Asking for feedback from your customers is a great way to gauge how they feel about your business. It can help you make improvements when necessary, figure out how your products and services relate to consumers, and introduce new products or services on a rolling basis. Customer feedback is a truly invaluable tool for businesses. Fortunately, there are a number of different ways to figure out what your customers think about your products and services as well as why they hold that opinion.
Here are four ideas to get you started:
1. Online Surveys
Image via Flickr by Got Credit
One of the best and most popular ways to ask for feedback from your customers is through an online survey. They are easy to set up — several websites, such as SurveyMonkey and Google Forms, allow you to sign up and create a free personalized survey — and even easier to analyze. You can send a link out to your customer list or set up your website so that after purchasing a product or service, they are asked for their feedback. For the best results, it’s helpful to keep surveys short and to the point (no more than five to 10 questions) and use open-ended questions so customers can elaborate on their answers.
2. Feedback Boxes
Feedback boxes are small boxes that contain questions regarding a customer’s experience or opinion. They are typically located at either the bottom or the top of a webpage, and they tend to be just as effective as surveys, if not more, since customers are prompted to answer only a single question. While it takes customers a little extra effort to provide feedback to a business, a feedback box allows them to freely share their thoughts on the spot. It’s beneficial to make your feedback boxes as clean and simple as possible so they don’t clutter your website or intimidate customers.
3. Email Surveys
If you regularly send out emails to your customers, including a survey at the bottom of your email can often yield surprisingly good results. Be sure to keep feedback easy for the customer to complete and offer an incentive for them to fill out a survey. An example of an effective incentive might be offering 10% off their next purchase of a product or service.
4. A Handwritten Note With Their Order
If your business sells tangible products or services, sending a pre-stamped handwritten note enclosed inside of the delivery box or package is another great way to ask customers for feedback. It’s also one of many ways to say thank you. Handwrytten offers a one-of-a-kind service for businesses in which they use specialized technology to handwrite thank-you cards and notes. This service is especially useful for businesses that need to buy notes in bulk.
Regardless of how you choose to ask your customers for feedback, it’s always a good idea to do so. Your customers make up the most important part of your business, and they can ultimately determine whether or not your company will thrive.
