Questions Are Great For Marketing Success

By Susan Oakes • 26 Comments

marketing strategy questionsDo your customers ask questions about your product or service, service delivery, pricing etc?

Do you keep a track of these questions?

If you do then you probably know how valuable they are.

If you don’t then you could be missing out on opportunities to grow your brand successfully.

It is easy to answer questions and then forget about them once you have answered them.

However they can provide strategic clues about what is important in your customers’ minds.

Especially when you are working on your business developing marketing strategies to grow your business.

Here are three ways to make the most of your customers’ questions:

Look For The Patterns

Take note of how many of the same sort of questions you are getting. See if there is a trend or pattern to the questions.

If you look at the trends you can usually see if it is one aspect such as service delivery or if it is actually another part of your marketing such as the price of your service delivery.

Don’t Take Then Literally

This is a simple mistake in marketing, many small business owners make. They take the questions customers’ ask literally.

It is often the interpretation of the questions and response to your answers that are the most important.

The reason for this is sometimes your customers can’t explain what they mean in the best way.

Often asking questions back can give more clarity as well as listening to the response to your answers.

Record the Questions and Answers

If you are going to make good use of the questions then it is an idea to keep a record of them as well as your answers.

The reason is so you do not have to rely on your memory. You can see if they change over time as well as the areas of your business they are about.

To take this a step further you can also record what action if any you took and the results you get.

It is very easy to make the marketing of your brand more complicated than it needs to be. And it is often the basics such as questions that provide answers to grow your brand successfully.

Over to you. What other tips can you share about how to take advantage of customer questions?

 

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26 Responses to Questions Are Great For Marketing Success

  1. Questions Are Great For Marketing Success | M4B Marketing | Media Relations | Scoop.it says:
    October 18, 2011 at 7:51 am

    [...] Questions Are Great For Marketing Success | M4B Marketing Customer feedback is vital part of your marketing strategy to grow your brand. Here are a few tips to make the most of their questions. Source: http://www.m4bmarketing.com [...]

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  2. Tash says:
    October 18, 2011 at 2:45 pm

    You can also use customer questions to ensure your website and other marketing materials are providing the information customers are looking for.

    If lots of people are asking ‘does your what sit come in pink?’ then you need to list your colours on your site – or make it easier to find that information.

    Saves you and your customers time and frustration.
    Tash recently posted..Answer the question when replyingMy Profile

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  3. BizSugar.com says:
    October 19, 2011 at 6:20 am

    Questions Are Great For Marketing Success | M4B Marketing…

    Do your customers ask questions about your product or service, service delivery, pricing etc? Do you keep a track of these questions? If you do you know how valuable they are. If you don’t you could be missing out on opportunities. Tips to help you ge…

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  4. Mike Martin says:
    October 19, 2011 at 1:21 pm

    Hi Susan. Thanks for the tips

    Below is an extract from my book that deals with CSM

    A New Customer Service Model
    Many companies and organizations are now shifting their consumer service model to a perspective that is based on what the customer would like and not on what the company can deliver. They are trying to provide this service by looking through the customer’s eyes.
    They know that good business relationships are built on trust. In order to gain that trust from your clients and co-workers, you must learn to view the world through their eyes. In customer service that means offering your services in a way that makes your solution about their problem.
    To do that you take the focus off of you and talk about the customer issues that these products or services can address. You might talk about how you’ve dealt with similar problems before, and you know that they require special handling. You have some ideas that may be of help to the customer, but you’d like to know more about their business. This opens the door for your salespeople to show that they, too, view the world through the customers’ eyes.
    When it comes to sales you also have to take a different approach. Even the best salesperson does himself or his company no favours by selling someone something that they don’t need. It may be short term gain for a long term loss. That’s why it’s important for salespeople to take the time to learn about their customer’s or prospect’s business and industry, to ensure that the solutions they suggest are relevant and helpful. This is done simply by asking questions, hearing the answers, and asking follow-up questions, and hearing those answers.

    Finally the new model of customer service asks the company and its employees to put themselves in the customer’s shoes. How would you like to be treated? Would it be acceptable to you to receive shoddy service or treatment?
    When you understand that you are finally seeing the world from someone else’s eyes. It is not just a good principle, it’s good business.

    Mike Martin
    Author of Change the Things You Can (Dealing with Difficult People)

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    • Susan Oakes says:
      October 19, 2011 at 2:26 pm

      Sounds like your book will be very helpful for businesses Mike. The consumer products companies that I worked for followed this type of model, some better than others and when they strayed it was so easy to see the results go down. As you say it is good business and just makes sense especially these days.

      Thanks for sharing the extract of your book.

      Reply
  5. Jennifer Woodard says:
    October 19, 2011 at 1:41 pm

    Susan,

    Great post as always. If you run a website or blog and frequently here the same questions you can set up a FAQ page to answer those questions.

