Give Customers What They Want in Seven Steps

Reach out: You don't have to circulate a survey to get to know your customers. You could create an e-mail mailing list to help you solicit opinions or hold an event at your office where you could socialize with clients.

For example, Michael Solomon, a consumer-behavior professor at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia who wrote The Truth About What Customers Want (FT Press), says bookstores should hold regular discussion groups or events to engage shoppers. "You're creating a community that shares a common interest," he says. "You have a loyal group who will evangelize for you."

Go public: People use social-networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to discuss their experiences with companies they patronize. If a customer encounters bad service, they will likely make it known on their profile pages. Monitor those sites and set up a profile page to gather customer feedback. If you have time, start a blog on your website and encourage readers to give feedback.

Keep it in perspective: Don't rethink your product or service over every suggestion. Mint.com won't add a new feature unless 20% of its users ask for it. They remove applications that aren't used by more than 5% of customers.

Follow through: If you don't try to draw conclusions and take action based on your research, then you're wasting hard-earned money. Ignoring customer complaints could alienate clients.