Successful Business owners don’t just throw products at the proverbial wall to see what sticks. They invest time and money in researching the market to determine everything from opportunity to inventory to price point.

Once you have identified potential customers for your products, you figure out the best vehicles to reach them. You tell them what you’re offering and how they can buy what you have to sell. But it doesn’t stop there.

You can’t count on customers coming back to you and remaining loyal to your business instead of your competition. That’s why you need to engage with them in meaningful ways. Find out what they want and need and deliver what you promise.

Your goals should be to improve the products you have and to develop new ones your customers might want. If that’s true, then you need to gather more than sales history, payment preferences, and shipping addresses. You need insights that will help your business succeed. Here are five questions you should ask to unlock them.

1. What Problem Are You Trying to Solve With Our Product?

Customers purchase products because they’re seeking solutions to problems. They want to make life easier, feel better about themselves, or simply survive. They want or need certain products they believe will improve their lives in some way.

No doubt you’ve made assumptions about the answer to this question and have used them in your positioning strategy. But this is your opportunity to ask customers individually, gathering input via zero party data. The information you gather this way is far more detailed, accurate, and reliable than that from the increasingly crumbling cookies.

Customers who want to share this type of information with you will appreciate that you’ve asked the question. It shows them that you care about their quest to make life easier. And you’re asking it directly, eliminating that creepy feeling that “Big Brother is watching.”

2. How Could Our Product Work Better for You?

This is the obvious follow-up question to the first one. Your customers bought your product to solve a problem. The best way to keep them coming back is by making your solution even better.

Think of asking your customers this question as a way to generate focus group qualitative data without convening the focus group. Making product improvements is an investment, so hedge your risk. Let your customers tell you how you can make a product they’ve purchased work better for them.

The answers you receive will begin to form a pattern, which will inform the work of your product developers. On the flip side, your improvements will please your customers even more. And that will keep them coming back time and time again.

3. Have We Met or Exceeded Your Expectations?

Asking customers this question opens the door to gathering insights about the full customer journey. You’re not looking for a multiple-choice response here. You want input that will inform your company’s strategies to improve the customer experience.

Customers should weigh in on how they found your product, what the purchasing experience was like, and how easy it was to use. Find out how any issues raised were addressed by your CX team and how they would rate that response.

Input from this question can be fodder for customer reviews you can use on your website and on Social Media Platforms. Plus, you might find stories that you can weave into your brand’s content. At the very least, you can use this information to create content you know your customers want to see.

4. Will You Recommend Our Product to Others?

Too often, companies just hope that happy customers will pass along their recommendations to others. That begs the question: Why aren’t you asking the question directly?

Give customers the tools they need to rate and recommend your products on your Social Media platforms and on theirs. Reward them with discounts or other incentives if they do. Do whatever you can to help them become ambassadors for your brand.

At the same time, if customers say they wouldn’t recommend your product, don’t just sweep it under the proverbial rug. Ask them why and if you can, make it right. Your goal is to make your customers happy enough to want to spread the word.

5. What Other Pain Points Do You Need Help Solving?

Lean into new product development with this one. Asking this question is a great way to identify market voids that might make sense for your company to fill. It’s solid market research.

Your customers are busy people who don’t always find what they’re looking for online. If you ask them this question, you’re not just telling them that you care about their problems. You’re also telling them you want to help them save time and find solutions.

If customers are happy with the products they have already purchased from you, they’re likely to try new products you launch. That’s especially true if they asked for certain solutions and you invested in providing them. It’s a great way to build customer loyalty and company success.

Ask Away

There are numerous ways to ask your customers questions that can improve your products and the customer experience. Surveys, email, website feedback, and social media engagement are just a few. The point is to build your own first party data insights and use that to keep the conversation on topic and ongoing.

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