How To Get Valuable Feedback From Your Customers
You can learn many things you didn't know about your business by
getting valuable feedback from your customers. Your customers
may buy your main product just to get the free gifts. Your
visitors may think it's to hard to navigate through your web
site. By knowing this type of important information you can
improve your web site, products/services, advertising, and
marketing. Below are nine techniques you can use to get valuable
feedback from your customers. -Use surveys and questionnaires
regularly to improve your business. Publish them on your web
site, e-zine, print newsletter, direct mail material, include
them with product shipments or inside product packages. Post
them on appropriate online message boards, e-mail discussion
lists and newsgroups on the internet. -Create an online
community for your customers. Include a chat room, message
board, e-mail discussion list on your site for customers to
participate in. You can regularly moderate these communities to
see what your customers are saying about your business. -Give
away your products to a group of your customers. Ask them to use
and review the product. Ask them to fill out an evaluation form
and send it back. Some customers may fill them out, some may
not, but the feedback you do get will be valuable.
-Offer your web site visitors an online product or service from
your web site at no cost. It could be an ebook, search engine
submission, consulting via e-mail, web design, etc. In return,
ask them to fill out a short survey about your web site,
products or services you're selling, customer service, or your
web site.
-Create a customer focus group. Invite ten to twenty of your
most loyal customers to meet regularly. They will give you ideas
and input on how to improve your customer service. You could pay
them, take them out to dinner or give them free products.
-Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Offer them a
free e-zine subscription. Ask customers if they want to be
updated by e-mail when you make changes to your Web site. After
every sale, follow-up with the customer to see if they are
satisfied with their purchase.
-Make it easy for your customers to contact you. Offer as many
contact methods as possible. Allow customers to contact you by
e-mail. Hyperlink your e-mail address so customers won't have to
type it. Offer toll free numbers for phone and fax contacts.
This will make it easy for your customers to voice their
opinions. -You could regularly contact customers on birthdays or
holidays. Send thank you gifts to lifetime customers. E-mail
them online greeting cards on holidays or birthdays. Call them
personally to wish them a happy holiday. You could them
follow-up with a survey or ask them if they're happy with your
business.
-Invite your customers to company meetings, luncheons, workshops
or seminars. Create special events for your customers like
parties, barbecue's, dances etc. Make a point for yourself and
your employees to interact with them at these event to get
valuable feedback for your business. You could use a couple or
all of the techniques listed above to get valuable customer
feedback. These aren't the only ways, be creative and come up
with some of your own.