At Outsource2Us, we believe customers are the most important part of a business, so ensure you hear what they have to say.
The crux of any business is it’s customers, after all, they are the ones giving their hard-earned money to you. Businesses that focus on their customers are far more likely to reach successful returns every year, which is why seeking out customer feedback is one of the most important things a business can do.
How to survey your customers
One way to approach customer feedback is via surveys. Customer surveys should be quick and snappy and get right to the point; what do your customers like about your product. This type of customer feedback is straightforward and paints a clear picture of not only what the customers want, but how you can improve your business, and most importantly why they want to buy from you. A survey can really crack open the relationship between your business and your customers, giving you insight into what your business is doing right and where you can improve.
Customer surveys can be approached in many ways, however, according to the National Business Research Institute Inc [US] the most optimised form of survey is an online survey. All that is required for this type of survey is a simple and inoffensive email to the customer and only requires a few short, typed answers to get the customer feedback you need (NBRII, 2019). One easy and cost-effective way to conduct an online survey is through SurveyMonkey, a very low-cost subscription-based survey platform that allows for easy and effective customer feedback at any time. If your business can spare the time and budget, or if you only have a small customer base, phone or face-to-face customer interviews are absolutely the best way to connect with your customer and gain very valuable customer feedback while also building invaluable rapport with those customers.
Will customers really take my survey?
One of the greater worries about customer surveys is whether the customer will actually respond to your call to action, or whether you’ll be left with nothing to show at the end of the day. A general consensus is that a survey needs to be short, sharp and relevant, otherwise the customer won’t find the time to complete your survey, lacking any kind of extra incentive. Even with an optimised survey, you should only expect about 5% of those to come back with a response, which is plenty enough to give you a real idea on your customers’ thoughts. However, if your business can implement a small incentive such as a draw for a gift voucher or a small discount for the next time the customer does business with you, this will effectively boost the responses from your customers.
Using customer feedback
The next step to implementing customer feedback is to plan your business accordingly. Move forward with a plan to entice the customer to continue or even increase correspondence and sales with you. This is just one step on the road to effective engagement with your customers, however, it is an integral part of maintaining and growing the relationship. By understanding what the customer truly likes about your products or services you can tailor your business practices to suit the customer and keep them coming back, after all, the best kind of customer is one that comes back.
