When you own a small business, every customer counts. As you build your brand, you have to know the needs of your customers inside and out. Customer surveys are a great tool for gaining insight into how your product stacks up in the eyes of your customer. Surveys can be an invaluable source of objective information on where you’re hitting it out of the park, and what areas of your product need improvement. So here are some dos and don’ts to help you get better feedback from your customer surveys.

Do:

• Keep it short. In a world where the human attention span is now shorter than the attention span of a goldfish, your customers don’t have the time or patience to complete long-winded surveys. Avoid survey-fatigue and keep it short.  Your customers will thank you by taking time to leave thoughtful feedback. Questions should be structured and concise to get the most out of the few minutes of a customer’s time that you have.
• Take advantage of technology. Written and phone surveys make your company seem old fashioned and technology-shy. Mobile survey apps, such as Opinionmeter, SurveyMonkey, and QuestionPro, are widely available, cheap (or free!), and convenient. In addition, these apps make it easy to tabulate data so you can quickly digest survey results and put your insights to work right away.
• Do your research and ask only what is important. Rather than just brainstorming with staff on what might be important to customers, do a few pre-survey interviews with a handful of valuable customers to get ideas on what their priorities are and what types of questions to include for your larger survey audience.
• Follow up. It’s important to acknowledge that your customers are spending their time to benefit your business. Be sure to thank them for completing your questionnaire. Additionally, survey takers can be used for future feedback, so be sure to ask if they are open to being contacted again at a later date.
• Do something with the feedback. You are wasting time and money (yours and your client’s) if you simply review the collected data then throw it in a file. Put a process in place to make changes at your company based on the feedback gathered through customer surveys.

Don’t:

• Don’t survey too often. Most customers don’t mind taking a few minutes to answer your questions, as long as you don’t request that they do so too often. Your best bet is to determine a timeframe that is acceptable for your industry. For some that is once a month, for others quarterly or once a year. It depends on your customers and product. Asking too much of them too often will annoy or even alienate your valued customers. Use your CRM to track which customers have been surveyed and when to stay organized and avoid survey fatigue.
• Don’t hoard the responses. It’s important to share survey results with your staff who often interacts with the customers more frequently than you do.  The data can be used for team discussions on successes, failures and ways to increase customer loyalty.
• Don’t skew or bias your questions. The goal of a useful survey is to learn something new about your customers and their needs. If you’re creating a survey to collect the data that you “want,” you won’t get the data that you actually need to make an impact on your business. Use clear, objective language and be sure that the questions you include are not leading.
• Don’t use multi-part questions. If you do find an ‘and,’ break the question apart for clearer answers.This will increase the likelihood that respondents answer all of the questions and nothing gets passed over.

If you’re failing to conduct customer surveys, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to develop your business or product. Even small business owners who have regular conversations with clients may be missing out on information that customers either didn’t feel comfortable sharing upfront or that just never came up in conversation.

Your business decisions should be influenced by both qualitative and quantitative feedback. Customer surveys are a low-dollar way to get high-value, quantitative information to improve your product or service.

Think about the last time a business really wowed you—whether it was a café that served up an amazing latte or a dry cleaner that saved your favorite shirt from a terrible stain. Chances are that you came away happy because one of the employees showed they really cared.

Sadly, that’s a rare experience. Most employees are just not that into their jobs—and it often shows in how they do their work. Though the percentage of “engaged” workers reached a record high in March 2016, only 34.1% of workers made it into that category, according to Gallup. Among the others, 49.5% were “not engaged” and 16.5% were “actively disengaged.”

So how do you beat the odds and create a culture of engagement where the vast majority of your team is pumped up about work and passionate about delivering a great experience that keeps your customers coming back? Here are some strategies that work.

Really listen to your team.

Many small business owners think that because they can’t afford to replicate Google’s culture—with its on-site massage rooms and in-house nap pods—they don’t stand a chance of building a culture of engagement. Not so. One of the best ways to get employees excited about work is to involve them in making your culture better.

Instead of assuming that a bowling night or employee picnic will get everyone pumped up about coming to work, ask your team for low-cost suggestions on how to improve their daily life at work and make their jobs easier. It could be that what they really want isn’t a party but rather a practical change—like consistent rotation shift schedules from week to week, so it’s easier for them to hire a babysitter.

In case team members are hesitant to speak up about what really matters to them, create an anonymous survey using a free tool such as SurveyMonkey to collect the ideas. Then report back to the group on which ideas you plan to act on and explain why you decided not to pursue some of the others. The more your employees feel they are being heard, the more engaged they will be.

Encourage openness.

