Home  Article Archive

Putting Your Feedback Forms on Steroids

By David Frey

Yesterday a friend and I went to a local Mexican restaurant to have lunch. The service and food were great. At the end of the meal the waiter handed us a "Comment Card" to fill out. I picked it up and took a look at it.

Hmmmm....

The Comment Card had a lot to be desired.

Here's the Comment Card We Were Handed

Want to see what the Comment Card looked like that we were handed?

Here it is --> http://www.davidfrey.us/recommends/be3

(copy and paste the URL into your browser)

What do you think? From my viewpoint, the only useful thing on this Comment Card was the "What Could We Do to Please You More" question.

Giving pre-defined choices such as "Very Good," "Good," or "No Good," is worthless. (The one exception to this is if you want numerical responses for "scoring" your employees.)

Here's What I Would Do With this Comment Card

A great comment card should do three things:

1. Get constructive, honest feedback to help you improve your business.

2. Get a testimonial that you can use in your marketing efforts.

3. Get referrals! Referrals, being the most important, in my humble opinion.

So, I took the time to re-design this Comment Card to satisfy all three of my requirements. The new design puts your Comment Card on steroids.

Would You Like to See My New Comment Card Design?

Here it is --> http://www.davidfrey.us/recommends/desertfree

Here are four things you'll notice from my new Comment Card.

1. Notice how I ask open ended questions to get real, honest feedback.

2. Notice how I ask, "What Did You Enjoy." The answer to that becomes a testimonial.

3. Notice how I ask for referrals!

4. Finally, notice how I bribe the customer to fill out the form. Most people won't fill out the form unless they have an incentive to do so.

What Do You Do Now that You Have the Comments?

I developed this Comment Card form while working in the senior living industry. We received testimonials and referrals like crazy. But it didn't mean a hill of beans if you don't do anything with them. So here's what we did with the results...

1. We immediately entered in the information into a custom database that we had set up to capture this data.

2. The database would automatically merge this information with pre-formatted letters to the referral prospects on the card. The letter would include the name of the person who referred them and their testimonial.

It would also include a 2 for 1 certificate in the name of the person who gave the referral. (that's called "borrowing affinity")

We found that 65% of these certificates were redeemed! A 65% referral conversion rate...amazing!

And the best part about it was that the entire referral system was AUTOMATIC!

We didn't have to ask anyone for a referral, but we received 20 - 30 referrals A DAY!

3. We created a binder for each employee and put in the appropriate employee's feedback forms. Then every quarter, during our performance appraisals we would review some of the comments with our employees.

This is a simple strategy that nearly any business can utilize. All it takes is a little elbow grease to make it happen.

But like all great referral systems, once you set them up, they almost run themselves and keep producing the same great results over and over again, on autopilot.

Would You Like to Discover More Unique Referral Strategies Like The "Comment Card" System?

This is just one of over 105 referral strategies that I explain in detail in my best selling Instant Referral Systems program (http://www.InstantReferralSystems.com)

If you want to triple the amount of referrals you're currently receiving and you...

...hate imposing on your good customers who have become your personal friends.

...feel like a multi-level marketer begging friends and family members for the names and contact information of their close friends.

...get tired of trying to memorize silly referral scripts to manipulate your friends.

...dislike the embarrassment and shame you feel when being rejected.

...get sweaty palms and a sick feeling just getting up the nerve to ask for a referral...

...then you probably should take a few moments to visit the http://www.InstantReferralSystems.com to see what it's all about.