… Do you Want to Know What Your Customers Think?

Have you read my article titled “Is Feedback Important” yet? If not, this article is the second in a series about asking people for feedback. It’s more about email marketing and website structure.

This whole doing business on the internet is evolving so quickly that some of the niceties of doing business are being forgotten or intentionally left out or made obscure in the technology.

When on the internet, It’s so easy to think of people as faceless masses or statistics, but on the other end of those emails are real people – your customers. They have questions and need assistance to decide about making a purchase. You can herd some people through a cattle chute to the end result, but not most of them.

So, when you send out a mass email, you ought to be able to respond to it and get an answer to your questions. If you click on reply and get a message saying this is a “do not reply” mass mailing robot, you’re going to lose a lot of people who might be real qualified buyers. And you’re losing an opportunity to find out what your potential customer wants. It may be a small tweak in your product that you can offer next time. Are you really trying to serve a need, or are you just after the dollars? In the long run, serving a need is the only way to sustain your wealth.

Now, about websites: the current design philosophy of making them intentionally complex so you can present advertisements on every page is just plain annoying. I can tell you that I have quit in the middle of making a purchase because I got tired of being herded through page after page of advertisements and “one more offers.” Some buyers are explorers, but some buyers want to go to the checkout and get on with their lives. This tactic may be the current rage, but it’s not respectful to your customers, and they won’t thank you for it, and often they won’t make a second purchase from you, even if they like your product, because their experience left a bad taste in their mouths.

And, how about telling people what something costs before they go to a shopping cart? It’s extremely off-putting to me to have to put in card info without knowing the price, and I usually won’t do it. In fact, I’ve had products added to my final purchase without my permission, simply because I didn’t notice they had an “uncheck” box if I didn’t want the product. That’s like going to a drive through, ordering a burger and having them adding fries and a drink and charging you without asking – then telling you, “Well, you didn’t say you didn’t want them.” What’s up with that? Really?

Then when I cancelled the purchase because I was miffed about that, they had already pre-authorized my debit card for the total amount with the extra products added. That’s just wrong – and probably illegal. It’s like posting one price on the grocery store shelves and charging you something different at the cash register – that’s illegal, and they have to give you the posted price by law. After an inordinate amount of sorting out to get my money put back, I bought someone else’s product, and I told everyone I know about that experience. And, why is it that a seller can take your money out of your account in 10 second, and it takes three days to put it back? That’s usury. These are all personal experiences that I have had, along with millions of others.

The average person is still having challenges with all the evolving technologies they’re having to learn to become part of the internet economy. Cut em some slack and be the one who helps them get where they want to go and buy what they want to buy. That’s how to make some real long-term money.   

And, place a customer service and feedback button right up front. So what if they don’t want to search through pages of self-help? They shouldn’t have to. It’s up to you to give them the help they need to make a purchase.

They will thank you for that – with their dollars!

Is Feedback Important?

by Sandy Penny

Why do so many people use a question as a headline?

It starts the reader thinking about the subject of the article. It speaks directly to the reader and immediately engages them. It’s a popular marketing strategy because it works.

It actually sounds like you care about the opinion of your reader, and most authors do care. So what if it’s a marketing ploy? If it engages you in an internal dialogue and you learn something about yourself in the process, isn’t that a productive exercise? Who doesn’t want to think our opinion is important to others?

Asking questions is a valuable social tool for creating dialogue. Many people lack the questioning skill. They just want to tell you what they think and move on to the next subject. Caring about what other people say creates a bond between you. It can create more loyal customers who feel that you’re listening and responding to their needs. After all, they’re buying the product, shouldn’t you care what they think?

Back in 1978, when I got the idea to start a newspaper in Houston, Texas, on the heels of another failed newspaper, it didn’t seem like a great business idea. If my predecessor went out of business, perhaps the market for that type of newspaper was lacking. I really didn’t know why they went out of business, so I hit on a strategy that worked for me, and I’ve since successfully used it to start other businesses.

I picked up a copy of the defunct newspaper, called all the advertisers and invited them to a party. I was up front that the party was about discussing a newspaper idea. I didn’t try to trick them into coming to a party and then spring the newspaper idea on them. I let them know I was interested in creating a newspaper that would meet their needs and the needs of their customers. I passed out a mock-up of my newspaper idea to everyone at the party. Then I did something unusual, I asked them how I could best serve them and their customer base. They had lots of great ideas.

Next I asked them to support me in meeting their needs, and I sold enough advertising that day, on a newspaper that had never been produced, to pay for the first printing. After that, I had a party every month when the paper was printed so advertisers could take bundles of newspapers to their businesses. I thereby eliminated about half my distribution costs (mostly efforts on my part). Each month, I would chat up my advertisers for new ideas for future issues and get their feedback on how I was doing with meeting their needs.

The biggest benefit that came out of the experience was the sense of community that was created around the newspaper. It became the hub for dialogue among community members, and the monthly meeting became the venue for that dialogue. I sold more advertising and collected checks in a timely fashion at those parties. About a year later, a larger newspaper came into my community and tried to start a competitive publication. It was better funded and slicker, but it could not get a foothold. My community was really loyal because I had created a personal bond with them by asking for their feedback – and of course, using it. You can shoot yourself in the foot if you go to the trouble of getting input, and then don’t use any of it. People tend to feel disregarded and badly used.

So, why am I writing about this in a healing arts section? The same technique works in personal relationships. It’s all well and good to say that we should not care what other people think. Independence and autonomy are great, and we should not let our lives be run by other people, but sometimes friends and customers have really excellent ideas that can benefit us personally and in business. Asking questions and really listening and using the answers makes our friends and customers feel valued. It develops interactive relationships. We all know those who pontificate from on high and never let others talk.

Dialogue creates community and cooperation and strong friendships that sustain themselves during challenging times. We are living in challenging times right now. Maybe it’s time to ask a few more questions of those you care about and really listen to what they have to say. What do you think?