It is human nature to question everything. Sometimes life is like driving a car: always adjusting to stay on the road. As a small business owner, you need to step back and occasionally evaluate the direction you are heading.
It is extremely important that you remain emotionally detached when you analyze your own business and solicit feedback. This can be very difficult. Small business owners can be a proud and cocky bunch.
Here are some suggestions for getting solid unbiased opinions about what people really think about your business and the way you run it:
- Ask your customers for advice on how you can better satisfy them and how you can enhance what you offer.
- Ask your employees how you can improve your business. Let them speak openly and encourage negative feedback.
- Give a small gift to customers that fill out a customer survey. Ask open ended questions on the survey and allow anonymous comments.
- Ask friends and relatives what they would do different if they owned the business. You will receive more honest feedback with this approach because it is an impersonal approach.
- Form a leads group or mastermind group of outstanding business people in your community. Successful business owners will be more likely to give and less likely to be offended by constructive criticism.
- Offer a comment box on your website and in your store.
"A smart businessperson is one who makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes it again. A wise businessperson is one who finds a smart businessperson and learns from him how to avoid the mistakes he made". Jim Abrams
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Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteI think you have shown that you are someone who walks his talk and has achieved success in business and will translate that to this venture with relative ease!
Great quote too :-)
Duane
Super-ADVANCED Influence & Persuasion Training Proven to Quickly Create a Flood of Money Constantly & Continuously Flowing into YOUR Bank Account Like the Niagara Falls... 100% GUARANTEED!! Discover Secret Persuading Skills that Work Like Magic by Tapping Into the Psychology of the Mind with The Worlds Leading Persuasion Coach Duane Cunningham!
It is great to solicit ideas from people, just realize that most people haven't got a clue and they might get po'ed at you when you ignore what they think was a great idea? Or if you take their idea and it was good, you should give them free ice cream forever or they'll feel ripped off.
ReplyDeleteSeize the Day,
Rob
Sales Expert For Small Business OwnersPersonal Asset Protection For Small Business Owners
These are necessary but remember it is just opinions. Use it as a tool but it is not the only tool.
ReplyDeleteBob Kaufer
Z Health For Life
Many people will lose faith in you if you appear to be looking for validation. Has to be handled carefully.
ReplyDeleteChristian Haller
Good Food Fast & Easy Healthy Italian Recipes
Mark,
ReplyDeleteAsking for honest advice & feedback and then ACT on them is great for busy.Every time I lost the chance to list a property to sell, I ask for the WHY just to learn to better myself.
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personalities for Better Influence & Persuasion (WordPress Blog)
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personalities for Better Influence & Persuasion (Money Page)
Judging from the success of your business, you have developed some good communication skills so give yourself credit. Even more important to those reading this blog is the valuable information you offer on how to run a successful business and how to think outside your community.
ReplyDeletePat
Internet Dollars for Business Owners
You're doing very well and you clearly walk your talk.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your posts because you give simple, straightforward practical advice that has been extensively field tested in your own successful business.
It's brilliant to learn from you.
JJ Jalopy.
Become a lifecoachA step-by-step guide to starting your coaching business
This is excellent advice, bearing in mind that a suggestion is reflection of one person's perception of your business.
ReplyDeleteI like your bullet points format and very practical advice.
Any improvements possible? Probably. For example, I would love a design that doesn't involve scrolling to the right. Or a blog platform that doesn't require signing in.
But in terms of content, your blog is already a gold mine of no-nonsense marketing and business advice.
All the best,
Yann
How to Get Organized, Stop Procrastinating, and Set Goals for Small Business Success
I love the short but sweet no bs way you present your blog information. You do walk your talk and give yourself more credit on your communication skills.
ReplyDeleteAnthony
Achieve the Inner Balance of a Zen Monk
Mark,
ReplyDeleteI continue to learn from you. You aleays have some great information, thanks.
Lynn Lane
Success Strategies For Life
Success Today
You made some compelling points, thanks for sharing them. Employee and customer feedback should always be a major focus, even more so during economically challenging times. Online surveys are one of the best ways to gain insight into both your employee’s and customer's mindset (the respondents can remain anonymous in order to give candid feedback) – especially since you can do the research for very little $$ or even for free.
ReplyDeleteConsider sending surveys using this rotation:
Operational surveys after each transaction
Prior to regularly scheduled tradeshows and events
Marketing concept tests as product development dictates
Quarterly employee reviews
Quarterly vendor surveys
Semi-annual product releases
Annual employee satisfaction surveys
Benefit queries before changes in annual plans
Before an employee joins to improve your recruitment process
After employee orientation to improve your process of bringing employees on board
Quarterly for company satisfaction surveys
Semi-annually for performance reviews;
After an employee exits to improve retention
You can find pre-designed templates at both the Zoomerang Customer Satisfaction Survey Center
http://www.zoomerang.com/Customer-Satisfaction-Surveys and the Zoomerang Employee Satisfaction Survey Center http://www.zoomerang.com/Employee-Satisfaction-Surveys as well as additional survey tips at http://www.zoomerang.com and at the Zoomerang blog http://zoomerang.wordpress.com
-Donna
Good points, as always, Mark
ReplyDeleteI like the part of talking to your customers, that always works for us, even now.
Always a pleasure to read.
Thanks
JC
JCMACKENZIE.COMButterfly Marketing
I think you are an excellent communicator. you say a lot in a short post.
ReplyDeleteDon Shepherd
Fishing Central Oregon
What excellent points about soliciting feedback. You are an excellent businessman.
ReplyDeletesooo, how is that eating ice cream with the single women soliciting charitable contributions going for you? ;) (answer me ONLY offline to my email address. Personal questions and I am teasing you and do NOT expect personal detail answers out in public! lol and cheers!)
Best regards,
April Braswell
Dating Quick Start Expert, Relationship Success CoachDivorce Support and Bereavement Support seminar, Henderson, Las Vegas
A friend stop by our booth at the farmers market this weekend and had about a dozen ideas for improving our booth. I suppose I could have been offended by her suggestions, but most of them were great and we put several of them in place the next day, and we will put some in place next weekend. Listening to friends/customers ideas can be an excellent way to get great feedback on your business.
ReplyDeleteSunnyMarie
www.sunnymarie.com
www.sunnymarie.wordpress.com
Yes you are right..it is human nature toquestion almost anything even when it is unnecessary!!!
ReplyDeleteDavid Power's HourExpert in Hypnosis, Success Thinking and Practical Parenting
I agree with the whole set... except soliciting customer feedback. In my experience it's rarely helpful and more likely to throw a company off-track than it is to genuinely enlighten them.
ReplyDeleteA good manager, or failing that a good consumer behaviour consultant should be able to watch what customers are doing and see where problems and opportunities exist with the current offering.
Other ideas that might take the business forward could come from consumers, but it's a distinctly hit and miss affair that is very reliant on someone within the business using it as a spark for development, rather than anything more.
Philip Graves
author of "The Secret of Selling: How to Sell to Your Customer's Unconscious Mind"
the secret to success in business it is : "that you get what you want from life by helping others get what they want from life". It is just that simple. Those who serve the most people get the most money. Look around and you will see that the businesses which are the most successful are those which offer a superior product, at attractive prices, with great customer support, and a genuine commitment to customer satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteAll this springs from their core desire to serve others to best of their ability. The motivation for this is often just money but those that succeed the most link their motivation to love. This ironically is a very logical proposition: if love is the most powerful force in the universe and if it is very strongly linked to a money making goal, then that goal will be fulfilled abundantly and the money will flow like water!