If employees feel they can’t be honest with you or other members of the leadership team, they may become disengaged. To create a culture of openness, publicly thank employees who have called your attention to important issues that have come up in the business, whether it is by mentioning their suggestions in meetings or giving out a small gift certificate to the team member who came up with the best customer service improvement of the month.

It’s not always easy to listen to employees’ feedback without getting defensive—we’re all human! —but the more you can train yourself to listen impartially and thank them for their suggestions, the more engaged they will be. Plus, you will benefit more from the insights of the people who have the most contact with your customers. Your employees will be the first to know if customers want you to stock a particular product, are asking for a discontinued service or are griping about long wait times when they make a purchase. That’s valuable information you can act on to grow the business.

Keep them interested.

In the past, many companies made employees “pay their dues” before giving them challenging assignments. Employees who were eager to get ahead seldom questioned that approach, accepting that they had to “prove” themselves before they got to do the interesting stuff.

Today’s world moves at a much faster pace. It’s very possible that someone two years out of college may know more about a particular area of your business than someone with 15 years of experience. By being open to giving millennial employees challenging projects or training them quickly so they can stretch their skills, you’ll find get them more engaged than by telling them, “Your time will come.”

Don’t ignore compensation.

When you first started out in business, you might only have been able to pay minimal salaries. But as your business grows, keep an eye on what the best firms in your niche are paying their teams—sites such as PayScale and Glassdoor can offer insight—and do your best to keep pace. If your employees can’t pay their bills out of their paychecks, they may have to juggle second jobs, which can wear them out and hurt their performance. The more you view your employees as an investment, the more engaged they will be in doing a bang-up job—and the more revenue you’ll bring in by wowing customers.

Focusing on improving the lives of your employees may not always be at the top of your priority list, but actively seeking ways to improve your culture and increase engagement will benefit your company and your bottom line.

It’s no secret that Google products have changed the world in significant ways—one billion people use Gmail every month, and there were 98.5 million Android smartphone users in the U.S. in 2015. But perhaps the most significant contribution Google has made to the world is its search engine and how it changed the way we live, eat, buy and do business.

In 2011, Google released research that proved their search engine had changed people’s behaviors, which led to a trickle-down effect for businesses and how they marketed to their customers. Google called this research a new marketing strategy referred to as the “Zero Moment of Truth” (ZMOT).

What Zero Moment of Truth simply means is Google noticed there was a new step now in the purchasing funnel, between advertising and in-store purchasing. People everywhere, all over the world, turned to Google to research a product before deciding to make a purchase. Before purchasing, people were typing into their Internet browsers questions like, “What laptop has the best battery life?” “What toothpaste is best for teeth whitening?” and “What do I use to take a stain out of a white shirt?” In fact, there was a significant rise in how many pieces of content people were consuming before making a purchasing decision. In 2010, the average shopper used approximately five sources of information before making a purchase. In 2011 they used approximately 10. And now with the rapidly growing onset of mobile, Google says it matters even more since customers can discover your brand at their fingertips, at every moment of the day.

This type of online purchasing research likely isn’t rocket science for you, and you’ve probably done this type of research yourself. But, where the research becomes interesting is how these types of behaviors affect purchasing decisions for customers, and ultimately affects your business profits.

Understanding the Moments of Truth

Procter & Gamble first introduced the concept of “moment of truth” marketing in 2005 when their Chairman, President & CEO, A.G. Lafley, talked about the First Moment of Truth and Second Moment of Truth. The third moment of truth was later introduced by Pete Blackshaw, Vice President of Digital and Social Media at Nestlé. What does all this mumbo jumbo around moments of truth actually mean? Here is a quick and easy breakdown for you:

1. First Moment of Truth: Lafley referenced this as being an ah-ha moment that consumers have when they interact with your brand and its competitive alternatives, likely in person or via an online store.
2. Second Moment of Truth: This happens after your customer has purchased and used your product, and hopefully the experience lived up to the promises you made in marketing and communications.
3. Third Moment of Truth: By this moment, your customer has become a fan of your business and engages with you on social media.

Where Does the Zero Moment Come In?

When Google launched the concept of Zero Moment of Truth, it rocked the marketing world. They were essentially saying, “Hey now, you need to pay attention to your consumer’s online behavior and market to them before they even know they need you.” This type of marketing shows up in the form of content marketing such as blog posts that answer questions your target audience might be searching for, Instagram images, Pinterest images and posts, tutorial YouTube videos, tutorial BuzzFeed videos and more.

Through Google’s onset of ZMOT, content marketing was born. Brands began to look at what content they could create, so potential customers found them online instead of their competitors. As a business owner, you should be thinking about applying ZMOT to your customers, too.

