5 Questions to Ask Your Customers

Improving your customer’s satisfaction means knowing what customers want from your business. Obvious, right?

But how do you know what customers want? Easy: You ask them.

While surveys may be common enough that customers won’t be surprised if you prod what they think, we still have a lingering problem to tackle — the right questions to ask customers about your service.

Below, you’ll find some practical tips to help you seek the feedback you need to improve your business.

How to Form a Question

Before we can jump into our list of questions, we have to understand how to ask a question. Customers only feel motivated to answer a survey under the right conditions.

Brief and to the Point

A list of 10 questions may seem small to you, but customers are busy and, as everyone knows, time is money: 52% of customers say they won’t spend more than three minutes tops filling out a survey.

Long story short, don’t overwhelm customers with questions. Survey questions need to minimize any disruption to the customer’s day.

You want to give them a selection of narrow and explicit questions. These are the types of questions that call to mind readily available answers: customers can answer them quickly and efficiently.

If a customer sees a long questionnaire, they’re unlikely to even answer one question.

You want to ask bite-size questions. These are questions that are easily digestible and will prompt an immediate response from customers.

The Customer Comes First

We also have to remember that the questions to ask customers about your service should guide the customer. This means that questions need to be directed towards the customer’s expectations.

You want to know whether your business provided whatever it was that the customer was seeking. As such, surveys should be simple, straightforward, and get right to the point.

1. Were We Helpful and Knowledgeable?

This first question is the hallmark of a proper customer service experience. Customers want to shop at a business that answers their questions and help them as professionals.

After all, 84% of customers report that their expectations were not met during their last interaction with a business.

This question is a chance for customers to relay their unique experience. Without asking, how will you know?

Imagine a customer who asks a customer service representative a question and receives the answer, “There is nothing I can do for you”. It’s an outrageous scenario, isn’t it?

But, without an accessible means for customers to express themselves, you may never learn of a customer’s difficulties.

The opposite is also true. If you discover that you’re representatives are performing their tasks with the utmost diligence and friendliness the survey question serves as an indicator that your business is on the right track.

2. Did We Have What You Were Looking for?

Many customers head to the store searching for an item and leave empty-handed. They couldn’t find what they were looking for.

This question helps you get to the bottom of why a customer shops. Whether online or in-person, 55% of customers say that they choose to shop based on whether or not they easily find what they need.

This is what’s important to your customers.

Multiple customers looking for the same item and being unable to find it may mean you have a branding problem, or that you need to increase your available stock.

Now, yes, you should be able to tell what items to stock based on customer analytics data. But this information is impersonal and doesn’t give you a narrative: a highly personal experience.

Give customers a chance to express themselves. You’ll learn why they buy what they buy and what exactly they expect from your business.

3. Do You Have any Questions for us?

Asking customers to pose their own questions is the perfect opportunity to seek open-ended feedback. Rest assured, if one customer has a particular question, there are bound to be others with the same thought who have chosen not to express themselves.

The trick then is to actively answer that question or change your operation to actively provide the answer to the question.

If a customer asks whether you have a specific product in store, it may be a good opportunity to add a “Coming Soon” tab to your website or to run promotional campaigns for new products.

4. How Did You Learn About Our Business?

Customer surveys provide a prime opportunity for you to learn how customers discover your business. Was it from a friend? A marketing campaign? Social media? Attractive signage outside the storefront?

You want to know how customers make their way to your store.

Perhaps you discover that people only find your business through word of mouth. Well, then you know that you have a strong, loyal base, but can probably also improve your marketing message to attract new potential customers.

It’s a simple questions to ask customers about your service that can offer powerful results.

5. Do You Have Any Additional Suggestions for Us?

The last question on your survey should be open-ended. You want to give customers the freedom to express themselves beyond the limitations of your previous questions.

About 87% of customers are more likely to participate in a survey if they feel their answers will make a difference, i.e. change the business for the better.

Here is where customers will likely get creative with their answers, or leave an additional remark that may be unintuitive.

Think of your survey questions as if you were a conversationalist. The trick is to get the other person to talk. Doing so builds rapport between you and the speaker, and lets you learn about them and understand their concerns.

Give Customers the Opportunity to Share

In the past, customer surveys were time-consuming and expensive. With the advent of digital technologies and social media, there are more opportunities than ever for businesses to engage their customers and learn from them.

By giving them survey questions, you give customers a narrative to orbit around and direct their feedback. And doing so shows customers — both current and potential — that you’re listening and care.

As you should be.

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The point of seeking feedback is not only to improve your business but to make it an active part of your customer community. Customers want to know their voices are being heard, and that your business is actively seeking to improve their experience.

Enhance your customer’s experience even further by adopting a queue management system, like Qminder. You don’t need a credit card to try Qminder for two weeks right now.

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