In business, your customers matter. The people who use your services and rely on your products are crucial to your business. They build relationships with your brand, making them essential elements of your day-to-day operations.
As a small business, you have the opportunity to get to know your customers personally. You can speak to them face-to-face and create meaningful connections every day. However, this may not be so easy as your business grows.
As you move from small business to medium and large, the distance between you and your customer base also grows. Larger businesses typically face higher demands. This often leads to less time and fewer opportunities for direct, hands-on interaction with customers.
For example, with a single storefront, owners and managers have a chance to work directly with the public. As you add more locations, management shifts to a high-level, hands-off approach. This change reduces the time available for the informal meetings and greetings that contributed to your early success.
Without the time or resources to keep engaging with your customers and gathering their feedback, you might feel somewhat stifled. The lack of direct communication can limit your understanding of their needs and opinions. The right approach to surveys, however, can change this. In-the-moment surveys can give you the insight necessary to help your business succeed.
Uncovering Opportunities for in the Moment Customer Feedback
Surveys come in various forms and functions. Many companies rely heavily on annual feedback surveys. They aim to gather input from as many people as possible and do so as quickly as they can. Many companies rely heavily on annual feedback surveys. They aim to gather input from as many people as possible and do so as quickly as they can.
However, this model has a notable downside: timeliness.
An annual survey occurs only once a year. This means you miss out on the immediate impressions and fresh insights that face-to-face conversations used to provide. Nearly all the answers you receive will seem detached and distant, eliminating the immediate feelings that follow an exchange.
Don’t abandon these types of annual studies. Add to your feedback arsenal to capture real-time customer feelings and insights.
Here’s what you can do to get feedback quickly, efficiently, and effectively. Incorporate these feedback opportunities into your business plan. Doing so will help you recreate the close customer relationships that fueled your initial growth.
Collecting Feedback in Face-to-Face Requests
You don’t have to structure or regiment feedback requests. Every time a member of your team speaks with a customer, you have a chance to collect ideas. This ranges from complaints that an inventory item is out of stock to appreciation for help that goes above and beyond.
Each interaction offers a chance to assess how customers feel. A simple question like “Is there anything else you need?” can lead to a productive conversation.
Instead of letting these moments pass by, provide a way for all of your staff to document them. A survey accessible only to staff members is an excellent method for gathering feedback from every level of the business. Using open text analysis, you can generate reports that organize and identify response trends..
Then, incorporate the commentary you receive into your strategy. In the big picture, even the smallest comments can offer you insight into the customer experience.
Mastering the Exit Intent Survey
Have you ever encountered a pop-up on a website requesting answers to a few short questions? This is an exit intent survey, and it’s a great way to capture thoughts from visitors. These pop-ups ask customers to answer a few questions when they exit. Closing out of the site triggers a short survey in a new tab.
This concept works well for several reasons. It lets customers share instant impressions of your website, offering valuable insights otherwise inaccessible. Additionally, it helps you understand why site visitors didn’t complete a call to action. You can use this information to improve your processes.
The number one thing to remember with exit intent surveys is to keep them short! Your visitors are leaving your site to move on to their next project. Respect their time and they will happily give you the feedback you need.
Timing Email Surveys for Customer Feedback
A customer made a purchase with you and didn’t request a return or a refund. That must mean they loved your product, right?
Maybe. Maybe not.
A customer’s decision to make a purchase doesn’t always reflect their overall satisfaction. Many customers, especially those shopping online, don’t make frequent returns. Rather than interpreting action as a reaction, reach out.
Send an email a few days to a week after a purchase to ask for feedback. Time this email to give your customers time to use products or ruminate on services before you collect an opinion.
How much time should you leave between purchase and initial email send? It varies. Someone might wear a new pair of jeans with in a few days for example. However, a home automation gadget may require a week or more to explore all its features.
Take advantage of simplicity, offering a star rating system or a one to 10 scale to facilitate responses without demanding too much. We love the Net Promoter Score‘s simplicity for respondents and ease of implementation for you.
Implementing Post-Purchase Follow-Up Surveys
Instead of simply saying “thank you,” give your customers a chance to sound off about their experience.
Don’t get too wordy. Your customers have already invested time in shopping with you. Instead, focus on a few key criteria and ask for their opinions.
Designing Mobile First Customer Feedback Surveys
With the rise of mobile devices, an increasing number of consumers are conducting business from their phones. This includes activities like shopping, subscribing, and enrolling. As such, mobile targeting can be a great investment, offering an easy way to gather feedback in the moment.
If you have a mobile app or have noticed increased activity on your mobile site, consider investing in mobile-specific surveys. They could provide valuable insights.
Mobile surveys can take numerous forms, including pop-ups, push notifications on apps, and post-transactional opportunities. How you approach this will depend on your business. Targeting customers based on their experiences with your mobile site, satisfaction with your mobile app, or interactions with mobile-oriented services can help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your mobile strategy.
To make sure your surveys are mobile-ready, test your surveys on multiple devices – like tablets and mobile phones – as well as on your desktop.
Making Surveys Work for You
Surveys aren’t perfect, but they can do wonders to provide the one-on-one customer input you may lose as your business grows.
When incorporated appropriately into your outreach strategies, you can instantly interpret customer reactions to make better, more productive business decisions.
Surveys offer a glimpse into your customers’ minds. By using them, you can stay updated on customer opinions, regardless of how large your company grows.
