How do we go setting about to confirm that the customer had a positive and fulfilled experience with us before asking for a referral?

The answer is so obvious that most of us don't see it!

You ASK THEM about the experience of working with us so far, as well as how suitable our product or service was in solving their problems or meeting their desires.

The thrust of the questions should be to find out 1. what did we do right? 2. was the purchase "fit for purpose"? 3. what are the things we could have done better? 4. is there something important to them that we left out?

This is not an exhaustive list. The general thrust of the idea is to be sure that the customer is happy before we ask for a referral.

If the customer is dissatisfied about anything, then we need to be sure it's something we can address before we ask them for a referral as well.

Everyone who does business with us is trying to solve a problem or meet a desire.

If you are a pig merchant in Benue state, then obviously most of the people who buy from you are doing it because they are trying to impress their in-laws. It's not a bad idea to call them later on to see if the father in law was happy with the pig they got.

After the small talk about how the wedding went, and prayers for the bride and groom, THEN it would make sense for you to ask for a referral.

When it comes to ASKING them about the experience, the average person defaults to using a customer experience questionnaire or some sort of online or email form.

It's not a bad idea to initiate the interaction using a Google form, but is this the best way to go about customer service issues and asking for referrals?