As a business owner, one of the best ways to build your business is through customer feedback. Even though you may have a great product, negative customer experiences can be "tweeted" about in seconds, causing your marketing and branding efforts to fail.

Successful businesses are turning to various methods of collecting feedback such as customer surveys, mystery shoppers, as well as formal and informal feedback channels, online and in print. They then take these comments back to their managers and follow up on issues immediately, especially if the client experience was not a positive one.

The Globe and Mail's Report on Business Magazine states that "ninety-nine per cent of retail customers don't give feedback without being asked". Small details can make or break customer loyalty and purchasing power.

Below are some ideas on how you can retain your clients.

• Be your own customer and experience your business "through the clients' eyes"
• Use social media to target specific audiences and to immediately diffuse any customer concerns
• Have front-line staff be appreciative and open to listening to clients' concerns
• Be loyal to your clients and build a better competitive advantage
• Make client feedback an ongoing process in your business

For more information, visit our Marketing and Sales section, learn about Designing a Questionnaire and find out more on how to turn complaints into cash.