While information was limited to a suggestion box or form on their website, there are now many low-cost approaches to obtain customer information and take the pulse of the customers. Here are four easy ways to make customer feedback an integral part of your business.
1. Conduct an online survey
If you have email addresses for their clients, conducting an online survey can be a great way to get variety of different opinions in a short period of time.
One of the most popular tools for online surveys is SurveyMonkey, whose low-cost, Web-based survey solutions are a natural fit for small businesses on a budget.
2. Create an online customer community
All businesses thrive in the comments, but some are more distant from direct experience and contributions of its customers. And according to Thor Muller, co-founder and CTO of Get Satisfaction, "these are the companies that are absolutely essential to have a constant flow of information."
3. Feedback Forum Use Organized
Another approach to obtain customer feedback on an ongoing basis is an opinion forum organized as UserVoice. Simple UserVoice hosted forums and widgets allow customers to submit and vote on ideas for the company, which then can become a priority list of feedback. You can also use the product to communicate with users when the ideas that have voted to be acted upon. And because UserVoice offers a free version of the product, any company with an online presence and an interest in the continuous feedback can provide a forum for comments.
4. Ask for feedback on Facebook and Twitter
Of course, if you are looking for quick customer reviews, obtaining this information can be as simple as posting a question or a survey on your Facebook wall or via Twitter - you can use this method to get quick ideas for new products, new brand or new store locations or business lines.