If you are making money, then business is good right? Sure, but things can go astray quickly if you don’t keep an eye on customer feedback. Getting regular feedback from customers means you can spot issues before they become major problems and it also allows you to make improvements to your products or services that your customers will actually value.
Good feedback is also a great marketing and sales tool, plus you can reward your team if feedback is personalised and ensure that more of your team are doing the things that your customers love.
Some businesses feel that customer feedback is scary. The growth of online reviews means that negative customer feedback can have a serious impact on a business’ marketing and sales activities. However, if you have a robust process in place for requesting and dealing with customer feedback this should not be an issue.
So, what steps can you take to encourage customer feedback in your business?
Ask for it
So the main step you need to take to encourage customer feedback is to Ask For It! If you leave it up to your customers to decide whether to leave feedback at least 50% of them won’t. They might be delighted, but once they have used your product or service they will go about their busy lives and forget all about your company (until the next time they need you).
Give a range of options
Everyone is different, so give your customers a range of options for leaving feedback. These options will depend on your industry, but you could offer;
– Facebook review
– Google review
– Linked In Recommendation
– Industry website like Tripadvisor or Checkatrade
– Your website
– A survey
All of these have their pros and cons, but giving a variety of options will mean more people are likely to choose one.
Offer an incentive
You may wish to offer an incentive for giving feedback, this could be entry into a prize draw or a discount off a future purchase. However, this incentive MUST NOT be based on the feedback being positive…any feedback is good feedback.
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Review it
It is essential that ALL feedback is reviewed. This is where you will be able identify any issues with your product or service and deal with them. Many people complaining about the same issue over and over again will soon become a real problem.
Respond to it
Make it someone’s responsibility to respond to ALL feedback – good or bad. Ensure the responses are polite even if the feedback was not. If there is a major issue ensure that the customer is contacted personally and the issue addressed and they are not just given a generic public response.
Use it
Good feedback can be used in your marketing and sales activities. Add positive reviews to your website, create posts for your social media, utilise it in sales presentations. If someone has taken the time to share their positive experience about your company, product or services then ensure you make the most of it.
If team members are mentioned specifically then reward them accordingly and share this information with the rest of the team so they can see what good results look like.
I hope you can take these steps and implement them into your business. As always if you want more help and advice like this check out the rest of our Articles and Resources.
By Duncan McKechnie
Join the NoLimits Business Community
Are you a business owner looking to take your business to the next level? Join our innovative community of like-minded professionals and gain access to a wealth of valuable resources, including a community portal to chat with other business owners, ebooks, business development software, and growth events that will transform the way you do business. Best of all, these resources are completely free and will be available to you forever.
But the benefits of joining our NoLimits business community don’t stop there. By becoming part of our community, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with other business owners, share insights and ideas, and build valuable relationships that will help your business thrive. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to supercharge your business and join us today!