Is it ok to ask?

Is it ok to ask? A lot of professionals, translators and otherwise, may sometimes ask if it is appropriate to ask their clients for a review. Big companies usually have customer satisfaction surveys, but does it make sense for a small business? Well, it certainly does. Big or small you are a business and you need to run it appropriately, regardless of its size. Asking your clients for a review is a part of that.

A review or comment on social media

Word of mouth is your best marketing campaign. That means that if you provide great service, you might not even need to ask your clients for a review, they may simply use one of your social media pages to leave a comment or put a review on your services. LinkedIn is great for that since it is a professional network and people are there to find jobs and make business. Make sure you have a good LinkedIn profile for yourself and your business.

Customer Service Survey

Customer satisfaction surveys are great business tools. I wouldn’t say you can use them as marketing tools because that is definitely not their purpose, but you can ask for a comment and then use it in your marketing.  These surveys are very useful and every business should have one. They can be used to evaluate your services. Having an idea of what you are doing right is great, but most importantly, is what you are doing not so great that you need to understand. Who better to provide you with that information than your clients? So ask them!

If you are aware of your weaknesses you are capable of addressing them and improving if you need to. There is always room for improvement, even if your clients tell you, you are great, there is always a way of making yourself even greater. An entrepreneur never accommodates into a situation, even if it’s good they will always look to make it even better.

So, next time you think if it’s ok to ask, think instead can I afford not to ask? Have a customer satisfaction survey, and at the end of each project, or at the end of the year if it’s a corporate client or agency that sends you work regularly. There you can also ask if they can provide a small comment about your services and also ask if they allow you to publish it on your website or social media pages. Most will provide the comment and some will even allow you to publish it.

As an entrepreneur you always need to make decisions, this is just part of that. Your clients will understand it, especially if they are also entrepreneurs who may also have to make the same decisions for their business. Communication is our best tool, so if you want to run your business effectively, I would say communication will be the best thing that comes to mind.