Expose Yourself

There's an old saying, "If you keep doing the same thing you're going to keep getting the same result." To evolve your business, sometimes you have to step outside and look in. Working day to day inside your business is safe, comfortable and part of your routine. But stepping out and looking at it from an outsiders perspective can really give you insight on what you're doing great and how you can improve.

We just did this ourselves by conducting a survey. I've got to tell you, exposing yourself like that is scary. Things start running through your head like...

• Are we living up to the promises we make?
• Have we upset someone?
• Are we prepared to take action on negative feedback?
• What if they don't like us?

We learned to silence those fears because of one word. Integrity. We know that every day we give 100% and that any feedback we received would be an opportunity to strengthen our process. After all, growth is the result of improvement. 

A wise lady by the name of Whitney Hahn of Digital Bard once told us, "Don't ask questions that you are not willing to take action on." In other words, don't ask a question about your pricing structure if you're not willing to adjust your rates. We asked questions like:

• What do you love most about working with us?
• What could we use a little brushing up on?
• What services did you know we offered?
• What keeps you coming back?
• Rate us on our different services... 

A few tips on surveys...

• Define your purpose. Tell your clients why you're surveying them.
• Keep it brief. If you want a decent turn out, the survey should only take the reader a few minutes.
• Use a tool like SurveyMonkey.com - it's easy to track results and streamlines the process for the user. 
• Set a timeframe - leaving the survey open for an unlimited time reduces the urgency to complete it.
• Be intentional. Know your goals for conducting the survey and how you plan on adjusting your product or service after receiving the results.

So, here's what we found out. We have a tribe of loyal and happy clients that appreciate the ease of working with us, the fresh creativity we offer and how we make each of them feel like they're our only client. We learned that we need to be sensitive about industry lingo and that not everyone understands what we're talking about and that we need to make our processes more clear. The three services people didn't know we offered were copywriting and our two partner services: photography and videography. Our clients keep coming back because they trust us, know the quality of work they'll receive and because of our positive attitudes.

Don't look at surveying your customers as a negative thing. It can provide an opportunity to enhance your business and grow.