How To Get Valuable Feedback From Your Customers

© 2005 by Larry Dotson

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
moderator 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.

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