Why I Love Customer Feedback
I had the pleasure of being featured in the American company NCR's Silver business blog about my jewellery business and how I use focus groups to help my company grow into the right direction.
I think it's very important that customers have a say in what they like and dislike in your company and what features can be improved.
Finding out what customers want and how to improve your products or services with this timeless market research tool, is something that most businesses aren't implementing into their business model. I think there is a fear factor in hearing the wrong information from customers, or maybe hearing a comment that you may take personally. I don't take anything personally.
Why I love customer feedback
A prime example for me was when I had conducted my last focus group with a few client's before me relaunching my new website. I had every single customer go through the ordering process and see how easy it was to make an order. The information I received was priceless. For example, nearly every single person involved had said that it wasn't an easy checkout process and would prefer to have a one page checkout with bigger buttons that you could see.
Now if I had not had this focus group I wouldn't have received this information . Straight away this was discussed with my web developer so we could get this implemented into my new website asap! I am so thankful for the customers that come to our focus groups, I always receive fantastic and insightful feedback.
Please do be on the look out for other focus groups coming up in 2017, where we sip wine and you get some goodies for your help and feedback. So if you want to be kept in the know sign up to our newsletter!
Below is the American article I was featured in, go on have a read!
Boost Business by Conducting a Focus Group
Learn what your customers want and how to improve your products or services with this timeless market research tool.
Focus groups are forums that could help you improve customer experience.
“One of the most important jobs for [a business] owner is to be constantly getting input and feedback on how to improve your products and services. You must have an ongoing dialogue.” -Bryan Mattimore (Photo: Bryan Mattimore)
Small businesses don’t talk to their customers nearly enough, said Bryan Mattimore, cofounder of Growth Engine Innovation Agency in Norwalk, Connecticut.
“One of the most important jobs for the owner is to be constantly getting input and feedback on how to improve your products and services,” he said. “You must have an ongoing dialogue.”
To help achieve this goal, owners can turn to focus groups. Focus groups allow you to discover new ideas, improve your marketing and learn more about what your existing customers (and potential new ones) want.
Experts share how best to conduct a focus group and how it could benefit your small business.
Hiring a professional
Owners have two choices: They can go with a professional company that specializes in focus groups or do it themselves.
Use professional moderators to help create an organized discussion guide for your focus group. says Sarah Faulkner, a consumer research specialist and principle of Faulkner Strategic Consulting. (Photo: Sarah Faulkner)
“Professional moderators can help you develop a discussion guide and are skilled in leading focus group discussions that avoid ‘group think’ and get the most out of each respondent,” said Sarah Faulkner, a consumer research specialist and principal of Faulkner Strategic Consulting in Cold Springs, Kentucky. “They can also help small business owners interpret the answers and learning, using their professional experience to go beyond surface responses.”
In addition, a professional researcher can help determine the right type of people to talk to and design a screening survey to identify high-quality respondents, she said.
However, at approximately $18,000 to $20,000 a day (this usually includes several sessions and a facility rental fee), formal sessions can be cost-prohibitive for some small businesses, said Mattimore, who has moderated more than 500 focus groups.
“Some focus group facilities are willing to do just the recruiting for you (and send the participants to your HQ or store location for the focus group), although they don’t like this because they make money on their facility rental,” said Mattimore.
DIY focus groups
To bypass recruiting participants professionally, owners can leverage existing customers as focus group respondents, said Faulkner. “Who better to give you feedback on your business than your own customers?”
Lenique Louis, who runs a small jewellery company in London, England, conducts focus groups and rewards participants with coupons and jewellery cleaner. (Photo: Lenique Louis)
Lenique Louis, who runs a jewellery company in London, England, frequently conducts focus groups among her customers, using her store’s newsletter to get the word out. To sweeten the deal and get people interested in dedicating a few hours of their time, she offers a goodie bag with a 20 percent off coupon, jewellery cleaner, a cupcake and a branded velvet jewellery bag.
“It’s a long session, so we want to make sure we thank them,” she said. While there, customers enjoy food and wine, “so they can let their hair down and give us some honest, real feedback,” said Louis.
Read the full article 
https://www.ncrsilver.com/boost-business-by-conducting-a-focus-group/
