As the saying goes, "Knowledge is power." Knowledge about your customers can be a great resource for any business, but gathering and organizing so much information can be challenging and time-consuming. Luckily, there are many tools out there to make the customer data collection process easier and more efficient for overworked entrepreneurs. The YEC (Young Entrepreneur Council) recently asked its members, "What is your favorite tool or software to collect customer data?"
1. My Phone
"Frankly, it's too easy to sit behind a computer and collect data. But data can only tell us so much. The key is moving from online to offline. It's important to regularly get up from behind the desk and engage customers, whether in person or on the phone. By doing this, you'll collect 'data' that software can't."
- Antonio Neves, THINQACTION, Inc.
2. Mixpanel
"Mixpanel features easy-to-create funnels, people analytics, segmentation and cohorts -- what more can you ask for?"
3. Wufoo
"Wufoo is my favorite tool to collect customer data because it is so easy to share that data with other Web applications. My Wufoo-MailChimp-Highrise integration is at the core of my business. Forms are easy to create with Wufoo, and their rules feature allows you to dynamically change the form based on the customers' answers. Also, you can notify your staff by email, phone or RSS."
- Lawrence Watkins, Great Black Speakers
4. QuickTapSurvey
"I use customer surveys to collect customer data. One app that helps with this is called QuickTapSurvey, which lets me create surveys through my iPad. I can collect and review survey responses as well. I like being able to do this work while I’m on the go, so I chose software that has a mobile app."
- Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
5. UserTesting.com
"It's incredibly powerful to gather direct video and audio feedback from a user trying your product, and UserTesting.com offers a great product to gather feedback in just a couple hours from targeted users. You'll get a video of the user, as well as written answers to questions. This lets anyone in your company access the feedback in real time."
6. Twtpoll
"Twtpoll is one of the easiest ways to collect customer data. You simply ask a question on Twitter or insert one in a blog post. Ask questions your followers are interested in sharing their opinions about, and hold a contest or giveaway to recognize one lucky person who gives you data."
7. Mouseflow
"Mouseflow allows you to watch as your visitors interact with your site, then collects the data so you can improve conversions. Even without a focus on driving people to purchases (yet), we regularly find it super useful."
8. Google Forms
"When I need to collect data, send out a questionnaire, or do a quick survey I still love using Google Forms, even though there are more advanced systems out there now. I export it to Excel to create graphs and charts if I need to but usually accessing the info on Google Drive is enough."
- Natalie MacNeil, She Takes on the World
9. Qualaroo
"We have been using a survey plugin called Qualaroo with great results. It is just a simple WordPress plugin that places a single, short survey question on any page you’d like. We have been placing this in our customer portal, and the response rate has been extremely high. And with the ability to customize what question is displayed on which page, we are getting exactly the answers we need."
- Brian Moran, Get 10,000 Fans
Answers provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.
