Are you listening to the voice of your customers?

Hearing and clearly understanding the voice of your customers in today’s competitive environment is a best practice and has become an essential and fundamental requirement to future planning. It is ultimately your customers' voice that matters most. Successful organizations hear that voice and effectively use it to guide their activities. You may have heard rumors about what your customers are thinking, or even whispers from them along the way, but it is up to you to clearly understand the thoughts and opinions of your customers in order to compete effectively.

The following are just a few examples of essential information that should be obtained from your customer base.

Your organization’s strengths and weaknesses

Does it really matter what you perceive as your organization’s strengths and weaknesses if your customers view them as something entirely different?

Competitive information

Recognizing your customers’ opinions about your organization is paramount. Knowing what your customers think about your competition is even better. How beneficial would it be to identify opportunities that will help your organization stand out among the rest?

Unmet customer needs

Your customers are connected to your industry in different ways. How valuable would it be to hear about the needs of your customers from different perspectives to which your organization may be able to respond?

Marketing preferences

Knowing what attracts the most attention within your market and among your customers can make all the difference when allocating marketing resources. How helpful would it be for you to know which trade shows are most valuable, which trade publications get read most often, or what kinds of marketing activities your customers prefer the most?

Future trends and opportunities

Your industry may be changing at a pace that is measurable, or it may be changing so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up. How important is it to understand what your customers are doing differently in order to respond to industry changes? And how will you know if there are increased business opportunities unless you find out what future plans your customers are making?

Incorporating customer perception surveys into the normal, annual routine of your organization will ensure that the distinct voice of your customers is being heard loud and clear when making strategic business decisions. For manufacturing companies that are ISO/QS certified, it is a requirement to proactively obtain customer input and use that feedback to drive important growth and improvement efforts.

If you are wondering how to best gather customer feedback, we can help. We manage every aspect of the survey process from beginning to end, so you don’t have to. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Tweed-Weber can help you design and implement a customer perception survey that will bring the voice of your customers directly to your planning table.