8) Frequent customer feedback, such as major customer surveys that “test” strategic and day-to-day performance issues. Most organizations don’t know how their customers really experience them, and too many don’t want to know because that requires them to change.
Major customer surveys can be used to (a) uncover significant amounts of additional business at current customers, (b) identify strategic services that buyers are interested in pursuing (e.g., mailing, digital asset management, and storage and fulfillment), and (c) opportunities to improve day-to-day performance. When I hear a CEO say, “Let’s wait and conduct the survey when we’re doing a better job with our customers,” I tend to respond with, “How will you know when that is?” Other customer feedback opportunities include (1) periodic business reviews, (2) press check surveys, (3) plant tour surveys and (4) job surveys.