How To Find Out What Customers Think About Your Business
Collecting and evaluating customer feedback is necessary to help your business maintain what it’s good at, and also to identify areas that need improving.
To gain a realistic view of how customers perceive your enterprise, you must collate information from a diverse set of reliable sources. See below for recommendations;
Experience the Customer Journey
Putting yourself in the shoes of customers, from the first point of contact to the point of purchase, is an essential part of assessing what customers think about your company. It’s a primary form of research that is beneficial to cross-reference with other suggestions below.
Reviews
Reviews are the social-proof that contribute to whether a person will buy your product or service. They’re also a way to discover more about what the public thinks. Review your customer reviews regularly to decipher your businesses strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, you can begin creating a plan of action to instil new changes that’ll positively impact your business.
Check Social Media
From social media users posting videos unboxing your products, comments sections inundated with questions and opinions about your business and service. It’s always worth your companies time to see what the social sphere is saying about your product range, quality and value.
Sales Statistics
Data, once analysed, cross-referenced, and interpreted, can provide multiple opportunities to boost sales and reveal volumes about how customers view your company. The data you have for purchases online and in-store shares a perspective of what customers think about your company, the service and products you provide. Collect your data, and interpret the information you have to reveal what is working for your business.
For example, if a long-standing popular products sales have suddenly dropped over the past week, take time to assess why this might be. For instance, you can investigate whether recent changes, perhaps an alteration on your website has complicated the customer journey, and impacted customers’ ability to find what they need with ease.
Ask Customers
A simple and effective way to extract customers’ opinions is to ask people directly. Whether they’re in-store, or online, reach out, and collect information on what the public thinks. Equally conducting an online survey can also help you to answer questions about your company.
Frontline Staff
Staff who speak to a range of customers throughout the day are likely to get a first-hand experience of what people are saying about your company.
For example, customers attempting to haggle the price down could be due to the customer believing the product’s value is not worth the cost. Alternatively, perhaps the price isn’t accessible or affordable for your chosen target market. Other questions you may be able to answer by talking to your staff are;
- What are customers’ comments on the service provided?
- Has anyone mentioned what they think of the new casual workwear policy?
- How often are customers returning to the store with faulty goods?
Identify and choose the avenues for sourcing feedback that are relevant to your company. A continuous effort to seek customer thoughts is a sure way to set and keep your business on track towards prosperity.