NFIB

Reward Your Customers for Giving You Great Ideas
05/ 03/ 2004


Many companies have instituted company-wide suggestions systems, that reward employees for valuable suggestions to improve operations, streamline office-flow, enhance customer service, etc. Another vital source of suggestions is your customers. They are, after all, the people who use your products or services. As a result, they may offer ideas for improvement that you and your employees would never have considered. In today's Workshop, Jeffrey Moses suggests innovative ways to tap this valuable resource.

It is not uncommon that company ownership or management becomes somewhat disassociated from customer feelings about products and services. Sales associates and service representatives frequently hear comments, both good and bad but by the time such comments are transferred to upper management, a filtration process may have occurred. As a result, management may not learn what it needs to know to make changes in the company's operations.

Soliciting direct information from customers is a solution to this problem. Once or twice a year, run a contest directly encouraging customers to make suggestions about how they would like to see your organization improve. You could offer free or discounted services/products to customers who provide the five best suggestions. To facilitate the contest, create a form that includes space for customers to write in their suggestions. Place the form on your counter, or give it out freely to customers you come in contact with. Putting a few distinct categories on the form could help people focus their ideas (sample categories: customer service, products available, store improvements, etc.)

Consider offering customers the chance to have their own businesses featured by offering awards to those who use your products or services most creatively or effectively. For example, Papers Direct, which supplies specially designed paper and ready-made brochures, often features in its catalogue a customer who has made outstanding use of the company's products. Papers Direct highlights winners in the "Show Us Your Stuff" section, and gives prizes up to $500.

The contest can be used as the basis for advertising, both through flyers and in local newspapers. The gist of any ads should be the encouraging of customers to contribute suggestions, but the underlying message should be that your company values its customers enough to listen to what they say. Your ads and literature should portray your company as progressive, customer oriented, and highly knowledgeable in your industry.

The concept of gathering information from customers can be extended to a year-round event if you create a little form that is given out at the conclusion of each project or sale. The form could be titled: "How are we doing?" Ask for specific comments about the job or sale just completed. Include a section where customers can check off 'Excellent,' 'Good,' 'Average,' or 'Fair' in categories such as: Quality of Service, Speed of Service, and Attention by Personnel. Be sure to leave room for 'Comments.' After you've been handing out and collecting these forms for a few months, you'll have a complete picture of how customers are viewing your business.

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