No matter what business you own, the goal is always the same: keep your customers happy. While most business owners these days tend to focus their attention on reviews and ratings (and rightfully so), an underappreciated way to measure and monitor customer satisfaction is the survey. Gone are the days when surveys were little scraps of paper, often ignored and tossed away as an afterthought. The modern day survey does more for your business then you realize. Sending surveys to customers is a great way to generate positive reviews and diffuse negative feedback at the same time. Here are four reasons why you should be sending surveys to your customers.
- Direct happy/satisfied customers to leave reviews on your major review sites. Sending surveys can be a smart way to generate traffic to your review sites and improve your overall rating. Rather than having a happy customer walk away only to forget about your business a few days later, a customer satisfaction survey can encourage your customers to share their experience while it’s still fresh in their memory.
- Make it as easy as possible for the customer to leave positive feedback. Time is of the essence. Surveys should always be designed with convenience in mind. Buttons on your survey can link your customer directly to the page to rate your business on a desktop computer. They can also open apps automatically when a user is on a mobile phone, eliminating the tedious task of searching for your business online.
- Give your customers a place to vent. When a customer has negative feedback, using surveys helps to keep the conversation offline. Giving your customers a safe place to rant can help prevent them from giving you a negative rating online. Having automated alerts when you receive negative feedback is also a helpful way to address issues quickly.
- Use feedback as a training tool to improve your business. While the surveys help to reduce negativity on your review sites, you can also use their responses to guide your business in a positive direction. If you notice a pattern in their complaints, you can use the information to retrain your employees on how to create a better experience for your customers. Likewise, if there is something in particular your customers like about your business, be sure to highlight that strength and make it part of your brand identity moving forward.
Surveys are no longer fodder for the wastebasket. When used effectively, surveys are now a key component to measuring the happiness of your customers, while maintaining a solid reputation online.
Learn more about how your business can start using surveys today to generate more reviews!