How did you find “Us”? Just ask 3 Things.
I'm always suggesting to my clients to do a "kitchen sink" survey; just a few things of their customers from time to time, make mental note, and write things down immediately after the person leaves and later take action to modify and improve. The caution I always state it to be sure not to inundate the person with the first degree. Anyway, here are 3 questions to ask to learn how "in the world" did someone find you/your business:
1. How did you find us? Ooh, that’s a tough one! But how many times do we miss out on this important tidbit; just ask. (And, please be sure to be demonstrating great customer service with your presence and product. I remember when a restaurant owner asked a patron “How did you find your steak?” The reply was, “I merely looked under my baked potato and there it was!”
2. What do you think of our store (or website)? This is a great open ended question which can elicit many responses; that’s good. When I teach my clients/students to ask someone to “critique” their brochure for example, I have them ask something like: “What do you think?” This usually gets a confused look and when there is silence from the questioner, the person usually gets the hint, and goes on to state something … about the paper stock, the fold, the pictures, etc. Ask several people and take note as to what people respond with most often. Only after getting a non solicited reply, should you then ask for specifics. Now you can ask questions like: “do you think the photos are too large?” or “Should I add more content?” But, when asking about your store, website or any advertising piece (yes your store and website are actually an “advertising piece”) be sure to gauge your visitor to see if you should continue with questions or not. The main purpose is to have the person make a purchase; don’t detract.
3. Did you see any reviews? This can mean “anything” from any word of mouth marketing (notice I call this word of mouth “marketing” and not “advertising”. I cover this is detail in the first session module of my Small Business Marketing Survival course) to an online review. Knowing this is crucial so you know if you need to create more goodwill, or counter any online negative criticism with positive remarks. Later I’ll talk about how to do this by asking you “Are you remark-able?”
Do these three things every time a customer visits and you’ll know more about your customers, and your business!
