How To Find Out What Your Customers Want – Marketing Blog

How To Find Out What Your Customers Want

Every business worth its salt knows that customers are its lifeblood. Without customers, no money comes in, and the doors close. Understanding what customers want and delivering what they need is such a basic concept that just about everyone gets it.

Right?

Wrong!

Far too many businesses make the fatal flaw of assuming their customers will tell them when something is not as it should be. While it is true many consumers will take the time to do so, they are in the minority. Most of the time, the disappointed customer will simply take his or her business elsewhere. This means lost opportunities to not only make a customer happy, but also the loss of one of your most important sales tools – word of mouth.

BEING PROACTIVE RATHER THAN REACTIVE

One of the ways to break out of this trap is to change your attitude from reactive to proactive. That is, rather than hoping and waiting for customers to tell you what they think, go out there and find out for yourself.

There are a number of tools you can use to reach out to customers and find out what is on their minds. Here are some ideas:

• Look for reviews of your products online. Sites like Amazon.com and others allow consumers to rate and review all sorts of products. You can get some great feedback from these sites, including what consumers do and don’t like.
• Talk to your customers. Call them now and then to check on how things are going. Ask them pointedly what they think of your products. Ask them what you can do better. Above all, listen to the responses.
• Take a survey. Some people will open up in a phone conversation. Others will cut loose by responding to a survey. Make the survey quick and easy to do, but always allow room for customers to write in details if they choose.
• Offer incentives. If you have a customer who buys a hundred widgets each month, ask that customer to try one of your new widgets and evaluate it. As an incentive, offer a discount on their next order of widgets. You’ll get honest answers and also build another bridge in customer loyalty.

IT’S YOUR CALL

What it boils down to is deciding just what type of customer care ethic your company really has. Do you see customers as marks whose sole purpose is to buy product? Or do you see them as valuable resources that can help you enhance a good thing? How you answer those questions will tell you a lot about the future of your company.

So what will it be? Keep the status quo and ride it out till the last customer drifts away? Or be proactive and engage your current customers in helping you prepare for the future and keep the company moving forward?

You decide.

For more information on this and other important aspects of managing a company, visit us at Marketing Online Blog. You’ll find lots of helpful articles and other data that can make all the difference in how well you make use of company resources.