Prize.
Seriously though, it’s a strategy that is surprisingly underutilized or incorrectly implemented often enough that it warrants being the subject of this article.
Consider the following reasons why soliciting and responding to customer feedback works.
• It focuses directly on existing customers – your main source of future business
• Most new customers will try your products or services through a recommendation from someone who had a positive experience with your organization
More than anything else, your customers evaluate the quality of your products or services in terms of service-related criteria. Like the saying goes, in a restaurant great service can overcome poor food but great food cannot overcome poor service.
Simply by asking for feedback, your organization will become much more focused on customer satisfaction and loyalty; this means more repeat business and more referrals. Also, people generally refrain from voicing complaints, meaning you may never know if you a customer has been left unsatisfied.
In other cases customers may be very pleased with your organization but never come back and never refer anyone else to you. Do you know why? You should! By surveying customers about three months after their purchases, you remind them of how satisfied they were and keep your organization at the top of their minds. In so doing, you will improve customer satisfaction and build strong, loyal relationships.
You should also build in an opportunity to solicit customers’ feedback in the middle of a transaction because it makes them feel comfortable to raise concerns, thereby giving you an opportunity for you to serve them better.
Enough already
So to recap, you should ask questions during, after, and much after a transaction. Isn't that a lot of asking - wont the customers get tired of it? Absolutely, if all you do is ask. Customers won’t mind being asked for feedback if they feel it is being used effectively to improve their experiences with your organization. Just remember, if you ask for customer feedback and are not willing or prepared to act on what you learn, it's better not to ask at all.
There are many ways to solicit customer feedback; here are the best methods to let customers know that you care about what they think.
In-person Customer Surveys
This can be done by providing a written questionnaire or asking questions while the customer is in your office or store. Generally it should not be more than three to five questions. My favourite question for these surveys is, “How are we doing?”
Customer Satisfaction Surveys
You can also mail questionnaires to current and past customers. These questions should focus on how your customers feel about their relationships with your organization. A good question on these surveys is, “Did we meet your needs? If not, why not?”
Post-Engagement Questionnaires
Sent at the closing of a transaction, post-engagement questionnaires should ask questions specific to both the customer and the transaction. Remember to keep the questionnaire short. This is a good time to use “rating scales” as well as short answer questions. A good question here is “On a scale of 1-5, 1 being ‘not responsive’ and 5 meaning ‘ideally responsive,’ rate our responsiveness to you.”
Informal Interactions
Take every opportunity to ask customers what their needs are and how satisfied they are with how they are being served. Listen and respond to what they say and if necessary, adapt your delivery model. If you do not know what to say, consider asking how them how you could better meet their needs.
Setting up a customer feedback system takes work and a commitment to consistent application. Your years of experience and firsthand exposure may already lead you to think you know what your customers want and need - and you may be right. The only way to truly know is to hear it directly from your customers. But remember, you will never know for sure if you do not ask. And the added value of asking is that it helps your customers feel listened to and valued – the signs of a successful organization!
If you want something just ask - To learn more about this author, visit Janet Dean's Website.
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Janet Dean Video - Difficult people can be your customers, your colleagues, even your bosses ACT Ltd. president Janet Dean
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