Your customers are giving you feedback constantly — but you’re not listening.  ”WHAT?! We’re doing surveys and comment cards and talking to them and looking at Yelp and tracking social media — what do you mean I’m not listening?!”

Well – let me be more specific.  You have certain systems in place that make you feel like you’re listening, but doing a regular online survey or collecting feedback from comment cards, doesn’t really count as listening.  It just looks like you’re listening.

You do have options — here are a few

• Use QR codes.  Print QR Codes on receipts, posters, menus, guest services books in hotels, even…  on a comment card!  Take your comment cards digital by routing customers to a quick survey.
• Install iPads. This is a higher-end option but one that really drives customer engagement.  Restaurants are using iPads to take orders, you can use them to collected feedback as well.  Just install the SurveyPocket app.
• Embedding on websites. I got a receipt from home depot the other day that said:  ”Tell us what you think:  www.homedepot.com/opinions”  anyone can remember to /opinions and can provide feedback when they get home.  we can easily embed QuestionPro surveys into any client site, they just need to create the /opinions and add our snippet of code, and they’ve got it live.
• Use QuestionPro’s survey templates.  We make feedback professional and easy, we have dozens of ready to use, professionally written, free to use, feedback surveys.  Plus they can use KnowledgeBank questions (as soon as Liz writes them!)

Why not get on your soapbox and tell us all the different ways that companies AREN’T listening to you — and what you’d rather see instead.

About Ivana Taylor

Ivana Taylor is the publisher of DIYMarketers and the President of Third Force, a strategic marketing firm. She's the marketing expert and book editor for Small Business Trends and a frequent contributor to AMEX Open Forum.