Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous
You may know that it is important to include keywords in the titles, headlines and copy on your web pages. But how do you know which keywords to use?
It is a waste of time to optimize your site for terms for which no one searches.
Find out how to locate your best keywords with this free step-by-step guide: https://www.idealady.com/article/keyword
Surveys can be useful to find out what your customers are thinking and how you can better serve them. To conduct a meaningful survey, you need at least three things:
1. A survey tool. You need a way to collect responses. That might be a paper questionnaire you distribute, a telephone survey or an online survey. The right tool depends on your market. For example, because this newsletter is online, an online survey tool was the obvious choice. If you have a store or other physical location, a written or phone survey might be better.
Online tools with both free and fee versions include :
http://www.SurveyMonkey.com/
http://www.Freedback.com/
http://www.Zoomerang.com/
http://www.HostedSurvey.com/
2. Qualified respondents. If you are surveying current customers, you can simply contact those current customers with the survey and ask them to respond. Relatively few will, and they will be self-selected. That means that your results may not be repre- sentative of all of your customers. Still, you can get results that will give you insight. (FYI–about 5% of you completed the Bright Ideas survey.)
If you are surveying people who might become customers, it is helpful to qualify them in some way. You might include questions about their prior purchases of similar items, etc. Keep in mind that what people say they want and what they actually buy are two different things. (Ford learned that lesson the hard way with the Edsel.)
3. Good questions (and answers). The types of questions you ask are important. Do you want multiple choice questions, or open-ended questions where the respondent has to enter their answer? Multiple choice limits the responses to whatever you thought to include, but some respondents will not want to come up with an answer on their own.
I included a mix of question types, using multiple choice for the basic questions (such as preferred format, text or HTML) and open-ended questions where I wanted you to tell me what you liked or would change, without me leading you.
Overall, I believe that the questions solicited the feedback I wanted. If I were starting it over, one change I would make would be to add a choice or two to the question about frequency. The choices I offered were Not more than once weekly, not more than twice weekly, and three to five times weekly. I should have included monthly and bi-weekly (every two weeks). At least some of you would have chosen one of those answers. Oh well– next survey.
Spend most of the time planning the survey on creating the questions and possible answers. Involve people who can suggest any questions you may have overlooked. Give sample surveys to a few people to see what they think about the survey itself. Were the questions clearly written? Were the multiple choice answers adequate? Are there questions you should have asked them but did not?
Once you conduct your survey, use the answers to better meet customer expectations. And let them know when the changes you make are as a result of their participation in the survey. It lets them know you value their input and you really were listening. And it makes them more likely to participate in future surveys.
Want to know what is being said about you, your company, or the competition? Or just keep up with trends and developments in your industry? There is an easy and no-cost way to have news sent to your e-mail inbox.
Google provides a service called Google Alerts. You enter the terms you want to search for. When Google finds a news item web page containing your search term, it sends you an e-mail with a link to the page. Google will send the alerts daily, weekly, or as they happen.
I’ve entered my name, web site URL, and keywords and phrases that relate to my business, and receive daily alerts telling me when and where those terms appear. Entering the name of a competitor or their product can help you track what they are doing and what people are saying about them. Considering adding a new product? Set alerts for terms related to the product and its market as part of your market research.
To learn more and to sign up for your Google Alerts, go to http://google.com/alerts
One staple of market research is the focus group. Focus groups assemble several people who are current customers or members of a target market to give their opinions about current or planned products, advertising campaigns and more.
One way to conduct a do-it-yourself focus group is to create a customer advisory board. Ask a few of your customers if they would like to participate in giving their opinions of your business and how it could be better. Or ask them to evaluate products you are considering to see how they can best meet customer needs.
To encourage the most honest responses, it might be best to have a third party conduct the research. After all, your customers probably like you and wouldn’t want to tell you that they hate your new product idea. They might be more open to sharing their misgivings with a more neutral person. Who do you know who could facilitate a discussion and get your customers to open up?
Most focus groups pay participants for their opinions. You may wish to reward the customers who assist you with a cash payment, or you may give them a free product or a discount on a future order. Most people are so happy to be asked for their opinions, and to know that they will be listened to, that a payment may not be necessary.
Be prepared to hear some things that will surprise you. Don’t discard the results if they show something other than what you expected. After all, the reason you do research is to learn the truth. Can you handle the truth?
As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker helps entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. Get free marketing tips at http://www.IdeaLady.com/
Whether your business is an international retailer or a small one-person shop, what you don’t know about your customers’ perceptions of your quality and service can hurt you. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and test your business.
What do your customers experience when they interact with your business? As a mystery shopper, I help businesses see themselves through the eyes of their customers by posing as a typical customer and evaluating their service, quality and cleanliness. Was it easy to find what I needed? Were the employees polite and helpful? Was everything neat and clean? Was I thanked for my business? What happened when I made a return?
Whether your business is an international retailer or a small one-person shop, what you don’t know about your customers’ perceptions of your quality and service can hurt you. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and test your business. Depending on the characteristics of your business, you may conduct the evaluation of your business yourself, enlist the help of a few friends, or hire a mystery shopping company to implement a formal, ongoing program. You might be surprised (pleasantly or not) by what you learn.
Call your office. How long does it take to get an answer? Is there a professional greeting? What do you hear when you are put on hold? Go through the voice menus. Are any of them dead ends? How long does it take to get to a human, or at least a place where you can leave a message?
Call your order line and place an order. How long does it take to get the item? Was it packaged well and did it arrive safely? What else was in the package (e.g., a catalog, thank you note, extra gift)? Inquire about returning an item. Is the service you receive as good as that you got when you ordered? Does the customer service person try to save the sale by offering alternatives to meet your needs?
Walk through your retail location. Is merchandise attractively presented? Is everything clearly priced? Are the aisles clear so you can walk comfortably? Can a shopping cart fit? Is the rest room clean and stocked with supplies?
Go to your web site and place an order. Does your site load quickly? Is it easy to find specific products? Does the order form work? What communication does a customer receive when they place an order (e.g., an email confirmation)? Submit a question via email and see what response you receive. Are the links on your web site (internal and external) working?
You also want to know if proper sales techniques are being followed. Although a customer will never complain because your staff didn’t attempt to upsell them, your bottom line can suffer when this important step is missed. Plus, helping customers get everything they need in one stop can increase their satisfaction and loyalty. Are sales people recommending additional products and telling customers about optional services, such as a maintenance agreement? If they are not, your business is losing revenue and profit.
When you see yourself as your customers do, you can identify problems that may be costing you sales. Make it easy to do business with you and watch your profits increase!
Learn more about mystery shopping.