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Get to Know Your Customers

Getting to know our customers is important. We would like to meet each customer personally. In most cases, that’s just not possible; but you can get to know them. Make yourself accessible to your customer. Make sure your contact information is easily found through a link on each of your web pages. Conduct a survey.

 

You can learn a lot about your customers through a simple survey. You can gain general demographic information on your customers and potential customers. Before you invest time and money into developing new products, you can gather feedback from your customers and see if this is a product worth developing. You can get opinions on your customer service, your products, and your advertising.  

 

There are lots of ways to do customer surveys: phone, mail, email, and website. With each of these there are pros and cons. The easiest and likely the most effective way to do a survey is by posting it on your website. Your customers don’t feel pressured to supply information, they can take their time in completing the survey, and you’re able to reach not only current customers but potential customers who view your website.

 

Regardless of how you decide to conduct a survey, these tips can help you to create an affective market research tool.

 

1. Before beginning, decide what you’re trying to accomplish with this survey. Keep this in mind as you’re formulating your survey questions.
2. Keep the survey short. In most cases, no more than ten questions.
3. Keep to the topic. Remember what you’re trying to accomplish.
4. Keep it simple. Don’t ask detailed questions. Make sure the questions are clear and understandable.
5. Ask only one question at a time (don’t combine questions).
6. Make each question voluntary. You may lose respondents by making questions mandatory.
7. Make sure the question format is appropriate for each question (single answer, multiple choice, open-ended comments).
8. Always thank your customer for their valuable feedback.

 

Once you’ve conducted your survey, put the information to use. Take your customer’s opinions seriously and use the information provided to improve your business and your products.  

 

Don’t forget to sign up for the PRMama Newsletter and enter the contest for a free ad in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

 

Laura Fox

Marketing Director

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC

www.TheHomeSchoolMagazine.com

 

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