Get Valuable Feedback

How To Get Valuable Feedback From Your Customers

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.