Customer Surveys for new business

B2Group’s business to business tracking study SME Voice has published interesting results at http://bit.ly/gjdXCc .

Web advertising, on-line networking, business networking events and outbound email are the promotional tools most likely to be used in the future by the SME respondents. Customer Surveys do not appear in the list (except possibly under the heading ‘none of the above’) yet we believe that they can play an important role in helping to develop new revenue from existing customers.

For example, asking the question ‘what other products would you like to buy from us?’ is a great way of identifying which new products or services you could be offering.

Balancing Continuity and Innovation in Annual Surveys

Have just completed the drafting of the 4th Annual Customer Survey for a client. Whilst we have kept much of the survey content consistent year to year to allow for comparisons we have also moved the survey forward in different areas.

This year we have decided to ask more questions about the business environment in which the respondents are operating so that my client can understand better the pressures on customers and respond accordingly.

Getting the balance right between continuity and innovation in the survey is also important for maintaining the interest of respondents, to which must be added the need to ensure that the survey does not become long and tedious to complete.