Savvy big business probes for customer feedback, and so do small businesses that are intent on growing, said a company that each year helps hundreds of privately held and family-owned businesses transact mergers, acquisitions, and strategic growth initiatives.
“Small businesses don’t need to lure feedback with prizes,” Ryan Binkley explained. Clients and customers are flattered when a business cares enough to ask for a grade for its efforts.
“Customers with complaints may be too shy to let you know what’s bugging them. But if you invite them to comment, their input will help you improve your business,” Ryan Binkley said.
Compliments from one customer about how an employee helped can be a clue to how other employees should be trained. If some customers ask for a product or M & A service that you could add to your offerings, you have some fresh market data to consider.
Postal surveys work, but the reason big companies like online surveys is that they can use branching methods to get a lot of information from just a few responses. The same drilling in a printed postal survey can look daunting because all the “if... then” options have to be presented.
“KISMIF,” Ryan Binkley said. “Keep It Simple, Make It Fun. If you don’t have a sophisticated Web site, be creative with the postal mail. Keep comment cards handy at the point of sale and the point of contact with your customers. The things they like and don’t like are the best indicators you have for finding more business like theirs.”