Do you know what your clients like about your business and what they don’t? Do you want to know more about their needs, goals and aspirations? There is a simple way to find out everything you want to know – ask them!

Things you should know: Count used reasonable efforts to ensure the commentary in this blog was accurate and true at the time that it was posted, but Count is not liable for any errors or omissions in the commentary. Since the time of posting it is possible that regulatory requirements and laws upon which the commentary were based have changed and the content is outdated. The commentary provided in this blog is informational only and while care was taken in the preparation of this blog, no liability is accepted by Count, its related entities, agents and employees for any loss arising from reliance on this blog. Any commentary regarding past economic performance is no indication of future performance and should be used as a general guide only.

Creating an impactful client survey is no easy task, but get it right and it could take your business to the next level. The 2015 BStar Accountants' Research Report indicates that over 90% of accountants don't regularly survey their clients, and considering that few other feedback methods have the ability to gather so much data so quickly on an individual topic, this is a wasted opportunity.

A few tricks for a successful survey

The shorter the better - When was the last time you were excited by completing a 30 minute survey? Not only do you need to focus on less questions, but equally important is to also eliminate superfluous words from your questions.

One question at a time - Don't overwhelm your audience with a series of questions. In order to get quality responses, people need time to think through each question separately.

Don't lead your respondents - "What do you think about our new award winning accounting software?" Trying to control a person's response will gain no real feedback for your business.

Ask Yes/No questions - If your questions are written well, there should be no issue asking a respondent to simply answer a yes or no. At the very least, include as the first question. It is easier to complete for the respondent, you will be able to interpret the data easier, and your abandonment rates will be lower.

Reward your respondents - People love freebies or discounts on your services, and if your survey is well written, the feedback you receive and the benefits for your business will be priceless.

Setting it up and measuring success

Providers like Survey Monkey have been able to make this process quick and easy. They have low fees and great reporting functionality, making it simple for you to download or share data within your business.

Depending on the amount of clients you have, a 10% response rate is a good indicator of success. For example, if you have 500 clients, 50 responses is considered a good result.

Using the results to build your business

How can you make the most of the results you get? Now you have spent all this time getting clients to respond, it is important that your business gains the most from this data. Look for commonalities in answers - something you are doing well or something your clients see as a pain point. Use this as a basis to create a plan to turn feedback into an opportunity and optimise/fix the issue, helping both client retention and your prospective client offer.

You can also use the results as a marketing tool, by pin pointing your best or ‘ideal’ clients and creating a profile based on them to use for targeting marketing campaigns and lead generation activities.

Whether it’s broadening your client services, enhancing your client experience through service quality or investing in new technology, ongoing clients surveys essential for your business to plan for the future.