Forum Moderators: buckworks
At the moment i have a 'Feedback' form, but customers only use that when they want to ask a question.
I also have a link to the feedback page at the bottom of our confirmation email, but that hasn't been very successful either. I think that is because customers have no reason to reopen the email after they've received the goods
Anyone have any other ideas?
Have a page that ask them directly how they felt about your service/product, and have a disclaimer stating that you may use this information for site promotion.
We get a LOT of feedback when we do this (after a new product / category etc). The small discount makes sure that the customer comes back...
Do it selectively when you want to survey a customer and put the link in your order confirmation / order completion email.
I did try that for a month or two, but i wasnt sure how to word the feedback page. Do you offer the discount for any type of feedback? What if they only type 2 words? This happened a bit when i tried it. The people who would comment on our service would do so via email 'unofficially', but the people who went to the form did not make these comments
Send out a an e-mail several days after you know the customer has received your order and offer an incentive to have them fill out the survey.
Not only will this give you insight as to how they felt the shopping experience with you was, but it will give you great (hopefully) data you can use to improve the experience and attract more customers, such as:
true testimonials
98% of Widget Company customers would shop with us again
96.4% of Widget Customers would recommend Widget Company to a friend, etc.
The problem is that the comments are almost always favorable. Those who hate our site surely leave long before the checkout process.
And to add to that:
Personalize each email's subject line by asking: How did we do with your order (customer's first name)? You'll get more participants.
Then ask them a series of questions to grade your performance in several key areas on a scale from 1-10. This gives you a clear picture what you are doing right and where inprovement is needed.
Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about your customers and what converted them. Ask them why they chose you over the competition.
Are they male or female? What age group do they fall into? Ask about their education level & income level and any other inportant demographic information, but keep these personal questions optional so they do not feel obligated. Over the years I have collected this info and realize that a vast majority of my customers are female of a certain demographic. You will get a clearer picture of you ideal customer is with this information. Then apply this information to your marketing by focusing on your ideal customer.
You can learn so much about your customers and their preferences through surveys. I firmly believe in this.
And last but not least ask them for permission to use their comments as a testimonial, but let them know exactly how the testimonial will appear with their name and geographic location. I just do: First Name, Last Initial then city and state. You do not want to use their comments without permission.
I don't offer any incentives but come across as honest as possible (which I am being) as to the purpose of the surveys. That is to improve my performance for future customers with the survey participants input. This way they feel they are contributing.
