By Kevin Lawrence (www.CoachKevin.com)

Creating and maintaining strong relationships is the key to having a loyal and thriving client base. That's why - instead of guessing where you stand with your clients or how you need to improve - it makes sense to ask lots of questions. Generating feedback from your clients is the best way to promote the long term health and success of your business.

Bearing this in mind, we have put together the following list entitled, "6 Ways To Get Feedback From Your Customers Regarding How You Can Improve." Its purpose is to help businesspeople like yourself improve their customer retention levels:

1. Before starting any project, be sure to determine what your client's exact expectations are. You have a much better chance of delivering what people want when you actually understand their needs. Spend time with people so you can totally understand what they wish to accomplish and how much they are willing to invest. Everybody is unique: Ask questions. Listen carefully. Offer customized solutions. Overdeliver.
2. Conduct regular customer surveys. Survey research can be the best and most thorough way to find out what your customers want. Quite often, the first thing we do with a client who has retained us to help them build their business is conduct a client survey, sometimes in addition to other market research. We ask our business' clients questions about how their expectations are being met and about what they like and don't like about dealing with that business. We ask them how our client could change, gather suggestions for improvements, and have customers rate the value of our client's service. Of course, we gather comments to explain all ratings given. That way we can find out anything else that needs to be known. There's a wealth of information about your business that you just need to tap into. A very clear picture of your businesses' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can be drawn after properly analyzing a customer survey.
3. Include "feedback cards" with statements. This will show your customers that you take pride in your work, and should make it easier for unhappy clients to provide you with feedback; if they know you want it, they'll be less afraid to give it to you.
4. Call to follow up on any service provided, and, when appropriate, ask how you could improve next time. There's nothing like an unexpected phone call from someone expressing concern for your satisfaction. And, a quick call only takes a moment of your time.
5. Hold customer "Master Minds" at lunch or for dinner. There's no better way to find out how you're doing than to get a group of valued clients together for an organized brainstorming session. Ideally, client Master Minds should be confidential and facilitated by a third-party, as, sometimes, clients find it easier to voice their concerns anonymously. By preparing a list of questions with your facilitator in advance, you can ensure quality responses and relevant feedback.
6. Offer a prize for "best improvement idea." Whether you are gathering feedback through a customer survey, in person, or over the phone, it's always a great idea to reward those who help you improve. Some of our clients have had great success generating feedback through formal campaigns or "idea" contests, such as offering a prize for "Suggestion of the Month."

In the end, you'll always want to acquire as much feedback as possible. The best way to improve is to simply ask how, and then take action on the suggestions you receive. And remember: If you don't make improvements, all that time you spent collecting feedback is wasted. Even worse, if clients make requests and no action is taken, this, in its own right, could lead to upset and customer unrest, which is definitely something you want to avoid.

Be sure to thank everyone who does give you suggestions, as you want these people to continue to communicate with you in the future. A call is a simple method of thanks, but a written note detailing how you plan to take action or a small token of your appreciation will make an even stronger impression.