Starting a Business | SEO & Google

Customer Satisfaction Research

Customers can be annoying, needy and very time consuming, but without them you would not have a business. Are you nurturing your customers?

The best people to judge how well your business is performing are those whom you are selling to. Take a deep breath and start proactively interacting with your customers.

Always keep questionnaires and correspondence to customers polite and well written, and answer their questions fully - you don't want your rude letters to be shown for all to see on some tough-talking consumer affairs programme on TV!

Many businesses deal with dissatisfied customers reactively - nothing happens until the complaint comes that orders have not been received, the product was faulty or the wrong item was received. Customers get upset if they perceive the staff to be rude or the service they receive to be less than satisfactory. The situation is usually dealt with and everyone concerned is happy for a very short period of time.

All of this additional customer contact time, whether it is additional phone calls, emails or full-blown rows in the shop or office, is valuable time when you or your staff are not getting on with the job.

It is much better to pre-empt your customers and ask them for ways that you could improve your business. Make their experience in dealing with you more problem-free and even fun.

A QUESTION FOR YOU

When it comes to airing views, customers are often happy to give positive feedback as much as negative comments. The trick is devising a system that will coax the information out of them. But before you can start sending questionnaires to your customers, you need to know what it is you are asking. When approaching customers for feedback, be as specific as possible. Asking customers or clients whether they like your business will result in very bizarre answers, and although you will be happy that Mrs Dwyer thinks the young girl on reception is wonderful because she has the same colour eyes as her daughter, you have only succeeded in wasting everybody's time. Be clear what it is you are assessing. How satisfied are you with the service you receive from us? How satisfied are you with our pricing? Allow users to mark you out of 5 and also allow for extra comments at the end of the questionnaire. Try not to ask more than seven questions if you are not compensating clients for their time.

Create a questionnaire to gauge customers' opinion of your selection of stock. As this is probably the showpiece of the business, it's a good place to start. Your questions should not focus on the aesthetics such as the quality of your racking or shop fitting (although one question of this type is fine). Most questions should be focused on the selection or ability to find the products they require, quickly and easily. Include space for customers to include their own comments and leave them with the question: 'If I could change one thing about this business it would be.'

The answers will be varied and strange, but depending on the size of your cross section you will probably end up with over ten alterations that need to be made to the layout of the shop or warehouse. These answers are coming straight from your clients. Their reactions are real, if sometimes odd, and they will help give you an insight into who users are and why.


Custom Search