I think that there are not entrepreneurs who will not like to know what their customers think about them. However, that thinking in most of the cases is their own secret that will be shared with persons with which they want to share. If those customer’s secrets are negative, that secret can spread like a virus between their friends, then their friends of friends, and so on.
There will be always some customer’s secrets that they will try to keep for themselves. Your job as an entrepreneur is always to try to find ways how to get those customer’s secrets and use them in your everyday improvement activities.
You can use different techniques to gain knowledge about customer’s secrets, but most commonly used and the most practical way is simply asking your customers for their opinions. On the other hand, there is your sales team, which is in daily touch with your customers and simply can ask the question or observe their nonverbal behaviors. In such a way they can gain which many things related to their secrets.
There is some basic rule: If you don’t ask they will not tell you.
Here are some of the five basic customer’s secrets that your customers will not tell you on their own will. If there are some negative secrets, your customers will simply stop buying from you.
1. What they didn’t like in your business?
If you don’t ask them they will not tell you what they didn’t like in your business. Different buyers have different things that like or not like (Read more in Business Optimization for Customers).
Train your sales staff to use their nonverbal behavior to find signs of dissatisfaction and simply to ask them about what they didn’t like in your company.
Use that information for properly improvements to make that type of customers more satisfied from doing business with you.
2. Why they enjoy to make business with you?
If they enjoy doing business with you, they will come back and repeat the buying from you. However, as time will go on, their needs will change and your company must be adjusted to newly created needs.
On the other side, if in your company is something very enjoyable for them you can emphasize that in all your marketing campaigns. Another thing is that when you know what they enjoy you can improve that elements to deliver even more enjoyment.
Because of that ask them about what create the biggest enjoyment for them in business with you. Use that information to make even more business with the current buyers and in the same time to obtain more customers.
3. Why they leave you?
Some buyers can be dissatisfied about some aspects and continue to make business with you. However, some will leave you, and go to the competition.
You must take efforts to stop that trend of leaving you. However, to start reacting to that trend, you must know why they leave you. You can find information about this on several ways:
- Social media platforms
- Forums
- Places where they can leave complaints (blog, website, stores, sales team, meetings…)
Use that information to improve your company. Wherever you can answer on that complaints, answer with a promise that you will fix in exact period of time.
4. What else they wish from your business?
There will always be something extra that they will want from your company. This information is one of the most important information that every entrepreneur wants to have and use it.
Simply ask your most important buyers what else they want from your company, or you can use surveys to make more analysis in this field.
5. How much they are willing to pay you for what you offer them?
Pricing is one important element for every entrepreneur. You, as an entrepreneur must calculate with prices in such a way that it will satisfy both sides – business and buyers.
It is a small probability that they will tell you how much they are willing to pay. Because of that you must ask and follow their behavior to collect data about this type of their secrets.
With this information on your hand, you can adjust your pricing strategies that can bring more sales for your company.
