Happy customers are loyal customers. Loyal customers are repeat customers. They will continue to purchase your products and services again and again. They will also refer to you their friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. As you can see, repeat customers can make or break your organization. Do you know if your customers are happy with you? How do you know?
To discover the easy answers to these two questions, click here to view my video titled “How to Ask if the Customer Is Happy With the Work We Did.”
Feedback is crucial. You must, therefore, make it a point to ask your customers how they feel about you. Don’t wait to talk to your customers when they are already having a problem with you. You need to stay connected to them by asking how you are doing. And you need to do it on a regular basis. Don’t assume that your customers are happy and loyal to you, especially if you don’t hear from them regularly.
Remember, the number one reason for complaints is unmet expectations. If you don’t know what your customers expect of you, you won’t know how to keep them happy and coming back to you. And, it’s easy to get feedback from them. You have at your disposal a wide variety of formats to ask your customers for feedback. These formats include the following:
- Face-to-face
- Focus groups
- Surveys
- Telephone calls
Choose any one or a combination of methods to find out exactly how your customers feel about you. And most importantly, LISTEN carefully to what they are saying. It’s not just a matter of asking the right questions, but also actively listening to the answers you receive. This allows you to formulate a plan of action to correct any problems.
In my video, I discuss 5 must-ask questions that are important to finding out exactly how your customers feel about you. Recapped from my video, the 5 questions are:
- What made you decide to choose our business over other businesses?
- What can we do better than other businesses?
- How can we improve the experience you have with us?
- Do you refer us to others? Why?
- What other companies do you refer to your friends?
When you uncover the answers to these questions, you’ll discover the secret to creating happy, loyal customers.
Strategies that Turn It Around:
- Use one or a combination of feedback formats to survey your clients. Know what is working in your organization and what is failing miserably.
- Share your results with the appropriate personnel in your organization and develop a plan of action.
- Implement, monitor, and refine new processes and procedures as needed and often to ensure you are meeting your customers’ expectations.
Remember: by knowing what your customers’ expectations are, you are more likely to meet and exceed those expectations, thus creating happy and loyal customers.
Do you ask customers how you are doing? If so, which methods have you used? Please share your experiences in getting customers’ feedback in the comments section below. Thank you!