5 Strategies For Getting Market Feedback (while Effectively

By Author: Tatiana Velitchkov
Total Articles: 4
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Running a successful business doesn't simply involve selling
or providing a great product or service.

It also means knowing exactly how your clients feel about
your current offerings, so you can change the way you do
things and better serve their needs.

The beauty of the Internet is that it makes this necessary
feedback mechanism more speedy & convenient for both the
business owner and the surfer -- especially when conducted
over a dynamic business website.

So why are many companies still in the dark about what their
customers REALLY want, and end up saying goodbye before they
can even ask why?

If you're the kind of business owner who wants his current
clients to stay, then consider these 5 strategies for
getting their valuable insights & feedback... while
endearing yourself to them as someone who actually listens
and cares:

1) Polls / Surveys

Most people want their opinions to count. That's why most
surfers are inclined to cast their votes whenever a website
politely ...
... asks them to.

You can use this to your advantage by using polls & surveys
to know your potential clients' preferences, particularly
when it comes to your products & services.

When conducting any kind of poll online, just remember 3
things:

1. Make it QUICK.

Keep in mind that your surfer has other things to do
(like fill out your order form), so limit most polls to
just one question each.

2. Make it CONVENIENT.

Create drop down menus or radio buttons for your surfer
to click on, so they won't have to waste time typing in
the whole answer.

3. Make it WORTHWHILE.

If you want the most number of feedback in the shortest
possible time, offer a prize for specific "lucky voters,"
within the range of respondents that you expect for your
survey.

If you have 1,000 prospective voters, for example, you
can award voter number 500 with your premium service
package at half the price, and grant voter number 1,000
the entire package for free!

Just make sure you have all the contest rules clearly
stated before you ask for their votes... or they might
vote against you & your business forever.

2) Message Boards

Message boards hold their own appeal for surfers truly
interested in the topics your website usually covers.

When moderated properly & promoted regularly, they can
become "virtual hangouts" where people:

- share their knowledge & opinions
- offer advice / ask for help
- or simply meet other people with the same interests.

Although some clients with tight surfing schedules find
that "having to go online and visit a specific URL" is
rather taxing, you can make the idea more attractive by:

- stimulating dynamic discussions in your board by
raising current & compelling issues

- regularly telling your casual surfers about the hottest
ongoing debates & topics in the forum

- and directly asking people to offer their own insights,
while providing an easy-to-click link or URL.

3) Mailing List

The mailing list is very similar to the message board, in
that it encourages discussions among your clients &
would-be clients. The only difference is that everything
here is done through email, and members aren't required to
go online to interact.

Just like the message board, however, there are 3 secrets
to effectively using mailing lists to gain useful feedback:

1. Keep all discussions FOCUSED on the same general
topic -- preferably the field/industry you're doing
business in.

Often, your own members' posts will be enough to keep
you updated about the major issues that affect your
business, saving you time and money on reading and
research.

2. Allow members to mention your COMPETITION'S products
& services; let them even make personal comparisons.

These posts will give you valuable insights for
improving YOUR OWN products & services... and how you
can convince even your competition's clients to change
their minds and trust YOU.

3. Finally, remain VISIBLE in your own message board or
discussion list.

Give helpful comments, offer positive feedback, and
praise every real effort made by members to share what
they know. This is your chance to establish a real,
ongoing relationship with the people who frequent your
website... and turn most of them into friends, or
clients or (if you're lucky) both.

4) Chat Event

If you're just starting your own business, however, you
probably won't have the time to manage a message board or
mailing list just yet.

What you CAN do is promote & hold a regular chat event on
your site each month, inviting both regular and potential
clients alike.

To make each chat event worthwhile, remember to:

- Focus on a specific topic, preferably something your
surfers will be very interested in.

- Set a definite schedule and time limit. Be aware of
the time differences among your surfers, and try to
set a schedule that is convenient for everyone.

- Promote the event well in advance. Tell as many
people about it as you can (just make sure your
servers can handle them). And finally -

- Give everyone clear & concise directions on how they
can participate.

Minimize their chances for getting errors or getting
lost during the event, so they can focus on what they
want to say -- which is exactly the kind of feedback
you need.

5) Feedback Forms

Of course, the feedback collection process won't be
complete without the familiar online form.

Although these forms are common, not all of them work as
well most business owners need them to.

To set up the kind of form that's easy to send & easy to
reply to, observe the following DOs & DON'Ts:

- DON'T just invite them to send all queries & requests
to the same email address.

- DO create a drop-down menu for the "Recipient" field
listing the different departments in your company, so
each email will be instantly routed to the right person
or mailbox.

- DON'T just use a generic form mailer for your "contact
us" page.

- DO use a drop-down menu for the "Subject" field,
listing the most common reasons people have for wanting
to email you.

Aside from helping your client/surfer focus his reason
for contacting you, it also helps you categorize each
request quickly so you can deal with each batch of
email more promptly.

The truth is, feedback is important not only in business,
but also in our dreams, and our everyday lives.

Some feedback will be good, and some of it will be bad.
Some will encourage us, some might crush us, and some might
even have the chance to totally disillusion us.

But the important thing to look forward to is that feedback
will always CHANGE us... and WE decide if we're going to be
better because of it.

© Tatiana Velitchkov
About the Author
Tatiana is the publisher of: www.TheFortunesEzine.com,
the FortunesEzineWeekly at www.TakeYourFortune.com,
and owner of the traffic-solution slam advertising
sites www.Guaranteed-Hits.com and www.Guaranteed-Hits.net