We all agree that in order to make more money we must develop repeat customers. To develop repeat customers we must satisfy our current customers.
So, satisfied customers = more money.
Now we simply ask our customers to point out areas that we were less than perfect and then we change our systems and procedures to correct our weaknesses.
The best tool for this task is the customer satisfaction survey.
Several shops already utilize a customer satisfaction survey system. Some shops use an outside company to handle the process and other shops handle everything in house and there are a few shops that handle everything electronically through their website or email.
Regardless of how you decide to do it, here are a few tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your customer surveys.
- Tip 1: Do it! The vast majority of shop owners that I talk to admit that they either don’t have a customer survey system in place or they have one in place but they don’t really use it.
- Tip 2: Use two surveys, one for customers that came by for an estimate and another for customers after you have repaired their vehicle.
Most shops don’t survey customers that come in for an estimate. That’s a mistake. If you are missing sales because your office is dirty or your office personnel were having a bad day, you need to know. - Tip 3: Give your customers the opportunity to complete the survey anonymously. You will get a more honest evaluation of your business.
- Tip 4: Look for trends.
If one person says bolts were missing or loose, it’s probably an isolated incident, but a number of people complain about the same thing then you need to evaluate your processes or your quality control systems. - Tip 5: Focus on the details.
You might have a 90% satisfaction rating overall, but you could have one area that consistently scores lower. Look at the details and implement corrections. - Trick 1: Try these for your last two questions-
(next to last question) On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate us overall?
(last question) If we did not earn a 10, tell us what we could do to improve.
When you use this trick you are more likely to find out what the customer really thinks. - Trick 2: Change the questions on your survey from time-to-time. Use the survey as a tool to help you find your weaknesses.
No matter what size your shop is, you will benefit from the help of a customer satisfaction survey. Whether you receive negative or positive feedback it is important that you use it to make any necessary changes. If you continually listen to customer feedback and then make changes based on that feedback, you will have a more satisfied customer and remember, satisfied customers = more money.
Here are some links to some great articles about Customer Satisfaction Surveys
http://management.about.com/od/competitiveinfo/a/CustomerSatSurv.htm
http://marketingpr.suite101.com/article.cfm/measuring_customer_satisfaction_in_a_survey
http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p204697145_Customer-feedback-Ten-steps-to-great-survey-design.html
If you want to begin a Customer Satisfaction Survey program but you don’t know how to get started contact me and I’ll be happy to share some survey examples with you.
Tags: auto body, business, Collision Repair, Marketing