Welcome to our summer series, Changing Things Up! It’s been a rough winter for many of us. A tumultuous economic situation tends to cause a lot of anxiety. It’s hard to know what to do next, because, “What if…?” So, in this series, we’ll look at some ideas of things you can do to give yourself a break, get some rest, and maybe gain some insight into your business.
First up is the do-it-yourself customer survey. Talking to customers doesn’t have to be just about their level of satisfaction. In fact, you can talk to customers about anything at all! Are you thinking about a new product line? Raising prices? Pulling a service? Most clients will appreciate you asking for their input. It makes them feel like part of the family and you may get some great advice.
You can make a couple of calls a day or spend a few days doing nothing else. Ask open ended questions, at least at first. Things like, “Tell me about your last purchase (or service), what was good about it and maybe could have been better.” If you ask questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no, you’ll get a lot more information.
There’s a good chance that after a few of those calls, you’ll start to see a trend or two. With that in mind, you can make the questions on the next calls more specific. Was there a certain employee involved? Was it the same product that a bunch of people weren’t happy with? Good or bad, you can start digging in.
Be sure to introduce yourself as the owner or a senior official with your company and start with your longer-term customers. If nothing else, you’ll demonstrate that you care about them, and it will be a change of pace for you.
