I am going through a marketing research exercise with one of my clients at the moment. I thought it might be useful to drop down some notes. In this particular instance, I am getting feedback on a niche computer development firm. But it does apply across the board. I truly believe that this type of exercise done right, could be the basis for your next big innovation.
Here are some questions to assist you to appreciate what you can do better to service your clients. People rarely buy for the reasons you think they do or should. You must keep in mind that humans are conflict adverse. Basically they would prefer to lie to you then upset you. So dig deep and you may need to ask a similar question a number of times to get to the valuable information you need.

1) Why did you engage us in the first place or what was it about our message, sales representative, brochure, website that attracted you?
2) What do we do well or what keeps you coming back for more?
3) What could we do better?
4) Where did your last provider let you down?
5) If you were in our industry- What would you do or what would you change? Seeing your industry from an outsider’s point of view is priceless.
I have also used a website called Survey Monkey that shoots out easy to build surveys on your behalf for free. Be prepared though, the answers come back anonymous and can be quite brutal. Keep in mind – it just might save your business.

Just created a new website? Do a survey monkey blast to your favourite clients. Give them an incentive like a voucher to their favourite store. Give them a call beforehand so it doesn’t get lost in the spam rinse.
Most importantly, you will learn everything you need to know for your next strategy session and you clients will feel the love.

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