    Jenn
    Jennifer Woodard recently posted..How Creating a Marketing Plan is like Planning a Road Trip part 1My Profile

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  6. Adeline Yuboco says:
    October 19, 2011 at 4:07 pm

    My dad would always tell me that there are two important words when it comes to dealing with people: Assume Nothing. Whether you’re dealing with clients, customers or partners, don’t assume that you know already what they will ask or need. It pays to ask a few questions to clarify to make sure that you know and understand what they want. That way, it would save you from wasting time doing things over and over again. Not to mention lessening the chances of frustrated clients and customers.
    Adeline Yuboco recently posted..A Newfound Appreciation for Foie GrasMy Profile

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  7. Erich says:
    October 19, 2011 at 11:45 pm

    I keep a spreadsheet for questions I get asked, and their appropriate response. I’ve found it helps immensely when I’m talking on the phone, or answering emails.
    Erich recently posted..Why Fiverr is Frivolous for Audio MarketingMy Profile

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  8. Dennis Salvatier says:
    October 22, 2011 at 4:47 am

    This is great advice. I wish I could say this could work for me. Lately, the questions I’ve been getting all revolve around price. 95% of the inquiries I get come down to budgets and “helping” them with a great price. No one does this to a Doctor, mechanic or restaurant, yet it happens to the design community. Luckily, there are the few who ask questions about quality control and customer service, so I’m thankful for that. This is still incredibly useful information that I will keep in mind.
    Dennis Salvatier recently posted..Moleskine Wants You to Design for FreeMy Profile

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    • Susan Oakes says:
      October 22, 2011 at 10:39 am

      Hi Dennis,

      Often as I mentioned in the article is the interpretation of the questions and see what opportunities they present. If you take the mechanic and especially restaurants some have used these types of questions and used them to their advantage. Just have a think of the signals they are giving you and don’t take the questions literally.

      Reply
  9. Jeannette Paladino says:
    October 22, 2011 at 5:19 am

    Susan — excellent advice, as always. Listening to what your customers want is key to success. And to get there, you need to ask them questions. Few of us are marketing geniuses like the late Steve Jobs. He never did market research or asked questions because he felt that people didn’t know what they want. If he had relied on the usual formula, would anybody Apple surveyed say they needed an iPad? So the challenge for all of us is not only asking what customers want but reading between the lines to get at what their actual needs are, as you point out.
    Jeannette Paladino recently posted..The Power of Small Wins in Our Inner Work LivesMy Profile

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  10. Sherryl Perry says:
    October 24, 2011 at 4:13 am

    Susan,
    This is an excellent tip on doing some very simple market research. I can’t think of an easier way to get input from your customers. I always encourage people to ask me questions both online and in person. Some of my most popular blog posts (and often the easiest to write) were inspired by questions. Questions are a great indicator of what both your existing and potential clients/customers need. Thanks for another excellent post!
    Sherryl Perry recently posted..Community Building and Having an Online Support SystemMy Profile

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    • Susan Oakes says:
      October 24, 2011 at 8:49 am

      Hi Sherryl,

      You do this very well on your blog and as you say often they can be the easiest to write. I think one key is what you do and that is encourage questions. Sometimes the best ideas for posts as well as new product or service ideas come from this encouragement.

      Reply
  11. Catherine Lockey says:
    October 24, 2011 at 4:48 am

    Hi Susan,
    Over the years I too have incorporated many answers to commonly asked questions into my agreement forms and client presentations. One thing I always do is ask clients to clarify any questions I don’t fully understand. I never feel foolish doing this because, as their content manager, it is imperative I have clarity.
    Catherine Lockey recently posted..Your Content Marketing Core MattersMy Profile

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    • Susan Oakes says:
      October 24, 2011 at 8:52 am

      Hi Catherine,

      They are great examples of using customer questions. I agree about clarifying as most are more than happy to explain their questions and it helps customers as well.

      Reply
  12. Karylle Lynch says:
    October 25, 2011 at 12:15 pm

    Great post!
    You have a very good point here “And it is often the basics such as questions that provide answers to grow your brand successfully.” I totally agree with you. With these questions you can gather some tips on how you can improve your market.
    Karylle Lynch recently posted..BLS Announces 2010 Injury and Illness Rates, OSHA Concerned about Injury and Illness RecordkeepingMy Profile

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  13. Shela says:
    November 8, 2011 at 4:08 am

    Those question would help you a lot for great marketing.You can collect a helpful tips.Thank you for inspiring us.
    Shela recently posted..1300 numbers in AustraliaMy Profile

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  14. sandraw2580 says:
    November 9, 2011 at 5:42 am

    Every questions of a customer should be important. Like what’s in the post, it should be recorded, it isn’t just plain question, it’s also a learning experience in a way.
    sandraw2580 recently posted..Foods To Help You Lose WeightMy Profile

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  15. CherylB says:
    November 17, 2011 at 5:19 am

    For me, questions must be considered to be an important thing to consider. That means, individuals visiting your site is interested with the topic that is why they are asking questions regarding it. Thanks for the post.

    Reply

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