Today, facilitated by the Internet, nearly every business asks for feedback, with one dramatic exception—the insurance agency. How successful have you been at attracting clients and maximizing retention?

Most of us don't ask, either because we're afraid of what we might find out or because we're too busy. But a customer satisfaction survey actually has a double payoff: It gives you a benchmark how you are doing and communicates to customers that you care about your performance. In other words, your customers will know you're interested.

A few things to keep in mind in preparing to use a survey:

1. Keep it simple. Surveys that are too detailed or ask too many questions discourage people from responding—the opposite of what you are trying to achieve.
2. Determine what subjects are most important to measure. Do you want to find out how pleased (or displeased) your insureds were with your claim service? Do you want to determine how effective advertising has been? Are you interested in your communications—bills, renewal policies, audits—are received?
3. Decide what medium you're going to use—telephone, letters, Internet or other method for reaching people, such as enclosing a response card with every policy.
4. Choose whether you will survey all clients or only certain categories, such as personal accounts, commercial accounts or large accounts.

Related: Read another article from Philip Lieberman's series on communication in “Energize Client Relationships.”