Many businesses claim to “know” their customers. They “know” how customers like to be greeted. They “know” customers don’t mind waiting on hold for over 5 minutes. They “know” their customer’s preferred communication style – or so they think.
They “know” it all until they hire me to do an assessment. Through mystery shopper calls and visits as well as customer interviews and surveys, I’m able to present results that shocks them: unknowingly, they’ve been practicing BAD Customer service – oops! This is very common is many businesses who focus solely on profits and neglect customer service excellence.
Suggestion:
To TRULY know what your customers want and need – Just ASK!
Here are several different ways to ask for their feedback. All are effective and work well together.
1. Pick up the phone and talk to them. If you listen with an attitude of acceptance instead of defensiveness, you will find out some amazing information.
2. Hand a survey to the customer immediately after their visit. They can either mail it in or fill it out and turn it in right there and then.
3. Mail a survey. This is great for larger databases, but you will get fewer people participating.
4. Do an online survey. For some people these are easier and less time consuming.
5. Engage in social media. This is a great option especially if you have a Facebook business page.
Remember: Just because no one complains doesn’t mean they’re happy. Surveying your customers ought to be a common practice for all businesses. Your customers will feel valued and you’ll discover exactly what they want – and isn’t that the point?