Establish a feedback system
Posted by David Bennett Wed, 14 Jun 2006 17:21:00 GMT
Establish a regular feedback system.
If you have a website, set up a feedback form. If you have a paper or electronic newsletter, include a feedback opportunity. Include in your email signature a line that is linked to a feedback form. The goal is to have your contacts telling you how you’re doing.
Blogging is becoming the next big thing on the Internet. Explore the possibilities not only to share information but to gather information using this format.
Feedback, whether positive or negative is valuable to you, is a must. If you hone your listening skills, you can mine gold nuggets.
At the conclusion of every transaction, be sure to send a feedback form. Wait a month or so before you do it, so the halo effect is diminished. You need to know not just whether they were satisfied or not – you need to know what they valued the most from the services you provided. If you start to get a pattern of responses that indicate your detailed knowledge of the neighborhood and their property in particular was the most valuable thing to them, or perhaps it was your negotiating skills that saved a bad situation, you have learned some positive details you need to emphasize.
Allow anonymous feedback. You’ll close off a source of potentially helpful information otherwise.
If we don’t listen to our customers and prospects, if we don’t know what our customers want - how on earth do we know what to say to them? So be sure to encourage feedback from your customers - through every means possible.
Listen, listen and listen.