by C L Smith

Created on: October 12, 2010   Last Updated: January 18, 2012

Gauging Customer Satisfaction with Offline Tools

A small business may fail to see the value of any form of customer satisfaction survey. The business owner may believe that the data obtained is unreliable or that the cost of conducting the survey is prohibitive. However, the reality is that any customer feedback can aid in the identification of ways to improve a business which, in turn, will lead to better products and services, happier customers and an improved bottom line.

No small business can become complacent about customer service and maintain a high customer satisfaction level.  Simply completing particular functions and assuming that your staff is providing excellent customer service in the process is not enough.  In addition, the completion of tasks consistent with the way that they have historically been performed ignores the probability that functions can always be fine-tuned or revised to better meet current demand. The implementation of assessment and quality improvement measures are a means to ensure high satisfaction of your customers which is critical to the successful operation of your small business.

An evaluation of the level to which your business satisfies its customers can be accomplished only if you thoroughly understand the customer's needs. Addressing the needs of the customer is the basis of any quality management program. Any form of a customer survey accomplishes multiple goals in this respect: it collects information that can lead to practical improvements in your business; it shows the community that your business is interested in satisfying the customer; it shows the customer that you are looking for ways to improve in order to meet the customer's needs and it is a means to ensure the business remains competitive in the marketplace.

Social networking tools can be used as a direct or indirect means to obtain customer feedback that can facilitate the movement of a business to a customer service orientation and the proactive reputation management that is essential in the current consumer-directed marketplace. However, for those small business owners who are either intimidated by the idea of social networks or have yet to complete their social networking marketing plan, other offline tools can be used to gauge the ability of your company to meet and exceed customer expectations. The traditional offline tools solicit customer feedback whether the customer is on your business premises or at another location. These offline

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