by Melisa McCurley

What's the best way to improve your website? Let your customers do it for you! Who knows more about how well your website is fitting your customer's needs than your customers? Finding out is easy. Put a feedback form in an easily seen place and invite your customers to use it.

But not just any feedback form will do. Don't expect them to tell you what you need to know unless you ask. Here are some examples of things you might want to ask:

• Please tell us your favorite product. (This will help you decide which products to feature most prominently.)

• Which part of the site did you find most interesting or helpful? (This lets you know what is working and that knowledge can help you improve other parts of your site. A multiple choice drop menu here will make it easy for customers to choose.)

• What did you like least about the site? Why? (Find out what's not working and change it!)

• Was your shopping experience easy and enjoyable? (This is good to add to the bottom of an order form. Let them know you care.)

• Was there something you wanted that we didn't have? (Also good to add to the order form. If someone wants it, you should consider carrying it.)

• Did you have trouble finding anything? (Products should be easy to find. If they aren't, install a search engine or rethink your categorization.)

• How did you find us? (Know which advertising is working for you.)

• Would you recommend us? Why or why not? (Customer recommendations are a great way to build a business. If you aren't getting them, you need to make some changes.)

Remember that customers are doing you a favor by taking time to fill out your feedback form. Keep it short and only ask the questions that will help you improve your site. Don't offend customers by asking highly personal questions such as salary, education level, etc. All feedback, even criticism is good. You can't fix your mistakes if no one bothers to tell you what they are. Take the time to let your customers know that their opinion is important.

Melisa McCurley is the owner of Virtually Designed, Affordable website design for small and home businesses. http://virtuallydesigned.com And editor of Biz Bytes - free ezine designed to help you start, run, and prosper at your small business. Mailto: bizbytes-subscribe@egroups.com

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