Category Archives: Small Business Marketing

How to use surveys and polls to grow your business

Using a survey or a poll is great way to understand what your customer wants. The answers you get can give you an insight into what your customers think of you and your business; what kind of service they want; and it gives them a chance to share their perspectives with you. If your survey or poll is engaging, then your customers are more likely to participate and spread the word about you.

The way I see it, surveys/polls have three main objectives…

  1. Getting feedback from existing customers about products or services that you have provided. Ask them if the product or service could be improved or if there was a way it would work better for them. You can use this to improve your services or extend your product line.
  2. You can use a survey to get testimonials from your customers. What worked well for them and why? You can then ask them if you can use their comment in your advertising or on your website/social media page.
  3. To find out what your customers want – is there an issue that needs solving…one that they’d be willing to pay for? If you know exactly what your customers want, you can develop products or services to fit their needs. This shows that not only do you listen to what they say, you act on it.

What questions do you ask?

There are many you could ask and I’ve listed some areas you might want to think about. However, I would advise no more than five to ten questions or your customers will get bored.

When you are creating your questions, think about what you want to achieve…are you looking for ideas for new products or services? Are you wanting to know what needs to be improved? Here are some ideas and pointers that might help you… 

  • If you’re doing a poll, you might want to just stick to one question. You could do a series of polls over a number of weeks on your social media pages.
  • If you are a blogger, you could ask your customers what subjects they might be interested in…for example if you are a beauty blogger, you might find that several of your customers have the same problem that you could address with a blog, such as ‘how to apply mascara properly’ or ‘what are the best products for sensitive skin?’ Answering questions helps set you up as an expert in your field.
  • Segmenting your customers will help you reach the right audience with the right message. A simple example…if you run a garden centre and you send out a regular newsletter, you could ask what plants your audience are interested in. Some may be interested in herbs and fruit – another in climbing plants – someone else in vegetables and flowers. You can then use this information to better target your marketing and communications.
  • Are you thinking of setting up an event? Events take up a huge amount of time and effort from planning to execution, so before you invest your time and money, you could create a poll or survey to find out what kind of event they’d like. Make sure you give some options, so you are steering them in the direction you want them to go in!
  • Competitions – you can use a survey to host a competition. For example if you make cakes, you could put several pictures of cakes you have made and ask, ‘Which cake do you think deserves Cake of the Month’? This also serves to show potential customers what you can do and gives you the chance to show several different kinds of cakes you do.
  • Finally – get a fun aspect in there! Polls and surveys don’t have to be serious – if you just want to engage with your customers, ask a question about something current, such as ‘What do you think of the dancing TikTok trend – did you join in?’ You might spark a discussion which could lead to anything!

Once you have your survey or poll, post it on your Facebook/Instagram page or put it on your website. If you want specific information from your existing customers, you could include the survey or poll in your newsletter or on email.

Final Hot Tip!

Everyone likes a reward, so offer some kind of incentive for your customers if they complete your survey. Give a free report or an e-book, or offer them a small discount on the next purchase they make from you. Offer a further discount, or a free item, if they recommend three people, who then buy from you!

“I can and I will” – motivate yourself for business in 2016

 

I always try to stay motivated, especially with my freelance work, but there comes a time in all our lives when we seem to lose our mojo for a while, when motivation evades us. How do you deal with that? What can you do to get your mojo back?

How do you start the New Year?

  • With bounding enthusiasm….having planned everything for your business down to the smallest point?
  • Indifference…I’ll deal with whatever comes up when it does. You have a kind of plan but not set in stone
  • Reluctantly….I know I’ve got to get up and get on with it, but I’d rather still be sitting on the sofa watching TV and eating chocolate!
  • Confident….you have a plan, but know that it will probably change and that it’s not perfect, but you’re getting there

There’s no wrong or right way, different things work for different people. For me, I always remember ‘I can and I will’ – it’s a saying I use a lot. When I was working in India a few years ago, it’s the saying that caught on with the team I was coaching about communications. They ended up adopting it for their team when I left…I was quite touched!

So, if you’re feeling like your get up and go, has got up and gone, what can you do to motivate yourself for 2016? Here are some ideas that might help…

Focus

  • Define your goals and how you’re going to keep them (this might be work related or personal goals)
  • If you have too many things on your ‘to do’ list, it will be too daunting, so try and stick to just a few. It makes them more manageable.
  • Research and read about what you want to achieve. Sometimes, typing in what you want into a search engine brings up some great ideas, and sometimes, things you hadn’t thought of.
  • Reward yourself when you achieve each goal – no matter how small – it always feels good to get something in return for your hard work.

Confidence

  • Be positive – surround yourself with positivity. Smile more, even when you’re on the telephone – it shows! Negative people see problems – positive people look for solutions. Try and find simple answers to achieving what you want to achieve.
  • Visualisation – this can work very well – I do this a lot. Close your eyes and visualise what success to you will look and feel like. Visualise how you will get there. This can have a very calming effect.

Maintain your direction

  • Refine your plan – look at your goals and make a list of the activities you’ve been doing to reach those goals. Which ones are working and which ones aren’t? Focus your attention on the ones that are working, tweak them to make them work even better…or break them down into manageable chunks and they won’t seem so daunting.
  • Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill. We all make mistakes and sometimes we see our problems or setbacks as HUGE. Take a step back – is it really that bad? Acknowledge that it’s there, sulk about it for a minute or have a coffee and a biscuit and feel sorry for yourself for a few minutes. Then STOP! Tomorrow is another day, today’s setback will not stop you getting on with the job in hand tomorrow.
  • Most importantly, stay excited! This links in with positivity – print off some motivational quotes and stick them around your desk. Don’t let yourself get bored – if you are losing interest in an aspect of your business, do something about it to make it more interesting. Chart your progress so you know if you are on track – it can be very motivational to see the progress you’re making, no matter how small.

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Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

And, above all, love what you do. No goal is unachievable if you plan it well.

Why not share what you do to keep motivated? I’d love to hear from you.