How To Apply ZMOT To Your Small Business:

1. Zero Moment of Truth: As mentioned above, this is when you want to reach your customers with content while they’re searching in Google and other search platforms such as Pinterest. Blog posts are the best way to get started here—and work to understand or have someone help you with an SEO strategy, so you’re smart about ranking long-tail keywords with blog posts answering questions your customers are seeking.
2. First Moment of Truth: At this point, your customer is already pretty far down the purchasing funnel and has decided to evaluate a few different brands before making a purchase. Make sure you set yourself out—offer discounts, free shipping or a “wow factor.” Feature customer testimonials and review sites on your website, so potential customers visiting and researching your brand can see other happy customers. And make sure you’re answering all inquiries that pop-up on social media.
3. Second Moment of Truth: During this “moment,” your customers have purchased and used your product. But it doesn’t stop there. Make sure you have content that allows them to use your product to the full potential. Invest time in creating user guides, supporting documents, how-to videos, email nurture campaigns to get them setup, or recipes and how-tos on your blog. Now is a great moment to get customers invested in your brand, sharing photos online and connecting with other community members. Two brands doing this well are BaubleBar and ModCloth.
4. Third Moment of Truth: This moment is when your customer has become a true fan of your business and provides you with reviews and word-of-mouth marketing, the gold star of marketing. They are personally invested in your business at this point and love to interact with you online. Make sure you’re reinforcing the community pieces like photo sharing, highlighting customers on social media, creating contests, etc.

To get your customers to the Third Moment of Truth, the ultimate fandom of your business, you need to start at the Zero Moment of Truth.  Check out our Content Marketing Playbook to learn how to create compelling content that helps you get in front of your customers before they even know they need you.

During the summer, kids are on break, families take time off, and you and your staff are squeezing in summer vacations. While summer can be slow for many businesses, the back-to-school and back-to-work season is right around the corner.  Will you be prepared to dive in and handle the uptick in activity as the cooler months breeze in? Summer is the perfect time to turn downtime into an opportunity to get organized.  

Here are a few tips for tying up loose ends over the summer so you can hit the ground running as business picks up in the fall:

Organize Tax Records to Stay Cool with the IRS

Organizing all of your business tax records isn’t the most glamorous task, but the peace of mind it brings is well worth the effort. Keep all of your employee tax records as well as records documenting expenses, gross receipts, credit card charges, account statements, and sales invoices. Set aside a designated place to keep all tax documents and receipts neat, tidy, organized and accessible. Good summertime recordkeeping will keep you cool should you receive an IRS notice to substantiate items on your tax return or if your business is audited.

Say Goodbye to Paper

Bid paper farewell to free up more time – and more office space. Use software-based bookkeeping tools to get organized in the accounting department. Small business bookkeeping software, like Quickbooks and Bench, offers cloud-based invoicing, accounting, and billing.

For other documents overflowing in your filing cabinets, you can scan your documents with a management system like Genius Scan. Use Expensify to digitally manage receipts and expense reports. Use an app like CamCard to capture new business cards, so you can toss them rather than collect them.

Once everything is filed electronically, you can go ahead and shred all that paper and free up space on your desk.  Best part is, you’re always just a click or two away from pulling up important documents.

Free Up Time with Social Media Software

While having a social media presence is important, manually updating social media feeds throughout the day can be distracting. Social media software tools like Buffer, Sprout Social and Hootsuite let you schedule updates across multiple platforms, helping you to reach your audience with timely content. In addition, these tools can help you monitor what your audience is saying about your business and your industry.  With social posts in the can, and mentions of your business being tracked, you can relax on the social front and focus more energy on tasks that directly impact sales.

Get Virtual Assistance

Good help is hard to find, but today there are loads of options for managing your schedule, tasks and appointments.  For instance, Square’s appointment app lets your clients book appointments online and even check out on the spot with your device. A virtual assistant can take calls, act as your gatekeeper and schedule your appointments. Grasshopper can set you up with a virtual phone system that runs on your mobile device, so you can conduct business on the go without ever missing a call. And don’t forget that you can keep communication flowing between your business and your prospects and customers by automating tasks with Hatchbuck.

Ramp Up Contact Management

Managing leads, prospects, and customers is an ongoing challenge, especially if you’re disorganized. Use CRM software to keep communication, notes, tasks and activity all in one place. When contacts are organized, you can filter and segment your list on the fly.  Reach hot prospects with an irresistible offer.  Stay in touch with old customers.  Spark the interest of new leads. Keeping contacts organized means you can spend less time hunting down contact info and more time building the relationships that keep your business humming. 

Just because it’s the summer season, doesn’t mean business has to slow down. With some smarts and technology, you can get organized, keep those sales flowing and accelerate business into the fall.