Mala McAlpin Ever wondered what your clients think of you? Your treatments? How your reception and treatment rooms look, and how they make clients feel? Do you really know what they want? Why not just ask them?
Conducting your own market research doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, depending on the systems you use, it can be downright easy, not to mention cost effective. Utilising your existing clients and creating your own in-house survey provides an opportunity to invite your clients, in a non-obligatory, even anonymous way, to give you invaluable insight into how your business is perceived and where you could improve.
So where do I start?
Begin by brainstorming a list of questions you might like to ask your clients. Take your time – we guarantee more will come to you over the space of several days. Begin with general questions that may be useful to you, such as “how do you feel upon entering the business?” or “do you feel comfortable upon entering reception/treatment rooms/consultation spaces?” This will help you ascertain how your staff are performing when it comes to front of house, whether you need to update the flow of the room, procedures, etc.
These questions are of course designed for clients when they physically enter the building, but you might consider also asking questions around clients that use phone or email inquiries as a point of contact. Perhaps questions such as “How do you find our rate of response when it comes to phone or email message inquiries?” or “On a scale of 1-10, how well have we assisted your inquiries in the past?”
You also have the option of full sentence responses and/or multiple choice. Generally clients will find it easier to answer multiple choice, laying out options for them to pick from. On the flip side, you will receive more in-depth info with full sentence responses. A classic quality vs quantity situation.
Once you have considered all the location, admin, staff or general enquiries questions available to you, start brainstorming more specific, service-based questions. This will very much depend on the services you offer, but asking your clients about the products you use on them, the pressure and technique of massages, visible results of facial treatments, or how cared-for they were made to feel by their clinician during treatment, should provide you with exceptionally helpful insights.
How do I send it out?
Start by using your booking system to export an up-to-date spreadsheet of current clients. These will be your survey recipients. If you’re looking for a low-cost option, SurveyMonkey provides some affordable plans, with their free plan available to 100 recipients per survey. It’s simple to use, has great response reports that are easy to read and understand, and recipient lists can be uploaded using an excel spreadsheet. You can select whether your clients can remain anonymous or not.
Once you send out your survey, keep an eye on your responses, give it a few days, then asses the situation. You will now have an incredible snapshot of your clients’ honest views of your business, your staff, your procedures and anything else you wish to know, and potential areas of improvement should be made clear to you quite quickly. Trust us, the responses you receive will be one of the most valuable business and marketing tools you can get your hands on!
