Blog Them Ready For The Two “Would You?”s

Customer service expert Sheldon Goldstein teaches companies how to get the most actionable information out of customer surveys.

There are two clincher questions that ABC Company can use to take its own customer service "temperature":
 

• How likely are you to purchase from ABC again?
• How likely are you to recommend ABC to friends and family?

Loyalty, explains Goldberg, is a behavior with satisfaction as its foundation, adding that the right survey can measure that behavior (or its absence!) in new clients, repeat clients, lost clients, and even competitors’ clients.

Blogging for business is targeted to a fifth group – potential clients. Blog posts are your "elevator speeches", the perfect venue to showcase your products, the services you offer, and your unique approach to delivering those to clients.  But no matter which of the five groups of clients you’re targeting, always remember the Radio WIIFM principle. One thing is for sure: those clients (no matter whether they’re new clients, repeat customers, other companies’ clients, or potential customers or clients) are all thinking, always thinking, and will continue to be thinking…

                                    "So what?  So what’s in it for me?"

Given that you’re using your blog to attract online searchers with "pull marketing", can surveys work in business blogs?  There are actually two different yes answers to that question:

Asking qualitative survey questions (questions that can’t be answered with a simple "yes" or "no") in a blog post is about engaging the reader through interaction. 
Answering the questions allows you to showcase your knowledge of the subject, and, even more important, your company’s deep sensitivity to customers’ needs.

No, it wouldn’t make sense to ask potential clients how likely they are to purchase again, nor if they’d recommend you to family and friends. But, with your opening blog encounter, you’re setting the stage for positive customer survey responses to those two questions later on.