How do I incentivize customers to provide feedback?
I am in the early stages and would like to get customer feedback. I am not sure what is the best method to use to get the most valuable feedback, survey, interviews or something else? And how do I incentivize people to take the time to provide feedback?
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Jan 26, 2016
I do surveys for a client of mine who's a business coach. We use Survey Monkey. If your tech savvy, it's pretty easy to use. I would recommend that you pull at their heart strings, and tell them how valuable their feedback is and how much you appreciate their business. Pick the top 5 questions you want to know. You want your survey to be short, sweet and to the point (so to speak). Not too wordy. Have a comment section after each question, in case they are willing to provide a comment, but don't make it required. In the beginning, make sure you let them know the survey is only 5 questions and very quick to complete. Just a few thoughts for you to keep in mind. Good luck!
Jan 20, 2016
I send my customers an email with the link to give reviews. Such as Yelp, Angie's List, Google. They may not all oblige, but it seems the most effortless way to try.
I also have a link for the review sites on my website.
Jan 13, 2016
Do you have any data that would help to define what influences your customer behavior? Buyer behaviors provide interesting information that can be applied to understanding why they are your customer. Is there enough data to show trends and spikes and can you relate the spikes to events such as: economic, weather, time of year (holiday and/or birthdays), and etc.
Jan 13, 2016
For customer feedback, I always had success with a survey and a $2.00 Thomas Jefferson Bill attached......It is unique, different and most will answer because of the uniqueness.....
Jan 13, 2016
Surveys in my opinion are the best way to go as you can target a larger audience in one time, as opposed to interviewing each client one by one. (Ignore that if you only had one client last year, because then you should just pick up the phone and call).
Survey Monkey and other services start at free. (however the free options usually will advertise their own service to your clients at the end. ) Paid options usually don't.
In order to get the most valuable feedback (useful to improving certain specific areas of your business), you need to setup the questions properly in order to get the detailed answers that you need. The basic "What do you think of our service" type questions, or the standard "rate our service" 1 to 5 stars, will not help you improve. A client will either say that your service is great, ho hum, or it suck's, and the larger your audience, the broader the responses.
Therefore you'll need to dig down into the details of your clients transactions with you in order to get specif answers. "How did you hear about us, what did you think of our pitch, did you have any issues when purchasing, did our Escort arrive on time," these type of questions may give you more insight.
Regarding incentivizing, you could just send out a survey and measure the results. Some people just like to help and will do a longer survey for free. Having said that, If your clients value their time and their 10 / 30 minutes is worth $100+ and they are not in the mood to fill out a survey for free, then you will need to do either a draw for $x gift card or other... Or perhaps a discount to all on their next purchase.
Jan 13, 2016
you can do it through a survey or ask them directly and if they ask why should i help you say that you want to make the product better
Jan 13, 2016
Ask and you shall receive. Dry questions get dry answers. Open questions get too varied an answer and often makes you focus on the most extreme. Talk to people, and after getting their permission first make your first question, "Would you be comfortable giving me bad news if it's really how you feel?" Remember that customer feedback is like the old Diving scoring, you throw out the high and throw out the low and recognize the truth is usually in the middle.
Jan 13, 2016
You do NOT have to provide an incentive. Just have a conversation. People are glad to share their advice as long as you don't try to sell them anything. The key is to truly listen to what they're sharing.
Jan 13, 2016
Qhat I do when I do a job for people is I send them a survey a few days later asking them of there satisfaction andnif they would consider using my services again and there likelihood of recommendation to others.
Jason
Jan 13, 2016
My suggestion would be to train all of your employees on this idea and offer them a bonus for getting there own feedback, add me to your facebook or skype and we can discuss this further and more in depth, I do not want to get car pull tunnel as there are some many ways to achieve this.
Scott
Jan 13, 2016
Hi Daniel,
Giving people an opportunity to speak their mind is in itself an incentive and instill self confidence in them.
As far as the medium of feedback is concerned , simple survey questionnaire is an excellent tool.
Even one to one discussion with customers and taking notes on established questions beforehand is also very useful.
Online tools like polling etc. are easily available these days on internet , they can also be used.
Retail outlets of various brands or banks operating in the vicinity can also be engaged to get feedback on a joint promotional activity.
Various business forums and chambers are also very helpful in these areas.
Telemarketing and data collection is also a good tool.
But in my opinion a focused business development strategy combined with an objective to get customer feedback also is the best tool. This will not derail your business objectives and keep the business risk taking streak also alive .
Best Of Luck,
Zafar
647-818-8550
North York, Canada
Jan 13, 2016
Give them something for their feedback e.g. gift card, extra discount on their next purchase, membership in your key customer program. You must have other examples from companies that have asked you for your feedback/input - what did they offer? Why did you respond?
Jan 13, 2016
Daniel,
You don’t mention what business you are in and who your customers are. If you sell commodity products to consumers then you’ll probably need to use a survey and offer some incentive. If, on the other hand, you have an on-going relationship with enterprise customers, then getting feedback is much easier and a natural part of the process, especially since you are an early stage business. In any case, key to effective feedback is showing you actually listen, not dismiss any feedback, act on what’s appropriate and communicate those actions.
Jan 13, 2016
Hi Daniel,
Congratulations on getting this far with your business idea.
Am assuming you have already tested the hypothesis and you now want to validate your idea.
Here are s few suggestions to get you started...
Any of the above methods are useful and even more so if used in conbination - depending on the customer type(s).
Interviews are great but be careful as people have very limited time and (the incentive has to be worth their while) as such you can save a lot of time and effort by targeting your research.
Surveys are helpful but have to intuitive and measurable.
1. What is it you want from your audience?
2. What data do you want to derive from the survey/interview.
3. What assurances do you give your audiences in exchange for the data they share with you?
4. How do you intend to keep the conversation going post the survey etc.
As for incentives, it could range from free offers (from your business), some inexpensive promotional offers, first-2-sample or some kind of (buy-in) loyalty programme.
Hope this helps and feel free to connect 8f i can be of further help.
Best of luck
Jan 13, 2016
I agree with Stacey and Dan.
Surveys work well. look at Survey Monkey.
You should give a gift ( how much it is worth is not the issue) for any referral that turns into a customer/client. Gifts that they will remember- Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks gift cards (since they are close to where most people work or live), some treats, or flowers along with a note saying thanks. Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks both have gifting programs and cards can have your logo on it.
Jan 13, 2016
I don't think you need to offer any incentives, just need to ask them. I would make it really easy for them though (ie. a simple form to fill out or check off). The key is to do this consistently and make it easy.
Jan 13, 2016
I am in a service industry and I find the best way to get feedback is face-to-face. When I take the time to meet with the customer, it tells them that I am sincere in my desire for their honest feedback. Face-to-face also allows me to read body language, ask follow up questions, and drill down on an issue.
Jan 13, 2016
I like Stacey Mayo's suggestions and would add something along the lines of a contest/giveaway where they go to a landing page, fill out a brief survey and submit.
Also, if you work up some kind of award for referrals in addition to feedback you could have some slightly warmer leads to go after.
Good luck!
Jan 13, 2016
You can do a number of things. Here are 2 I like to use:
1) If people give you verbal feedback, then type it out, email it to them and ask them if you can use it as a testimonial. Give them the leeway to make changes to it.
2). You can also incent people to provide testimonials by providing a gift they will love. Make sure it is something that is easy for you to give away and does not take a lot of your time.
I find both of these work really well.
I think David has made a great point.