Asking the right questions. Why is a chili called a “chili” – when we all know it is really hot!
I’m fascinated by the number of people that are still trying to get a pulse on their business by asking how satisfied people are. Your satisfied customers are satisfied. Leave them be. Let’s focus on the ones who aren’t satisfied.
Adweek.com put out a piece talking about how many people remember having unsatisfactory experiences. (1 in 5 Walk Away from a Brand after a Bad Experience) The real tell seems to be how dissatisfied someone is with you. Or how difficult it was for someone to do business with you. Yet so many times, we’re still asking (and talking about) satisfaction. There are a thousand bits of learning under “ask the right question” but let’s start with a simple truth:
You most likely don’t care about how many people are satisfied with your product, your real opportunity is to hear from those who aren’t. Let’s start asking the questions that way.
- What don’t you like about your last experience with us?
- What didn’t go well?
- Why wouldn’t you recommend us to one of your friends or colleagues?
- What can we do to make it right? To make it better?
If we started talking to people about what’s wrong, not always insinuating that it is right (Q: How satisfied are you with us? A: NOT AT ALL!) I believe we’d get better answers. Making it ok for someone to voice their opinion – employee or customer will always get you closer to the real answer. Try it. Are you brave enough? Is your leadership team ready to hear the truth? Is your company?