Your Customers Have the Answers
Who can give you the best advice on improving your business? Your accountant,
marketing specialist or perhaps a business consultant? The truth is the best
source of ideas for building your business is free. It comes from your customers
and prospective customers. All you have to do is ask. Listen to what your customers
have to say and you will discover your strengths, weaknesses and, most importantly,
what they would like.
I know, I can hear you saying that you do listen to your customers. But which
customers do you hear? Probably those that complain because they were unhappy
with your products and/or service. At the other end of the scale, you also
hear from the customers who are your biggest fans. While the input of these
two groups is undoubtedly valuable, they make up less than 10% of your clientele
and they most certainly are not representative of the silent majority that
accounts for the bulk of your business.
The best way to find out what your customers and prospective customers think
of your business and what they want from you is to conduct a customer survey.
Excellent survey software such as Survey
Tools for Windows makes it very easy to create, run and analyze
professional quality customer surveys.
The following story illustrates the value of customer surveys. A modestly
successful retail store owner was proud of his business that offered an extensive
selection of top quality merchandise at very reasonable prices. He paid above
average wages to ensure his customers received attentive and knowledgeable
service.
After conducting a customer survey, he discovered that his customers did
not care about his extensive variety of high quality merchandise and, in fact,
wanted some less expensive options. Service was not a major consideration in
the decision to shop at his store and neither were good prices. The main reason
that people shopped at his store was its convenient downtown location and ample
free parking.
You can guess the rest. He dropped items that were not selling well and added
some lower quality lines. Prices gradually rose while his wages decreased.
All his ads now prominently mentioned his convenient location and ample free
parking. His sales increased somewhat but, most importantly, his profits tripled.
And one more thing, he now does regular customer surveys.
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