Suppliers & Outsourcing

Quick and Easy Market Research

I highly recommend (on a regular basis) that companies check in with their customers. It’s important to learn what your customers think and feel and get a sense of how they might be saying about you behind your back — in a good way or bad.

Information is power and can help direct and re-direct your business as time goes on, keeping you fresh and in demand. A good way to check in with customers is with a survey. And all the better when it’s easy and short. Especially short.

There are a few online tools available, but my favourites are Zoomerang and Survey Monkey which both have free versions for small scale data collection. Each has slightly different features and format, but with both you can quickly and easily set up an online survey and gather helpful data.

Here are some basic rules for preparing a survey that gets completed:

No one likes spending a lot of time filling in forms, so keep it short
No one likes spending a lot of time filling in forms, so keep it simple
Make sure your questions are neither leading nor vague, both of which make the data useless
Add an incentive to increase response rate, such as a prize draw or special offer for anyone who responds
Only look for answers on things you can do something about. If you cannot build a blue thing-a-ma-jiggy, then don’t ask people if they would prefer a blue or a red thing-a-ma-jiggy.

Keeping your survey scope small and your questions specific will get you better data and usable insights.

Comments (2)

By liz gaige, April 15, 2010 · Filed under Articles, Marketing Tips, Suppliers & Outsourcing

Collaboration for Creative Problem Solving

My friend is dating a much younger man. I must confess, I’m jealous. Though, not for the reasons you might think. iphone map

I’ve had friends date younger men before, it’s no longer a novelty, but I’ve personally never seen the appeal. I guess I just prefer someone who can appreciate a level of shared cultural history, particularly music.

But I’m beginning to see where there may be some serious benefits. Well, one in particular actually. Tech support.

I’m serious. As an immigrant to the world of technology it’s an irritatingly regular hassle having to find someone to answer every little question I didn’t know I’d have to ask in order to get my many gadgets to work.

It would be very handy to have someone around who was born into this techno world we now inhabit and thinks it’s all so obvious there’s no need to explain, for example, about the settings you first need to find and then adjust so you can use your TV as a laptop – sorry, notebook – monitor, since that’s a given. (Huh?!)

The point here is, there are many, many ways and just as many reasons to collaborate. I’m all for getting creative, and frankly, that’s about as good as it gets. Think about it, personal tech support on call! It’s brilliant.

Ladies, stop for a moment and think about what you don’t do well or dislike doing or simply find boring. Quit fighting it. Now think of someone for whom that activity comes easily. Mull it over, ask your friends for ideas. Once you’ve got some options lined up, all you have to do is figure out a way to create a win-win meeting of the minds.

I’m not likely to resolve my tech support issues via the route my friend has taken, but I do intend to take her creative approach to heart.

Invest in Valuable Advice

There are many ways to offload your day-to-day business responsibilities. It can mean hiring an assistant, automating your newsletter via technology, or it can mean delegating tasks that you dread or simply aren’t good at.

I hear lots of reasons for not hiring in expertise that doesn’t reside within the existing management team — especially when the management team consists of one person! Cost is usually the first barrier. But what does it cost NOT to access the skills and experience you need to avoid costly mistakes?

It costs your business time, energy, creative force, and one-on-one customer engagement when you struggle to do things that aren’t your strong suite. It can also cost you money on rookie mistakes.

One of my all time favourite stories is a client who called for a consultation on building their website. After providing a list of recommendations and pitfalls to avoid, the client decided to “save the money” and manage the website project themselves, since someone in the office had a passing knowledge of how to use web template software. I wished them well, and was not the least bit surprised when, 18 months later, they called to talk about getting help with the website, which was still not up. Had they been willing to pay, they’d not have lost 18 months worth of lost online sales!

You wouldn’t dream of representing yourself in a legal proceedings or relying on your own skills to completely build your dream home. So how come you think you need to go it alone when it comes to business? Even home building contractors know enough to bring in the specialists for electrical and plumbing!

Originally posted on

Quizzical Queries: Online Customer Service

Q: I recently purchased printing services online and inadvertently placed the order twice — the online system seemed to time out, so I entered it again. Now the company I purchased from says they will not give me a refund, only a credit for the amount of the second order.

A: Hey, been there done that!

Printers often run into issues with people who inadvertently send the wrong files or have changes after the fact. Having a no refunds policy is their way of protecting themselves when customers make the mistake and want to blame the printer.

I get that, and I feel for them. However, the instance you’re talking about is an online ordering system that doesn’t work. (That’s bad customer service AND poor marketing!)

When it happened to me, the customer service rep acknowledged that an identical order had come through twice within 15 minutes, but was insisting that they couldn’t provide a refund.

First, I agreed that the policy was there for situations where customer error was the issue, however, this was not the case — both orders were 100% identical.

Second, I pointed out that while the company could identify the order was duplicated, I was provided no such confirmation when I used the online order system.

Third, I escalated the process to a manager with the authority to overturn the policy.

The good news is, the company reviewed the circumstances and provided a full refund. That’s good customer service. Unfortunately, because the online order process was problematic, I won’t be buying from them again. Say it together now, “That’s poor marketing!”

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