You can gather information by conducting market research, identifying products
that customers prefer, or defining areas of interest or problems. The advantage
of the internet is that, with a little thought, you can quite easily
gain interesting insights. As a savvy businessperson, you can then
use
these
to
change
your product range or improve
a service, which will certainly have a positive impact
on your profits
. If you give it some thought, you’ll surely figure out for yourself how to obtain this information. Nevertheless, we’ll try to offer some advice.
How do you obtain such ideas?
First and foremost, you should focus on utilising your own
website or online shop. How?
Surveys
, discussion forums
, ratings and polls,
or questionnaires are suitable for this purpose. Some of you
undoubtedly have similar tools on your websites, but few actually analyse them
effectively. If you want to generate feedback, you must be clear about the objective
you wish to achieve and tailor the survey question or discussion
forum topic accordingly.
Another area you can monitor to identify areas of interest is
traffic analysis or advertising reports
(PPC). Do you really know which area interests
your visitors the most? You may be tracking orders, but further potential
for growth remains hidden from you. It is quite possible that visitors are searching for a
specific product category or topic, yet are not completing the desired conversions there. If you come across
such an area on your website, you can start planning changes and further website
development.
When gathering information, don
’t forget
to use email or telephone
interviews. Monitor communication with customers, make a note of any insights you
gain, or thoroughly brief the staff responsible for this work.
You’re sure to come across valuable information that you can use further. Blogs and social media also offer interesting
potential. People are used to communicating
openly on these platforms.
And practical applications?
If you decide to gather feedback and information, you need to proceed
in a targeted manner. Do you want information about the purchasing process? Use a questionnaire sent after an
order has been placed. The key to success (getting the questionnaire completed) is
simplicity, speed of completion, trustworthiness, and fun or a reward. Completing
the questionnaire must be quick so that the customer doesn’t have to think about what you want from them.
It should be meaningful
, such as improving customer service. And if you motivate
the customer to complete the questionnaire with a gift or reward, this will certainly
increase the likelihood that they will respond in some way. The final output
will be a completed questionnaire,
which you can then use to optimise the purchasing process.
Using
these simple techniques, you can gather plenty of interesting customer
feedback that will help you further develop your website or online shop.
And what’s more, you’ll save money on marketing.
Author: Michal Vaníček