The key to gaining new customers and to keep them coming back is to engage with them on a personal level. The best way to start to do that is to ask a question. It doesn’t have to be a complex question — in fact, shorter, simpler and easier are much better.

The best method for asking is to take advantage of the communications medium customers take with them everywhere they go: their smart phones.

Questions to ask by text

While there are some questions that you can ask almost any time, a better strategy is to tailor the questions to match the individual customer. For example:

• How was your experience? Use the personal interaction you have about customers respectfully, according to all anti-spam and privacy regulations and guidelines. Ask them about their experience in your store, your website or with your services.
• A text message can include a link to an online survey, or you can just ask a simple question, like “Did you get what you needed from our product/store/website/service?” Or you could ask customers to rate their experience from one to five.
• Will you recommend us to your friends? After a purchase—online or physical, product or service—ask customers how likely they are to recommend you to their friends. Keep it simple: yes or no; or not like, probably, or very likely.
• What are you looking for next? Send a short, easy survey to repeat customers to find out what they will be looking for in the future. A home improvement store or service can ask what is the next big project that customers will start. A community organization can ask opinions on the priorities for the group.

Use the data to drive communications

Customer feedback is gold to a smart marketer. Once you’ve got the data, use the information. Analyze it, and group it according to the kind of customer that responds. Keep the engagement going with follow-up communications that respond to their input.