Communication - Do you make it easy for customer to communicate with you? When a customer telephones is phone answered promptly; are enquiries about products or services properly handled? A good business will make every effort to ensure that whatever customers query it is resolved by right person, quickly, politely and fairly. If a problem is not resolvable immediately do you promise to respond in a given time period and do you deliver on your promise? Use a customer satisfaction survey to confirm that all your staff are perceived by your customers as being helpful, courteous and knowledgeable.

Location – Do your customers find it easy to visit you, if a physical store, is it conveniently located with good access?

Making it pleasant, making it easy - For a virtual business it is important to ensure that your website is aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. Physical store or website, is store properly laid out, can your customers find what they need and is there sufficient information and help on hand to explain how a particular product works?

The right quality products – Not only should you measure quality of service that you provide but you should check that products and services that you market are what customer wants and closely match their expectations.

Value for money – Cheap or expensive is not always a good measure, value of money is. Do your customers equate your business with value for money, if not, why not?

Speed and attention – No matter what business, majority of customers will want to be dealt with quickly but attentively. Are you doing everything you can to avoid delays? Good businesses will try to treat each customer as an individual, does yours? Attention is one thing but this has to be hand- in-hand with a quick and satisfactory resolution of query.

Demographics and Specific issues – Take opportunity to profile your customers, for example where do they live and what is their age group? The more you try to understand your customers better you will be able to target your business. Within survey allow customers to highlight specific problems and provide contact details.

What next?

Having completed survey analyse results.

Trends – Look for common and specific areas where service is failing. Ask yourself if criticism is valid and is there anything that can be done to resolve or minimise problem?

Training – Are staff properly trained and do they have sufficient knowledge? Where staff training programmes have been implemented have they had a positive impact on business? Follow-up –If a customer who has completed a survey has raised a specific issue ensure that they are contacted and their complaint addressed. Don’t loose an opportunity to resolve a problem and keep a customer.

Continuously Monitor - Make-changes and then measure by issuing further surveys.

The following sample customer satisfaction survey for a store demonstrates some of areas discussed please visit:-

http://www.surveygalaxy.com/surPublishes.asp?survey_id=1140

4. Use Your Levers Do little things that make biggest difference. Aim for maximum impact with minimum effort. Focus will help but there are other forms of leverage too. Here are just two.

OPT - Other People's Time. Don't be afraid to ask for help. You don't have to do it all yourself. Use your network. Ask and you shall receive. Give and you shall get.

Recycle - Learn to recognise value in everything you do. Turn your ezine into a book and sell it. Write your words of wisdom down and share them.

5. Don't Be Busy - Be Effective Don't waste your hours simply being "busy". Being busy does not cause you to be wealthy. So don't be busy - be effective. Remember 80:20 rule. Typically 20 per cent of things you do will be responsible for 80 per cent of results you get. So focus on 20 per cent that gets result. 6. Always Look For The Easy Route If there's an easy way to do something and a hard way - take easy way first. I call this "inspired laziness"

7. Measure Progress By What You Reap The only truth is result. Doing lots of things is not same as achieving lots of things. Measure progress by your outcomes not your inputs.