Innovative Systems

September 2011

Capturing your Customer's Voice

Are your customers happy or satisfied?  Do you know how your customers feel about your products or services?  With today’s competitive marketplace, every organization is required to listen to the voice of its customers which can happen through a customer survey.

Customer surveys are an inexpensive way to gather feedback and input on your companies’ products and services.  It is a means to find out how your customers feel…are they satisfied or not? 

There are several reasons why you should use customer surveys but there are four that I think are especially important: customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, effective communication and spotting trends. 

Customer surveys allow your customers to tell you what they like about your company and what they dislike.  Knowing what keeps you customers coming back over and over again is the secret to your success.  Your customers can potentially be your BEST or WORST sales people.  If they like you and have some loyalty towards your company, they are likely to talk about your services and refer others to you.

Satisfied customers are those who do not have outstanding negative issues concerning your company on their mind.  This does not mean that everything has always been perfect BUT in all situations, you gave your customers a chance to talk to you.  Sympathetic listening is essential to customer service as well as follow-through.  So, with proper analysis tools, you will be able to decipher survey responses and what you need to do in return based on the responses you receive. 

Effective communication invites your customers to talk to you.  Through careful design of your survey, you can effectively inform your customers about things they may not know or remind them of changes or upcoming future developments in your company. 

Lastly, ask your customers for ideas and spotting patterns in their survey feedback.  Spotting trends ahead of the competition could offer you a significant advantage. 

You are invited to direct any questions related to marketing Innovative Systems products to Scott Meyer at 605.990.7202.