One Question....

Remember the mattress I got a few weeks ago? I'm still not sure I like
it (but that's the topic for another tip.) And the retailer just mailed
me a follow-up survey.

I haven't completed the survey, yet. It looks too long, so I keep
putting it off.

Basically, the retailer wants to know if I'm satisfied. If they'd sent
a shorter survey, they'd have my answer by now.

In fact, if their marketing director was a subscriber, they'd learn a
valuable lesson from this tip: they only need to ask one question.

According to Harvard Business Review, knowing customer satisfaction
is a powerful test of customer loyalty. However, the lengthy surveys,
complex tools many companies use wastes a lot of time and money
gathering a lot of meaningless data. The results are usually ambiguous
"and don't necessarily correlate to profits or growth." The answer? Ask
just one question that has proven to be meaningful and actionable.

Let me digress for a moment. Customer satisfaction is key to building
your business. It not only tells you how loyal your customers are but
if they're a proponent or opponent. One satisfied customer will tell
seven others. Word of one unsatisfied customer will reach 22. Why is
that? Perhaps it's human nature to complain more that compliment.
Maybe not. But, whatever the reason, the point is one unsatisfied
customer can have three times the impact of a satisfied customer.
And that all translates to your image in the marketplace and sales
growth.

Which brings me back to that one, simple question HBR suggests...

But first, imagine how a single question survey could multiply the
responses you'd gather. O.K. I'm done testing your patience.

The HBR question: "How likely is it that you would recommend our
company to a friend or colleague?"

HBR statistics prove that the more "promoters" your company has,
the bigger its growth. "Why is willingness to promote your company
such a strong indicator of growth?" reads a HRB briefing. "Because
when customers recommend you, they're putting their reputation on
the line. And they'll take that risk only if they're intensely loyal."

If you're interested, I can show you how to implement a simple survey
to get maximum responses, how to calculate your "net-promoter"
score, and how to use this score to motivate your staff to positive,
measurable change. Just give me a call or drop me an email.

In the meantime, my homework for you is to start using a simple
one question survey to determine the depth of your customer satis-
faction.

In fact, let me ask you: "On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being highest,
how likely are you to recommend Sasso Marketing?"

- Phil Sasso