Five things your customers wish you'd do in your business (but you don't)

Getting honest feedback from customers often feels like trying to draw blood from a stone. No matter how much you plead with them, they can’t provide you with the honesty you require. 

Because of this, you sometimes don’t find out what they really want. Often, it all gets lost in the desire for politeness. 

Even so, you can apply policies in your business that work. These provide customers with what they want, without them first having to go through the difficult process of telling you and being honest first. 

Your admission of mistakes

The first thing many customers want is your admission of mistakes. Taking responsibility for things that you’ve done wrong or gotten wrong, can be extremely helpful for your business long-term. 

The main reason for this is that customers don’t want to feel like they’ve lost value (after all, most of them probably work for their incomes). Therefore, saying you’ve got something wrong and then offering some sort of restitution can be powerful. 

Accept card payments

Another thing your customers really want is for you to accept card payments. Going through the hassle of finding a cash machine and paying with cash can be a pain for many customers, and something that most of them would prefer to avoid. 

These days, you can process credit cards on your device, so there isn’t actually any need to buy new hardware. As long as the software is in place, you should be fine. 

Stay ethical

Another thing customers wish you’d do is stay ethical. Many consumers just want companies to be honest with them to sell their products. 

Staying ethical involves all sorts of things, including adopting fair labor practices, and ensuring that you are doing things in your business that are sustainable. Ideally, you want to do what your customers want from you. 

Simplify the buying process

You also want to simplify the buying process. Bypassing unnecessary hurdles can be an excellent way to make life better for customers and prevent them from seeking out cheaper options elsewhere. 

One option is to simply save their details so checking out is easier. 

Another option is to provide them with pre-filled forms that make the buying process more straightforward. 

Keep experimenting with these and see what feedback you get. Usually, people see innovations like these as a significant positive for your business and operations. 

Show appreciation

Showing appreciation is also something you want to do, especially if you are dealing with a customer who buys from you a lot. Many clients believe that they are doing you a favor by buying from you, so you want to indulge this sensibility as much as possible. 

Let’s say a customer always places a large order with you. Working with them can be an excellent way to keep the profits flowing and encourage more purchases in the future. 

Most of the things customers want are emotional. That’s always worth bearing in mind since emotional rewards can often be more powerful than non-emotional ones, even for established firms.