If you want your business to succeed, one of the best things you can do is listen to your customers.
The people who use your products and engage with your brand are great at suggesting features, bringing bugs to your attention, and making other recommendations that will help you optimize your business in new and exciting ways – if you’re willing to listen.
You can use this feedback to dramatically improve every aspect of your company for current customers and future prospects.
Skip to:
- Encourage On-Site Feedback
- Send Email Surveys
- Spend Time on Social Media
- Launch a Beta Program
- Listen and Learn with Customer Support
I believe the best way to get your audience involved with your business development is to make their voices heard with tools like surveys, social listening, and interactive events.
I know this is often easier said than done, especially if you’re a new business owner.
Today, I’m going to show you several actionable strategies for gathering feedback from your business and making meaningful improvements over time.
Let’s get started!
Encourage On-Site Feedback
First, we have to talk about one of the best ways to get your audience involved in your business and gather valuable insights: on-site feedback forms.
You’ll never know what people think about your products or brand if you don’t ask.
A simple on-site form is basically a virtual suggestion box. Visitors can drop by, share their thoughts, and then go on with their day.
Later, you can analyze what people have to say, which is increasingly important as approximately 89% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase, and use their feedback to develop your brand in new and exciting ways while creating a memorable customer experience.
With POWR.io, you can quickly and easily create your own on-site feedback form.
Once you've built your form, I recommend adding it to your website in a visible, relevant location, such as on your sidebar or embedded in product landing pages.
If you want to make sure people make it to the end and click submit, keep your form short. We typically include 3-5 questions where we ask users to tell us what we are doing well and how we can improve next time.
Send Email Surveys
Email surveys are an easy way to gather targeted feedback from your customers.
They're a bit more personal since they are delivered directly to your subscribers' inboxes, which will make your audience feel valued. As a result, readers are more likely to offer detailed, thoughtful responses that you can use to take action.
Much like feedback forms, it's essential to keep your email surveys short and sweet.
My advice is to let subscribers know how long it will take. If they know it will only take a couple of minutes of their time, they're far more likely to participate.
You can use email surveys to gather feedback on everything from your products to your customer service. We also like using them to get ideas for new features or products.
For example, many of our surveys have a question that reads, "What would you like to see next from our brand?" The responses to this question have helped us grow dramatically.
Now, here are a few tips to keep in mind for using email surveys effectively:
- Personalize the emails. Address your customers and reference products they've purchased in the past. Simply personalizing the subject line can improve your open rate by 50%!
- Use a mix of open-ended and closed questions. Closed questions allow for direct answers, while open-ended questions encourage subscribers to share their thoughts in detail.
- Offer an incentive. This could be an exclusive discount, a free gift, or even just a thank-you note. People are more likely to complete your survey if they get something in return. Below, you'll find a great example of this type of email.
- Follow up on the results. Thank your customers for their feedback, and letting them know how their feedback will impact the future of your business is a great way to build trust with your audience.
Spend Time on Social Media
Did you know that almost 60% (59.3%, to be exact) of the world has at least one social media account?
This startling statistic highlights why it's so important to spend time on social sites like Instagram, X, and Facebook. Your target audience is on these sites, starting conversations and sharing opinions that you can use to improve your business.
You'll want to use a social listening tool to see when people are talking about your brand or crucial industry topics.
For example, a lead generation SaaS would likely 'listen' for keywords around building email lists. This makes sense when you consider the people having these discussions are likely to need their service.
Beyond social listening, you should invite your followers to tell you more about their goals and pain points by posing open-ended questions, creating polls, and sharing through-provoking content. If done correctly, you can learn a lot about your audience.
You should also consider the benefits of hosting events.
Around 91% of people say they are looking for more interactive content, and social media events fit this criteria. Live webinars, contests, and Ask Me Anything (AMA) events are all extremely popular and can help your customers shape your business.
If you want to get as much information as possible, don't forget to send website traffic to your social pages by adding clickable icons to your site. Another option is to add a social feed so visitors can see what kind of exciting stuff is happening on your profile in real time.
Launch a Beta Program
There's no question that markets move fast. It doesn't matter what industry you're in; you need to stay on top of your customers' needs and ensure you're delivering the best experience possible.
Since everything moves with such urgency, it's important to make things right the first time.
You don't want to put a ton of time and effort into an update only to disappoint your audience and your employees, who need to go in and make fixes.
My advice is to launch a beta program for your most loyal customers.
For example, you may want to target people who've bought from you two or more times.
These people are more likely to show interest and give honest, actionable feedback that you can use to streamline your next launch.
As you're reading through feedback, you'll probably notice something interesting – your customers have great ideas! Don't hesitate to take suggestions and put them somewhere they can be referenced when you're planning your next update.
If you want to ensure you get a good response, add a question to the feedback form that reads, "What would you like to see in our next update?"
This seemingly simple question can help you get so much value from your beta program.
Listen and Learn with Customer Support
People who reach out via your customer support channel care about your product and business. Otherwise, they would leave your site without a second thought.
You can use this opportunity to listen and learn from your target audience and make improvements based on their needs.
Let's say you review the support calls for the month, and most of them are asking how to use a specific feature bundled with your software. This realization can help you improve your onboarding, which means future users are more likely to have a positive experience.
It's also a good idea to have your support agents ask people to take a survey at the end of the call.
You can do this by incentivizing positive survey reports in your customer success comp plans. Not only will this help you understand how your team handled the situation, but you'll also learn more about your audiences' needs.
If you need another reason to improve your support channels, consider this: research shows that 93% of shoppers will buy from a company again if they receive top-notch customer service.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it – five simple but powerful ways to get your customers involved in growing your business.
The feedback you get from your audience, regardless of where they are in your sales funnel, can help you fine-tune your brand and create a memorable experience for everyone who decides to interact with your brand.
The strategies outlined here today have helped us, and I believe they can help you, too.
