The Importance of Customer Feedback and How to Get It
In business, it can be hard to know just how happy our customers are. While you may think that you and your employees are doing everything possible to look after your customers, you will not know this for sure without talking to them and finding out.
Getting customer feedback is extremely important as it allows you to learn a lot about your customers and your business. Not only does it allow you to fully understand your customer’s requirements, but customer feedback can also help with product development.
The good news is that getting customer feedback doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some of the best ways you can get feedback from your customers:
1. Long-Form Based Surveys
One of the best ways to get customer feedback is with a long-form-based survey. However, many businesses find developing a survey complicated. While this may be true, these types of surveys are worth the hassle. In fact, evidence shows that when done well, they can give you a considerable amount of valuable information about your business.
You can send long-form-based surveys in various ways, including by email, SMS, or by including them in your weekly newsletter. For example, at least one newsletter platform gives businesses access to in-newsletter polls. You can see from this Beehiiv review that their polls allow users to provide long-form feedback and hopefully some words of encouragement too.
2. Set Up a Feedback Mailbox
Another excellent way to get the feedback you need from your customers is to create a feedback mailbox. The good news is that this is easy to do. Simply create a mailbox and then market it to your customers. You can make posters for around the office, send notes in emails, or even include banners in your staff portal.
However, while setting up a mailbox is easy to do, to make this type of customer feedback work, you will need to treat this as a two-way communication instrument. You must ensure that you reply to your customers whenever they send you a message and thank them for taking the time to contact you.
3. Pay Courtesy Calls
If you want valuable feedback from customers who use your service regularly, then courtesy calls are a great option. You will need to work out who your most frequent customers are before giving them a call to ask for their opinion. It is always essential to ensure you choose a range of customers to get the most reliable feedback.
4. Organize Feedback Sessions
Evidence has shown that one of the most effective ways to get feedback is to meet your customers in person and ask for their opinions. To do this, you will need to organize a monthly lunch, workshop, or advisory board with different sets of customers. Inviting a small mixed group of individuals is vital if you want to get the most out of the session.
Many business owners feel overwhelmed at the thought of getting customer feedback, thanks to the number of possibilities. With so many ways to connect with feedback and customers, it can be challenging to know where to begin. One thing is obvious, though, taking a proactive approach to customer feedback is extremely important as it will ensure that your business never ignores your customers’ needs, even as those needs change.
