With the economy forcing many businesses and individuals to cut back, now is a great time to look for ways to improve. Every business has reas in need of improvement,

whether they want to admit it or not. But what sets apart a good company from a great company are the businesses that identify those areas and move to improve them. This is essential for healthy growth of a company. One way to recognize these topics is to go directly to your customer.

Surveys are a great resource and can be conducted very inexpensively. It is best to identify a specific issue you want feedback on, so you can determine your audience for the survey.

Possible customer categories:

You may want to track customers who have done business with you recently. Ask about different aspects of their experience – customer focus, pricing, product quality, etc.

Customers who have not done business with you in the past 6 months. Did they find another source? Are there services you could add to your business profile that would help drive them back? Are your prices driving them away?

Customers that only used your service once. Dive in to find out the reason they did not return. Did they only have a one-time need? Was it due to the service level they received?

There are a variety of ways to conduct a survey. Try a few different approaches to see what works best for your customer base. No matter what method you choose, it is important to explain to your customer upfront why their feedback is critical to the success of your business and your commitment to meeting your customer expectations.

A few suggested options to gather their input:

If you capture e-mail addresses, you can e-mail your customers a survey. Using a service such as SurveyMonkey.com, you can obtain up to 100 responses – free. Your customer can answer a series of questions that you have designed. Their responses can also be kept anonymous, so they can feel comfortable being candid.

Phone interviews can be beneficial. It will provide an opportunity to ask follow-up questions and get further at the root of the cause. However, if not done correctly, a customer may not feel comfortable answering honestly. It is recommended to use an outside source so the interviewee is an impartial party. You can either hire a telemarketing firm or another great option is a virtual assistant to conduct phone surveys.

If you have a location where your customers visit, you can place surveys out for them to take and mail back.

If you send out product, you can include them in the order and request that they mail it back.

Another option is to send them with your invoices.

Whatever method you use, your customers will benefit from the process, as long as you follow through with their feedback. You are also sending a message to your customers that you run a company that CARES about their customers. When it comes down to your customer comparing other companies, if all else is equal, they will most likely choose the company that puts their customer first. And in this economy, that may just make all the difference.