Every business owner knows that great customer service is the key to success. Offering outstanding customer service can create a cycle that will bring you endless revenue: make your customers happy, and leads will continue to flow in because of the excellent reputation given to you by those happy customers. And the opposite is also true: if you fail to provide great customer service, you will struggle to grow your business. But how exactly will you know if your customers are happy, or what areas you need to improve on so you can provide the best service possible? The best way to gain knowledge about your clients so you can deliver the best possible customer service is to use customer surveys.
How To Create A Useful Survey
When creating a survey, the first thing you need to do is make sure it is concise and focused enough that it will give you a snapshot of exactly what your customers are looking for from your business. So to build a useful survey, you should:
Clearly define the purpose of your survey– What is it exactly that you want to find out? For example: do you want to get an idea of how satisfied customers are with your service and your products, how likely they are to do business with you again, or what other products they are interested in learning more about?
Keep the survey short– Studies have shown that shorter surveys have better response rates. Remember, most people don’t want to sit down and fill out a survey for 10 minutes or more.
Let customers know how long the survey will take– Make sure you let your customers know just how short the survey is because this will make them more likely to complete it. For example, point out that the survey will take less than a minute of their time, so they will be more inclined to fill it out.
Keep the questions simple– Make your questions as specific and direct as possible, and avoid using any jargon or abbreviations that people will not understand. Try to use yes or no, multiple-choice, or rating scale questions to keep things simple.
Use incentives to encourage people to take your survey– Offering a small gift card or other incentives to entice people to take the time to answer your survey can work wonders, just make sure that you abide by the rules of your specific state.
How To Implement Customer Surveys
Once you have created your customer survey, it’s time to put it into action. Surveys can be mailed out to customers and prospects, or given in person, over the phone, or in an email newsletter. Once you have decided how you want to deliver the survey, the next step is to get them to your customers. If you choose to conduct the survey online, there are services out there that you can use to make it easier to collect the information and review it. These services include:
Survey Monkey– Free for up to 100 responses per survey.
SoGoSurvey– Free end-to-end survey design, distribution, and analysis platform.
Survey Gizmo– Has a monthly fee, but no limit to the number of surveys.
Constant Contact– This email marketing tool also has a survey tool. There is a fee for this service.
Once you have created a survey and distributed it, make sure to analyze each survey that you receive back from customers and prospects. Address any complaints or concerns, and respond to as many comments as you can (even the positive ones). Analyzing each and every response that you receive will help you get a better understanding of where your business stands, will help you see things through your customers’ eyes, and will show you where you can really grow your business.
If you are looking to grow your business, Benepath can help! We offer exclusive leads who are ready to buy, all you have to do is tell us when you are available to work with them. Benepath will provide you with better tools, more guidance, unsurpassed sales training, and techniques from the most successful agents and trainers in the industry, not to mention the best leads available. To get more information, fill out the form above, or call 866-368-0377.
