10 Questions to Ask Your Customers

Do your marketing and sales departments disagree about how to best reach customers?  Are you losing customers out the back door as fast as you bring them in the front door?

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about how to appeal, no really connect, to your customers—first, by getting to know them, and secondly, by crafting a Unique Selling Proposition that’ll really speak to them.

One of the most effective ways to find out who your customers are and what they want is to ask them.

That’s right!  Go through your customer list and set aside your top 10, 20, 30, perhaps 50 customers.  The ones who pay on time.  Who refer their friends.  Who come back over and over again.

Then reach out to them personally.  Say, “Hey, we really appreciate what a great customer you’ve been to us—do you mind if we ask you a few questions to help us improve the service we provide?”

9 out of 10 will say yeah, sure!—after all, if they’re your BEST CUSTOMERS, they’ll be flattered you asked.

Then sit down with them and ask the following 10 questions:

1. 1. 1. How did you first find out about us?
      2. Why did you choose us over the competition?
      3. What in particular did we do to help you make the decision to buy?
      4. What’s your favorite thing about our products and services?
      5. Are there any enhancements to our products and services you’d like to see?
      6. What’s your least favorite thing about our products and services?
      7. What annoys you about our industry?
      8. What could we do to make your experience with us easier?
      9. If you were to describe our company in three words, what would they be?
      10. What’s one thing we should never stop doing?

After you’ve completed the interviews, compile the information and look for trends and patterns.

Then, summarize why these great customers choose you and your business.

Finally, summarize what your ideal customer(s) looks like.

Focus your marketing  and your sales departments and any marketing messaging around this feedback—you’ll attract more and keep more of your very best customers and, most importantly, your very best customers!

Want more tips and exercises to help you create compelling marketing material?  Download our FREE USP and Guarantee Worksheet and we’ll take you step-by-step through the process!