If you take one step to increase customer satisfaction, let it be this.

Many small business owners are concerned about finding new customers, securing new customers, and selling to customers. But are you spending enough time listening to your customers?

Acquiring a new customer costs 5 to 25 times more than it costs to keep an existing customer happy (think of all the costs of marketing, advertising, and sales). However, many small businesses put too much effort into acquiring customers and not enough about retaining them.

Let’s take a look at how your business can better listen to its customers and why it’s important to increase sales.

Ask your customers for feedback

Small business marketing tends to focus on conversations with customers, including sending email marketing, posting on social media, and using search engine advertising. But are you listening?

Build this into your daily business processes. Ask your customers for feedback. This can be as casual as a face-to-face conversation with a customer when they make a purchase, or as formal as a customer comment card. If your customers agree to share their phone number and email address, you can ask for their feedback in a simple way by following up with them after their purchase. “How was your recent purchase? Did it live up to your expectations?”

Even simple, limited types of customer feedback can help you identify larger issues or trends. Sometimes people are more willing to give constructive feedback via email or text message than they are in person. If there’s a problem with your business, something could be improved, or your product isn’t meeting expectations, it’s often helpful to proactively ask customers to share their feedback.

If your product isn’t meeting customer needs or your business reputation is lagging behind your competitors, it’s better to find out through customer feedback rather than through declining sales.

Conduct customer satisfaction (CSAT) survey

Large companies have sophisticated, data-driven methods for measuring customer satisfaction, or “CSAT,” also known as key performance indicators (KPIs). Improving your CSAT score is an entire business specialty in large companies. If customer satisfaction is dropping, it’s a warning sign that your product line is struggling and your brand may need to make big changes and invest big money to increase customer retention.

Your small business doesn’t need all the bells and whistles of your company to measure CSAT. But you should at least have a rough estimate of how satisfied your customers are with your product or service and how your business could improve.

Here are some tools you can use to create a simple customer satisfaction survey:

You don’t need a full, multi-page, scientifically valid survey. CSAT surveys may not be statistically perfect and don’t necessarily reveal every detail about how your customers are feeling. Sometimes shorter surveys are more effective because they are easier for customers to respond to.

Even quick, simple, and unscientific surveys can help you learn more about what your customers think about your business, why they continue to buy from you, and what might motivate them to switch to a competitor. can be. Ask open-ended questions rather than just “yes/no” questions or 5-point scales, so your customers have a chance to be really honest.

conclusion

Small businesses have important competitive advantages: Because we are smaller, we are closer to our customers and have the opportunity to know them better than larger companies. Sell ​​to your customers by listening and “talking” to them.

Gathering useful customer feedback and using customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys can help small businesses retain more of their best customers, improve marketing, and deepen existing customer relationships. Just hearing from your customers can give you great insight into how your business can grow and succeed.

NOTE: Our top-tier cashback cards now offer a 0% introductory APR through 2025.

This credit card isn’t just good. A truly outstanding card that our experts use personally. Features a long 0% intro APR period, cash back rates of up to 5%, and no annual fee! Click here to read the full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.