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Toolkit for success: Customer feedback
 It's
a truism for almost any business: You will hear from customers only
when something goes wrong.
It might be less true for a fast food restaurant on
Interstate 95 that caters to travelers -- its customers come and
quickly go, probably forever.
Most businesses, however, covet repeat customers.
Another business truism holds that 70 percent of your business comes
from 20 percent of your customers. Those numbers may not be exact,
but the principle is correct.
Listen to your customers
Customers offer valuable knowledge about the quality of your service
or product, your advertising, your staff and whether their needs
are being met. It's worthwhile to hear it -- even when the answers
you get make you flinch.
Customer
surveys are the time-honored way to gather those answers. These
surveys can be plain or fancy, and can cost several thousand dollars
if outside specialists are called for help. Here, however, we will
consider three simple tactics for measuring success through your
customers -- face-to-face contact, postcard surveys and incentive
advertising.
Face-to-face contact
Through signs posted on your premises and employee training, encourage
customers to speak up if something needs improvement. You may get
an earful, but you'll get a handle on the problems customers see,
too.
One result may surprise you: There will be a pickup
in compliments. Customers encouraged to communicate their problems
are also more likely to note the good things, too.
Postcards
Postcard surveys let customers express themselves anonymously, so
they'll be freer to say something they might not say to your face.
Naturally, you will need to get the card in their
hands. Hotels and restaurants have been doing it for years -- they
simply slip one into the room or into your bill.
You can do the same at any point-of-service exchange,
however. If you have a walk-in business, for example, hand out postcards
when conducting the transaction.
Make sure it is postage-paid. If they have to pay
postage to tell you what they think, you won't be picking up very
much mail.
On the survey, ask simple questions about the customer's
satisfaction with your product or service. Through your questions,
examine the different moments of the transaction. How was the shopping
experience? How was the buying experience? Did your product continue
to work as promised? How was the service? Ask also for suggestions
on improving their buying experience and anything else you deem
relevant to your type of business.
Don't ask for a name, address or phone number. Many
people don't want to be identified if they have something bad to
say.
Coupons
While other forms of feedback tell you what customers think, coupons
help you figure out where they are.
As part of your advertising campaign, add discount
coupons in the community newspaper. For radio campaigns, have the
host say, "Tell them Johnny sent you and you'll get a 10 percent
discount."
If the newspaper coupon works in the community paper
that serves one neighborhood, you know that's where your customers
live. And if hear "Johnny sent me" a lot, you know they listen to
Johnny.
Knowing what your customers read and listen to will
help you more precisely target your future advertising campaigns.
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