Have you ever received a survey via email after visiting a retail store or buying something online? Two of the most common questions are often “What did you like?” and “What can we improve?” They may have been worded differently, and loaded with additional questions, but the point is that they want to know what really matters to you. You can use surveys like this to tune into your visitors exact needs and provide exactly what they want.

Used properly, surveys can be very useful. Anyone can sell a product online and get a few sales, but not everyone can tap into what their visitors really want and turn them into a lifelong customer. Doing that means repeat business with people who know and trust you, which is better than one-time hits any day.

The Point of Surveys

The point of a survey is to gauge a visitor’s opinion on something. The information is useful for creating or improving things like:

• Better customer service protocols
• New products and services
• Customer relationships and sales

Some websites use survey companies to distribute and tally surveys and polls, or if you have your own mailing list, you can create and send your own using a company like Aweber. Either way, you have to take action based on the data for anything to happen. Don’t just let it all go to waste.

You can start by creating a spreadsheet that includes all of the responses given. This should be easy if your a survey has lettered choices instead of just write-in boxes. Now, rank the responses. Use this as a framework to make the changes your visitors and customers would like to see.

Reader Response

You may have to do a few surveys to get readers to take them seriously. As someone who probably spends a fair amount of time online, you already know that sometimes, surveys are simply for show. Many of the companies who ask for your input never do anything with the suggestions that you offer. But, not all of them are like that.

This is where the relationship building begins with your visitors. Try to change one thing at a time. If you can, bring attention to it so that readers know you took them seriously. Over time, more people will complete your surveys and help you to make your business more successful.

Give it a try. Your visitors are as ready to help you as you are to help them. After all, you can’t always read their mind and if you can give them what they want they’ll be more likely to stick with you for the long haul instead of looking for someone else who can.

It is amazing how quickly a person’s opinion can change because of the smallest details. In online business, that is most often customer service. Done right, it can set you apart from other businesses and help build a trust-based relationship with your readers and potential customers. Just look at Zappos — tons of articles and even a book have been written about their unique and phenomenal customer service.

What is Customer Service?

Customer service is simply meeting the needs of your customers. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

For example, a reader signs up for newsletters or your affiliate program and then days go by before they receive a confirmation of your receipt of their request or they receive any information. That reader then decides to withdraw their request because they feel that you really don’t care.

It is important to follow through on the offers you make to both readers and customers alike. That is why they came to you in the first place. Doing your part helps them make the decision to stay.

Just like in a retail store, people don’t want to wander around aimlessly without any help from an associate. If they have to ask you to help them, then you’ve already dropped the ball. It’s your job to be available and offer assistance when you see it’s needed.

How to Provide Good Customer Service

Now, it would be unrealistic to think that you will sit at your computer 24/7 waiting for a reader to ask a question, but what you can do is put processes in place so that someone or something is there 24/7 to be available for any eventuality.

Examples of these processes could be:

• Auto-responder messages
• Scheduled newsletter deliver
• FAQ page that is always updated
• User-friendly tabs, site map and links to get around the website with ease
• Answering service
• Virtual assistant

Even when you can’t be available personally, you know that your readers and customers will be taken care of. For example: If you have an affiliate program, include enough information to help readers understand the benefits, how they can sign up and don’t forget to give them the tools and resources they’ll need to be successful. Sign up forms should only include pertinent information so they are as simple as possible to complete.

When you have time, go through your email messages for those whose question didn’t fit one of the recorded categories on your “Contact Us” page. The auto-responder message for them gives you an additional 24 hours to get back to them with the information they need.

Prompt service tells people that you are concerned about their business, that you value their input and want to keep them happy. Effective customer service is a big part of building a healthy long-lasting relationship with your readers and customers.

Last fall, many companies were busy handing out discounts to land new clients or keep existing ones on board, but now the tides have shifted.

Facing growing economic challenges, more companies are dropping nonpaying, late-paying and overly-demanding clients who drain resources that would be better utilized serving more loyal or profitable clients.

Is this the right choice for you? It may seem counter-productive, especially when every dollar counts, but when you get rid of clients who aren’t profitable, it frees you up to work with or find clients who are.

Every company has certain policies in place, but every now and then, a special circumstance arises that make it necessary to deviate from those policies.

When that happens in your company, what do you do? Do you begrudgingly oblige, making sure to let them know that you’re in the right but you’re making an exception for them, or do you happily do what needs to be done to resolve the situation? If there is any question, it should be the latter.

Why waste your time and energy by basically telling your clients that you’re helping them even though they’re wrong? All you’ll do is become frustrated and alienate your clients.

When your phone rings and you get that potential client on the other end who seems to have gone through so much, you can’t help but feel a little sorry for them. When they woefully tell you their story about the 9 other vendors they’ve used this year who just couldn’t manage to do anything right, you can’t help but empathize with them. Most of all, when they rave on about how you seem so different than everyone else that they’ve worked with and how they’re looking forward to the opportunity, you can’t help but agree with them.

Before you get too excited about this new prospect though, take a careful look at what you may be getting yourself into. When something seems too perfect, it almost always is.

Set your ego aside for a second and ask yourself, why is this person so excited to work with you? You may be good, but there are thousands of other companies that do exactly what you do, so it’s not like you’re their only option. Has this prospect burned bridges elsewhere and you’re one of the few companies that she hasn’t taken advantage of yet? For that matter, let’s look at simple statistics. She told you that she worked with 9 other vendors and none of them could do anything right. What (who) is the one common denominator?

If you keep your eyes open, you can avoid these type of nightmare clients. Here are some of the most common red flags:

• They complain excessively about the other companies that they’ve worked with.
• They tell you that their previous vendors won’t return their calls or emails.
• They are in a rush, which usually means that someone else fired them as a client, that they have unrealistic expectations or that they are unprepared.
• They urge you to begin a project or ship products with no contract in place or without a deposit.

It’s better to pass up potential revenue from these type of clients because it often leads to more trouble than they’re worth. Pay attention and trust your gut and you should be fine.