Why Not Poll Your Customers?

Although far from new, polls are a greater part of the American fabric than ever before. Consumers have become more comfortable with polls conducted via e-mail, on Web sites and via text messages (as much as I loathe the show, two quick words come to mind here: “American Idol”). In fact, it’s pretty rare these days when we’re not subjected to some sort of poll at least once a week, sometimes even once a day.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Polls aren’t like those delightful 6:30 p.m. telemarketing calls we often have to answer with a mouthful of pasta. They’re there; you can take part, or just ignore them, but they’re hardly shoved in your face or in the way of something else you’re trying to see or do. (Granted, sometimes telemarketing calls are pollsters — but that’s not what I’m getting at here.)

We’re no exception. On the CatalogSuccess.com Web site, we’ve upped the frequency of our reader poll to once a week to coincide with the weekly distribution of our other e-newsletter, Catalog Success Idea Factory. It’s helped us — more importantly, you — gain a better idea of what your peers are doing, how they’re handling adversity, such as the postage increase, how their mailing and marketing plans are changing, and so forth. So I encourage you to keep casting your vote each week, then view the results.

Why Just the Media?

But who says polls have to be confined to the media? Considering how expensive consumer research can be, what about polling your customers? You could have order-takers ask a poll question quickly after taking an order, or you could post a poll question on your Web site. You may not be as successful, but you could even stick a poll question on one of your opening pages and encourage customers to go to your Web site to respond.

Or you could try e-mail. A couple of weeks ago, I came across a company that’s been successfully polling its customers. The company, BuyRugsDirect.com, actually is a Web pure-play, not a cataloger. But considering that this Sudbury, Mass.-based marketer conducts business in many of the same ways that our audience of catalog/multichannel marketers does, I thought its use of customer polling would make a good example, and something you can learn from.

BuyRugsDirect.com started polling customers on Jan. 26, and has since gathered some useful information. “It was something I’d been curious about after seeing it in a newsletter sent to me,” BuyRugsDirect.com’s president/CEO Jamie Carney tells me. She examined the newsletter poll further and sought a vendor to handle her own company’s polls. “I liked this particular poll, because it’s not formal and quite engaging, written just in plain talk. And, of course, respondents have the chance to see how others have responded.”

BuyRugsDirect.com transmits about 30,000 e-mails with poll questions per month to an opt-in-only list. “We’re not mailing customers that many messages,” Carney says. “People don’t want to hear from you that often, so we’re only e-mailing them once or twice a month.”

Part of Broader E-mails

The e-mails also contain articles on such subjects as decorating or changes in the rug industry or some sort of hot new trend, Carney explains. And a poll question is included in each e-mail. A recent e-mail contained a tips article on decorating, then a simple question asking customers if they found the article interesting, somewhat interesting, already knew about it, or boring. “It’s a quick poll,” Carney says. “I’ve found it to be a great way to get feedback from customers and really listen to what they have to say.”

In another poll, BuyRugsDirect.com asked customers to rate the company’s customer service. But instead of just asking customers to indicate whether the marketer’s service is “superior, inferior,” etc., Carney says she strives for lighter, more down-to-earth responses. So in the case of the customer service poll, she offered such responses as “give them all a raise.” “It’s something they can get a laugh out of,” she says. “It gets their attention.” (Other responses included “better than others, “just O.K.,” “needs improvement” and “get a new job!”)

BuyRugsDirect.com works with SubscriberMail, which processes all of its e-mails and poll tallies. The marketer pays the vendor a set fee of $875 per month, an amount that varies from client to client, according to SubscriberMail founder Jordan Ayan, who notes that about one-quarter of his clients conduct customer polls.

There are other vendors that handle these kinds of e-mails. And their prices will fluctuate just as much as SubscriberMail’s does. But if you already have an aggressive e-mail marketing program, polling customers certainly is worth your while since it can be an easy add-on for other e-mail marketing services you use. I leave you with some possible poll questions for your customers:

Jewelry cataloger

Regardless of whether you’ve bought anything from us lately, how would you rate our product line this year overall?

1. Gorgeous, I wish I could afford it

2. So-so, you really aren’t showing me anything new

3. Ugly, tacky, hideous, oh my!

Lessons learned from customers’ responses:

* product line in need of an overhaul

* prices are too high

Home decor cataloger

If you’ve bought from us before, how have our products affected the look of your home?

1. It’s refreshed, reinvigorated, revived. I was able to upgrade the look of my home at an affordable cost.

2. I’ve bought some nice things from you, but wish you offered more products I really need.

3. Minimal effect, really. In fact, I can’t recall what I bought from you.

Lessons learned from customers’ responses:

* your merchandise is hitting the mark

* you need to reexamine what your customers’ needs are

* your merchandise may be drab, unexciting

Fashion apparel cataloger

Do you feel that the clothes you’ve purchased from our catalog are in sync with the times?

1. Oh definitely, I buy your clothes because they’re so fashion-forward.

2. They’re O.K., I feel good in them, but don’t necessarily feel like the latest look out of Paris.

3. They fit. I don’t really care what’s in sync with the times.

Lessons learned from customers’ responses:

* again, whether your merchandise is hitting the mark

* what your customers’ desires are with regard to fashion

* whether your customers really care about what’s fashion-forward.

Maintenance, repair & operating supplies catalog/distributor (B-to-B)

Are you able to find all the parts you need in our catalog?

1. Yes, always, please keep doing what you’re doing.

2. I used to, but more often now I turn to your competition to find what I need.

3. Sometimes, but that’s always been the case.

Lessons learned from customers’ responses:

* your inventory management is on the mark

* you better investigate further what you’re missing

I must admit, I had fun making these up. But I should think customers would have fun responding to them, so why not give them a try? And please let the rest of us know if you do and how you make out!