Customer feedback is one of the most valuable forms of data entrepreneurs can obtain about their consumer base, from positive moments to unsatisfactory experiences.
Why do brands need this feedback, even if it’s negative? There are a few reasons why it matters to collect customer feedback.
Feedback allows brands to better improve or adjust their existing offerings and services. You may not fully understand what needs to be improved upon if you don’t ask for feedback. Instead, you’ll likely continue taking random shots in the dark attempting to better the customer service experience. What you should do instead is make informed decisions driven by direct feedback.
Asking for feedback also allows you to engage with customers. When you are able to engage with customers in an authentic manner and implement their suggestions, customers feel as though their voices are being heard. This helps establish brand loyalty with your customers. The more loyal a customer is, the more positive word of mouth spreads around to wider audiences. This helps drive new consumers to your business — and increases your sales!
There are dozens of ways a business can collect customer feedback, but if your company has a limited bandwidth, it may be best to stick to a few tried and true methods.
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Check out these smart ways to collect customer feedback:
Conduct a survey
How satisfied were you with today’s shopping experience? Can you rate the quality of the service you received on a scale of very difficult to very easy? How likely would you be to recommend our company to a friend or colleague?
These questions, and a few more that are specific to your business, should be included when conducting a brief survey.
What types of surveys should your business utilize for customer feedback?
- Email surveys: These tend to be the most popular types of survey, and are easy to build and send through email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and Constant Contact to your email subscriber base. Send out an email survey a few days after a customer has made their purchase. This provides enough time afterward to properly follow up and share more details about the overall experience.
- Paper feedback cards: Print isn’t dead yet! You may include survey cards with a purchase, whether it was made in-store or online, or even include the information on a receipt. Encourage customers to visit a specific link to take a survey and share their feedback.
- Text surveys: If a customer doesn’t respond to online surveys, consider implementing SMS surveys consumers may respond to via text message.
Related: How Customer Feedback Informs This Startup’s Growth
Review customer communications
Have you ever called a company’s 1-800 number and been told that the call might be recorded for quality assurance purposes? It’s highly likely you may not think much of this automatic message, but it carries weight with businesses.
Recorded calls with customers are a gold mine of feedback. Play back these calls and listen for any common denominators. Which of your products or services do customers have the most trouble dealing with? Which questions are asked the most frequently? What is your company doing that customers praise highly?
Go through the same process with your chatbot transcriptions.
Take all of this feedback into consideration and work to improve your company based off what you’ve discovered.
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Monitor social media mentions
What are customers saying about your business on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? Engage directly with comments and interactions on your company’s social media accounts. Check in with sites like Yelp and Trustpilot to read reviews and respond accordingly, especially if there is negative feedback.
Dig deeper for feedback elsewhere, too. Use tools like Google Alerts to track the name of your business online and see where you’re mentioned in the media or on influential blogs. Utilize social listening tools like Hootsuite to track posts with hashtags that may pertain to your business on various social media platforms.
The more you know what’s being said about your company, the better you’ll be able to engage with the content, solve any problems, and share the wins with your audience.
