Customer feedback is crucial to the success of any business. Knowing what your customers think will help you improve on areas where your business needs improvement. If you want to receive honest customer feedback, then you need to provide various ways for your customers to express their opinions freely. Customer satisfaction is paramount in having a successful business, and for that, you need to know what customers think about your product or service.

Here’s how you can get their Opinions:

1. Setup a Suggestions Box 

This might seem old school, but it definitely works! It has helped many business owners achieve grow a successful business. Have a suggestion box and a short evaluation form will help you encourage customers to rate your business. For instance, if you own a restaurant, place a couple of forms and pens on each table so that customers can conveniently answer the evaluation forms. The moment they like or dislike something, they can quickly list it down and drop it in the suggestion box after their meal.

2. Directly Ask Your Customers What they Think

If you want to have a successful business, then you shouldn’t be afraid to ask customer what they think. The best way to get an honest feedback is by asking them about your product or service after they have made a purchase. For instance, if you own a dress shop, ask them about the service they received when they are checking out. Were your employees helpful enough? Did they get everything they need? Asking your customers directly after their experience with your business will enable them to give you an honest and up-to-date feedback. More importantly, you can use this feedback to coach your employees, and they won’t even be able to deny how they performed because the events are very recent.

3. Consider Snail Mail

Although snail mail isn’t as common anymore because of the popularity of the Internet, sending surveys and feedback cards through postal service is still effective. This is another traditional way of getting feedback from customers. The good thing about using this method is that you will be able to add a personal touch to it, which will entice customers to take the feedback seriously. Consider including a gift card or a personal note, that will encourage your customers to respond and help you in establishing a successful business.

4. Have a Customer Feedback Form Online

More and more businesses are using the Internet as a tool to promote their business. That said, you could also use your website or fan page to obtain customer feedback. You can easily add a feedback form on your site and offer an incentive to encourage customers to fill it up. To make it easier for you, you can consider using online programs that offer ready-made feedback forms that you can incorporate into your webpage. You can check out GetSatisfaction, KISSinsights, Zoomerang, Usabillla, QHub, IdeaScale, and CrowdSound. All these programs and software offers tools for customer feedback and allows you to easily keep track of responses. This way, you can easily analyze what majority of people think about your business and incorporate the changes into your business plan. 

If you want to have a successful business, then you need to make an effort to gather honest customer feedback. The only way to know if you are popular amongst your consumers is by asking for their opinion. Of course, getting their opinions is just the first step. The next step is to take action to make the necessary changes with your business. Making use of the different ways to obtain customer feedback will enable you to develop customer relationships, which will also help you improve your business.