Being the boss isn’t always easy. Success or failure falls squarely on your shoulders, and yet the information needed to achieve that result is not always readily available. It would be nice to believe that we have the answers to every question that arises, but reality is never that simple. That’s why it’s important to get information from the people whose buying decisions can make or break you as a company. It’s important to listen to your customer!
Garnering Customer Information
There are many different ways to solicit feedback from your customer, but all of them boil down to one simple thing, just ask!
- Customer Questionnaire – A questionnaire may seem overly complicated and for many customers it will be. Chances are you will only receive back a fraction of the forms you send out, but the replies you receive should be very helpful. Why? In order for a customer to feel it’s worth their time to fill it out, they must first be interested or passionate about some aspect of your business. These can often have a negative tone, but if you can look past the first instinct to defend your business and look at each one objectively, you will be guaranteed to find some very good information within.
- Phone Interview – Contacting customers shortly after a visit (with their permission of course) is an excellent way to get information. If there was anything about the transaction that stood out to them, it should still be fresh in their minds, and letting your customer speak is always easier than filling out a form so you are more likely to get a larger pool of respondents.
- Ask at the Counter – This method has it’s positives and negatives, but it’s still a fantastic way to get customer feedback. On the negative side, if a customer has a poor interaction with your employee, they may be hesitant to say so in front of them. That may skew your results a bit, but not enough to offset the positives. With a face-to-face, your customer has the opportunity to not only answer your questions but offer their opinions about things that you may never have thought to ask. By speaking to them immediately, the entire experience is fresh in their minds, and they are far less likely to forget an important detail.
Customers are the backbone of your business. Without them, you couldn’t run! Don’t ignore the people that buy your products and use your services. If you want your business to grow, you need to listen to your customer!
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