Customer service is a key ingredient for any company. Knowing how to improve yours is often dependent upon the quality of feedback you receive. Here are a few tactics for gathering client viewpoints that can be used to improve your business.

Written Feedback Gathering

Leave your survey in easily accessible areas. Make certain forms are secured in place and have clear instructions regarding where they should be delivered once complete. Place one in each bagged purchase and give away free pens emblazoned with your branding as a way of showing appreciation for filling one out.

Keep questionnaires short and simple. Completing one should never exceed five minutes. Use a numbering system to make them quicker. Limit questions to those that most need to be answered and confine your form to one page. Be certain to use a clear, large-type font that is easily readable. 

Give discounts to every individual who completes your survey or use finished forms as raffle tickets. Take care that the incentive you offer is not so great that customers are likely to enter false information in an attempt to take advantage of your offer.

Interpersonal Feedback Gathering 

Every customer chat is an opportunity to get inside that person’s head. Talk with everyone and identify what makes them tick. Form an interpersonal bond before presenting patrons with serious questions regarding ways in which your services could be enhanced. Preface questions with a brief, no-pressure disclaimer. State that you value their patronage and want to improve their experience. Request honesty and assure that your reaction will be respectful, no matter how harsh their critique is. 

Follow-Up Feedback Gathering 

Reconnect with patrons who provide their opinions. Make sure surveys have fields for contact information and directly ask in-store buyers for this data. Request permission for getting back in touch, taking particular care to inquire regarding their preference for how you should do so. When responding to feedback, state that you appreciate their concerns and provide specifics regarding changes being made because of their observations. Invite dissatisfied clients to retry your services and then provide you with an assessment regarding the effectiveness of your improvements.

No company survives without consumers and the quality of their experience is vital to continued success. Gathering insights from one’s client base can help any operation stay poised to last. Use these guidelines to collect customer opinions that point the way toward creating a better business venture.