You Can Learn A Lot From Your Customers
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Everyone knows that you can learn a lot from customers. But how many people actually reach out to them and ask for their opinion? A company that I recently consulted for reaches out to hundreds of customers daily but never asks them what they think of their products, services customer service agents, or service. Getting feedback from your customers is easy to do and takes very little time - it's an essential part of marketing.
Using surveys to ask about customer satisfaction or to generate ideas for your business is essential. What most companies don't realize is that collecting customer feedback is easy to do with the right tools and well defined goals. Collecting information should be part of every business.Each touch you have with a customer is an opportunity to collect information.
Whether you are a retail business or run your business online, collecting information can be as simple as asking. I've seen a variety of techniques that are effective for surveying customers and gathering information. Here are just a few:
1. Use SurveyMonkey or another online survey solution. These are inexpensive and esy to design. Use posting options to send links via email or post online.
2. Print survey cards that can be included with an order. If you are selling physical products, whether shipping or checking out at the counter, be sure to include a paper survey card.
3. Print information about your survey on a customer receipt. When you hand over a receipt or send via email, let your customers know about your survey and how they can provide feedback.
4. Offer an incentive. If you can offer a free product or discount for those who complete your survey, you can dramatically improve response rates. Find low cost options that provide value to your customers.
5. Create a contest. Establishing a contest around that encourages customers to send you there feedback can be an exciting way to gather information. Video contests, testimonial submissions, and user videos can give you new ideas and information that enhance your business.
These methods are great for collecting information. The key is to consider what information is vital to your business? What type of information for customers can improve your service, sales, and marketing? Take time to ask the right questions and the results can be of tremendous value.
I find that surveys that take less than 5 minutes to do are completed more often than longer surveys - unless their is an incentive. Depending on the size of the incentive, individuals are usually willing to complete surveys of different length. Experiment with survey format and length to improve response rates.
Make surveys an essential part of your overall marketing program. Use surveys to evaluate your business and collect vital information. Also use the touch to collect customer testimonials that you can publish online and off. Customers are always your greatest asset!
Marketing Blog founder and top-selling author Michael Fleischner has been featured on The TODAY Show, ABC World News, and Bloomerg Radio. 
12 comments :
I'm not sure if a multiple-choice survey with an incentive is a good idea. What reminded me of that thought is the picture used on the post! Just checking the first thing and then getting the reward. I'm not sure how honest a survey will be unless the person writes it on their own accord on like a consumer report website.
Great article. In my own experience I love it when I get a chance to do a survey for a company whose product I am using. It is the first time I can express my opinion, honestly and openly.
I cannot think of a greater compliment than to ask your clients and prospects their opinions, and to seriously act on the results. People appreciate sincere changes.
A very easy way to collect info from your visitors that I have used before is to make a squidoo lens and make a poll on the lens.
Just my 2 cents :)
I completely agree on the importance of feedback in any kind of venture we take. I must say, you've really captured the whole idea of learning from your customers. Thanks a bunch for this! :)
Another great article.. thanks for posting. I agree with the above comments, it makes people (consumers) feel very important and empowered to give their opinion on something, I know I enjoy doing it...
If you are interested in reading more about marketing, please visit http://marketmpb.blogspot.com
best, mpb
I think surveys aren't "all that". First, people really don't know what they think---the famous Coke vs Pepsi taste tests show that. Pepsi always wins the blind taste test and Coke outsells them.
You know if customers are happy, they come back. Track that rate if must measure something.
In this day, unhappy customers are not shy about expressing dissatisfaction.
Most surveys are marketing gimmicks. Companies ask 'rigged' questions so they can say things like 4 out of 5 dentists recommend chewing our gum. By the way, has a dentist EVER recommended gum chewing to you?
Don't waste time or money on surveys. Work on BETTER. Improve your offering and your service constantly.
The test and measure approach is one of the best methods we have found also. By collecting this valuable type of data which is relevant to your particular industry, you can gain a much better understanding of exactly what your customer is looking for.
I beliebe it is different in different cultures.For example in Turkey people are in such a hurry, noone really has time to answer questions even if they take 5 minutes. Sometimes longer surveys with incentives are more attractive. It is important to chose the right people though. Incentives may attract people that do not really fit the expected target.
I have also found that if you have enough customers and enough data, profiling works wonders. It really is true, the more you know about your list the more you can personalize your recommendations - making your offers more relevant.
i agree with the incentive, I love doing a survey when I know I am going to get something from it.
Although I agree that customer feedback can be very valuable and very important, one should be careful when collecting information. If you as a marketer intent to address every customer and every situation personally that would be a great tool. However, all the ways to get information that you mentioned carry a very heavy risk of customer bias.
None of the ways you list above will produce a random sample of your entire customer population. The sample that you will get will be self selected at best. What this means is that you will get answers from people who are either very happy or very unhappy with your product/service. Therefore if you try to generalize this information to your entire customer base and change your business strategy based on this information, you are in for a big mistake.
Also, be careful - never make your survey too general because it will give you information that is practically unusable.
and @Chris Reich I am sorry to disagree but you are completely wrong. If you are asking the right questions a survey can make wonders to your business. Not all marketers are out there to lie to customers so please don't spread such a bad reputation.
My advice is to consult a professional researcher before you implement the survey. Make sure you ask the right questions to solve your problem. And make sure you ask the right people. Good luck.
Thanks for this. I am planning to have a customer survey however I am torn whether to do it manually or automated. Or combine it, but this article made me realize I need to push my customer survey project. More power to you.
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