Staying too long with a strategic direction will ultimately impact the bottom line and could make it difficult, if not impossible, to recover in some cases. We have found that too many businesses don't listen carefully enough to their customers. It is critical in the highly competitive environment that most businesses operate in to actively solicit input from customers. Most customers won't come forward when they have complaints or suggestions. Businesses must find effective ways to seek out that feedback.
Formal surveys conducted on a regular and consistent basis is one good way to gather such feedback.
While there is some expense associated with surveying, the information obtained is almost always worth far more than what is spent on the survey. Good feedback from customers allows a business to make the necessary adjustments to become more effective in serving customer needs. Also, take unsolicited customer feedback seriously. So often businesses dismiss this information as unimportant when, in fact, it should be documented and followed up on.