Do you ever wish you could just crawl inside the heads of your customers and figure out exactly what they want? Doing so would yield a tremendous amount of knowledge and would undoubtedly have a huge positive financial impact on your business. Of course, outside of some futuristic sci-fi movie, the best way to get inside of the heads of your customers is to simply ask them for their opinions.

While this concept may seem like common sense (at least that's how I approach it), many companies and marketers have lost sight of this simple method for gathering feedback. Instead, companies regularly spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on focus group studies. While focus group research still has its place, much of this research can easily be collected out in the open with the actual consumers of your products and services. More importantly, these consumers will be more likely to buy your goods if you engage them in your decision-making process.

There are numerous methods and applications for gathering opinions and feedback, including your website, blog, forums and social networks. In fact, with so many options available, it's difficult to know where to start and what to ask.

With these four examples of high-yield questions to ask your customers, you'll be well on your way to improving your business process, engaging your customers and gaining goodwill among your key consumers.

Author notes: Sean Cheyney is the VP of marketing and business development for AccuQuote. Read full bio.