Tired and Not Yet Breakeven? Here’s One Underrated Thing You Can Do To Boost Business and Growth.
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’re knee-deep in mud, trudging your way toward any sign of growth. You’re battling along the journey of growing your passion to a place where you can finally breath easy.
I know — you’re navigating the trenches. And yes, it comes at a cost. The cost of time. The cost of relationships. The cost of balance in your life, where you can actually feel comfortable.
And you’re so focused on your product, on selling and on growth that you don’t care about anything else. Why should you, right?
Well, I’ve got news for you!
The one thing that can crumble all your aspirations, all your hard work and take away that feeling of freedom? Forgetting to talk to your customer.
If you’re fortunate to get opportunities to chat with your (potential) customers or audience — you better take it! Take it with open arms.
If you’re not that lucky, it’s important that you find a way to create that opportunity. After all, you need to have your hand on the market pulse. You need to know what’s going on in your industry. You need to know if you’re heading in the right direction. And the only way to do that is through your customer. It’s always through your customers.
Always.
Why?
Because it’s the only way to build a viable business. The only way to design a good product. Only way to get their attention.
Gathering customer insights allows you to get the right answers by asking the right questions. But if you don’t ask, you won’t know what they want. Asking your audience or customer is a great way to gather information about them, to know who they are and to know how to help them.
Now, not everyone knows how to go about talking to their customers or gathering the right data. There are many ways to gather insight.
Some key ways are using Surveys, which allow you to gather consensus and qualitative data. There are Focus Groups, a more conversational approach to researching your market, and Interviews, which get you up close and personal.
There are also experiments and observational methods (if you have a product, this works pretty well to know how people interact with your product).
But to the person who is now jumping into the business world or has been considering how to get insights for the first time, surveys are gold.
It’s often the first method and the ice-breaker for communication. And why wouldn’t you want to start customer development conversations?
WHY ARE SURVEYS INVALUABLE?
I’ve conducted surveys for products, services and brands aiming to get a better idea of their market and customer. The process can be intimidating to create, but it will be one of the best things you can do for your business.
Surveys introduce you to your audience.
There’s nothing better than a great first impression. Have you ever met someone for the first time and walked away with a great feeling? First impressions enable relationships to either progress or regress quickly. It’s how you make your judgment and cast your perspective.
A survey allows you to create a first impression that is short and sweet. It allows the customer or audience to get an idea of what you’re about through the simple questions you ask. Simple is key.
Surveys are non-intrusive.
There’s nothing worse than a salesman randomly calling you at an odd hour. It’s even worse when they don’t ask if you’re able to talk. Surveys (especially online surveys) allow you to be non-intrusive. Your audience or customer is able to answer on their terms, creating a better experience for them while still getting you the answers you need.
Surveys are less time-consuming.
Building a survey may take some time — from getting the right questions to putting it all together. But the time you take to build a survey substitutes itself for the time it takes to gather and analyze the data.
With tools like Survey Monkey, Google Forms, or (my favorite) Typeform, all the data can be compared and analyzed easily, without the need for transcription, one-by-one comparison or manual cleaning up your data.
Surveys allow you to spot trends.
Now, I’ve conducted a few surveys and the one benefit that stands out after every analysis is the ability to spot trends. Whether it’s comparing answers to one question or a group of questions, the trends are easily identifiable.
Using surveys and the tools mentioned allow you to pick up demographic trends, how they use words that become important to your brand or spot the common problems that your customers face.
BUT HOW DO YOU BUILD A SURVEY THAT GETS RESPONSES?
Surveys provide information for your business or project to build upon. But there’s the change that your survey gets nothing. Nada. And then you feel like you’ve wasted precious time and hours.
And the harsh reality is that not everyone cares to take their time out of the day to read and respond to a survey.
But there are ways to make sure your survey gets opened, read and answered by those who matter.
- Create an opening message or note.
A survey, like any other method of communication, is an introduction. You don’t randomly walk up to someone on the side of the street and start talking about your puppy Chino, do you? Exactly.
You need to build an introduction that allows them to make a connection. Whether it’s messaging your best friend or a stranger, you’ll want to connect with them from the instant they start reading. An opening note or message that provides context will allow them to understand what you’re asking of them and make that connection.
Your note should also match the type of audience you’re after — whether it’s a company CEO or a consumer. Your audience speaks in a certain way, so you should align your language with theirs.
2. Make sure it’s an “Ask”.
What do I mean by an “Ask?” If you have a gun to your head, you’re going to be unwillingly forced to give up your precious goods or valuables. Now, why would you want your audience or customer to unwillingly answer your survey?
You want to be able to caress them, make them feel important and allow them to willingly divulge information that makes them the center of the conversation.
I recently wrote a letter to my network of potential customers which got a 40% response rate. It literally began like this:
I’m reaching out because I could use your help — nothing too demanding, just your honest feedback.”
It was my second line of the note, which provided an ask for “help” but also took the pressure off of the demand.
This opening provided a reason why I’m reaching out, allowed my audience to feel important and relieved any pressure of doing something complex and time-consuming.
3. Always allow them the ability to accept or decline.
There’s nothing worse than being forced into something you don’t care about. I would never go on a party boat because I know I’d be forced to stay until the end. No thanks!
The same applies to your customer or audience. Allow them the ability of choice. Allow them to know that it’s ok to say ‘no.’ The flip side to this is that you need to take the few lines you have to make them want to say ‘yes.’
Giving them the option will allow them to be more open and receptive, while not feeling pressured. Less pressure equals more open responses.
4. Make sure your questions and your survey are clear and concise.
Any survey that drags along and takes more than 5 to 10 minutes to answer should be discarded (except for Myers-Briggs personality tests — the one those companies force you to answer from time to time).
Remember, people care about themselves and they care about their time. Make it effortless for them to answer.
Keep your questions short. Keep your language simple and clear. If you’re doing multiple choice answers, keep them short and clear. No room for ambiguity!
5. End with a kind word and a potential follow up.
Your audience is doing you a favor. They’re taking their time to give you information at their consent. It’s always nice to thank them for their effort. If you can afford it, why not give them a thank you discount or a gift for their insight.
Your last work should also enable more communication — whether it’s prompting them to have a follow-up or allowing them the ability to share their contact information. Having a Call-to-action will enable you to keep the relationship open and provide them a way to get to the next step, if they’re interested. After all, you’re building a business that needs customers and feedback.
BONUS LETTER:
I’ve been conducting surveys that have been to both personal networks and to the public.
Here’s an example of an opening copy-written message that gathered 40% response rates to a network of Facebook users.
Hi [HIS/HER FIRST NAME],
I hope you’re doing well and having a good week so far! :)
I’m reaching out because I could use your help — nothing too demanding, just your honest feedback.
I’m currently researching homeowners/renters and their experiences with home service providers, like plumbers, cleaners/housekeepers, electricians — the lot. It’s part of my research for a business I’m considering starting.
I reached out to you because you are exactly the type of person I would like to serve, so my hope is that you might have 5 minutes to answer a few questions I have. Your experience and unique perspective would help give me the confidence to make a go/no-go decision about moving forward with my idea.
Shoot me back a yes/thumbs-up and I’ll send across the short survey for you, which will take only 3–5 minutes of your time. Thanks!
Regards,
Here are some examples of survey questions I’ve asked.
If you’re looking to gather information to grow your business, surveys provide an opportunity to introduce yourself and get the initial data you need.
Remember, like any piece of communication, how you provide your survey is as important as the survey itself — that’s if you want to gain solid feedback.
