subject: You Need Your Customers - So Act Like It! [print this page] If your company relies on customers to make money (hint: it does), you should be doing everything in your power to figure out exactly what your customers want. Receiving feedback from customers about the business you've grown can be difficult, but the effort you put into learning about your customers will be rewarded with happier customers, increased profits, and a more stable, profitable business all around.
Most customers don't bother complaining when they are disappointed with a business' products or services, they just leave. It's critical to ask for your customer's feedback while you have their attention. Surveys are a great way to get constructive, anonymous feedback from your customers. The only problem with surveys is that they frequently go ignored. Consider offering an incentive like free shipping or a raffle entry when customers complete your survey to increase your response.
You can find out a lot of information about your customers with some simple web research. Find out where your customers gather on the internet - Twitter, Yelp, and Facebook are great places to get feedback about your business and to stay connected with your customers. Also, try researching your competitors. See what you can find out about your competitors customers and why they shop where they do.
If any of your employees deal with customers frequently, they will have a much better idea than you will about your customer's reactions to different products and policies. Ask them for advice and listen to them when they do.
The most honest form of feedback your customers give you is their purchase. Pay attention to sales numbers, page visits, and what customers buy and what they ignore. This will give you an accurate, if basic, reading of what your customers like about you and what you should offer more of.
When your customers take the time to give you their feedback, act on it. If you can find ways to feasibly incorporate customer suggestions into your business plan, do it. This is the whole point of gathering customer feedback in the first place. Making changes to the way you do business isn't always easy, but it almost always provides positive results in sales and customer satisfaction.
If you are going to the trouble to make the changes your customers ask for, tell them! If you can position yourself as the company that actually listens to it's customers, they will reward you with continued feedback and continued business.
