Tips & Tools: Customer Surveys

Jo Ann Fore

TIP:

As we seek to develop new products and services, we must understand the voice of our customers.  To meet a need, we must first understand it. To launch a successful project, we must develop a product that people both need and are willing to pay for. Only a customer can assign practical value.

A great tool to identify and capture your customer’s voice is a survey.  As Diane Cunningham, Founder of NACWE, recommends, we need to, “allow the voice of the customer to be heard. This collective insight into customer needs, wants, perceptions, and preferences are translated into meaningful objectives that help in closing the gap between customer expectations and the firm’s offerings.”

Whether we conduct a virtual or in-person survey, offer a gift for each person that participates or enter them into a drawing. Give them a reason to share the information. Make it appealing.

TOOL:

There are many resources to help conduct a virtual survey. SurveyShare.com offers some great tips to help create an internet survey. Check them out here.

QuestionPro is another web-based service that conducts online surveys. Visit their site here.

AssessmentGenerator.com helps build not only surveys but qyuzzies and coaching forms.

Another great resource is Survey Monkey.

Regardless of whether we begin with a free or paid resource, the idea is to get started. It’s time to tune our ears to the voice of our customers–they have the answers we need.

What do you think?

What kind of information do you need? What questions do you need to ask them?

Much like a carpenter, an entrepreneur needs a toolbox. A real workhorse, filled to the brim with the essential tools to do a quality job. An easy to tote, practical, and always-on-hand toolbox.

Consider this yours. Each week, Jo Ann Fore offers practical tips and tools to help grow your business. (If you have other tools or services to suggest, please email Jo Ann at JoAnnFore@msn.com.)

Jo Ann is a freelance writer, an emotional wellness coach, and a coach for novice writers. Visit her at www.JoAnnFore.com.