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Print some cards that are lined and start with the simple two words, “I wish…” Pass them out to your customers and tell them to fill them out, hand them back in, and become eligible for weekly or monthly prizes to be awarded for the best ideas submitted. You will be surprised by the great ideas you will get when you ask simple questions. You get information about what your competition is doing, what is important to your customers, what other products or services are related to what you offer (in the mind of the customer) and you get free feedback about your business. Your customers have great ideas and will provide them when you ask. Go ahead and give them the chance to tell you. Pass out these cards.
Here are examples of what you may get back:
- I wish your bakery sold cinnamon buns.
- I wish your office hours started at 7:30 a.m. versus 8:00 a.m. Traffic is high at 7:30 a.m. and subsides within 15 minutes of that
- I wish your produce department had smaller portions of some of the fruits and vegetables. I cannot eat the large portions being packaged and sold. They go bad at home. That’s I why I don’t buy strawberries because they sell too many at one time. I want a smaller container.
- I wish you had the “13 for a dozen” special like your bakery competitor across town offers on Saturdays. They are always busy on weekends.
- I wish your machine shop offered 24/7 service. Many shops need parts made on weekends and would pay a higher price if any shops were open then.
- I wish your auto mechanic business could come at night to my house, pick up my vehicle, make the repairs and then bring it back before I have to leave for work. If you did that, I would call you guys all of the time for all three of my cars.
- I wish your bank branch had more parking. When it is crowded, I do not park there.
- I wish your personnel in the check cashing department would text on their phones when there was fewer customers.
- I wish your guards would help elderly people to their cars, especially after dark. I asked, but was told they are not allowed to escort anyone.
