How to implement customer feedback effectively
We’ve discussed previously how important it is to get feedback from your customers and how you can do that effectively. But how do you make sure this feedback gets acted on?
Always remember, whether good or bad, customer feedback is 24-karat gold for your business! It’s a way of keeping your finger on the pulse of your market, and ensuring you stay in step with your customers.
Engage with customers publicly
It may not be particularly nice to see, but allowing negative commentary on your social media channels has its benefits. It not only makes it less likely these types of comments will pop up elsewhere, but it also gives you a chance to address it positively.
Replying to comments with a personalised and courteous response is good PR. It shows your customers (both happy and unhappy) that you value their opinion.
It also makes it clear that you are actively engaging with customer feedback and are willing to accept responsibility for what might have gone wrong or needs rectifying.
Identify recurring complaints or issues
Do several customers not like a particular feature of a design?
Do certain comments or complaints about a process or procedure keep cropping up?
Have several customers made the same suggestions or pointed out the same areas for improvement?
These are all valuable ‘pearls of wisdom’ to be gathered as you lead your enterprise towards growth and profitability.
When comments or complaints come in, analyse and categorise them so it’s easier to spot trends. For example, an online clothing retailer may want to sort complaints first by brand, and then by product / SKU number.
If the same brand or product line keeps resulting in returns, it’s a sign there’s something you need to act on. There may be a quality issue on the supplier’s side, or perhaps the description or sizing on your website is misleading.
Whatever the case, you won’t know to correct it if you aren’t tracking and categorizing customer issues. The larger your business grows, the more important this becomes for spotting similar trends across multiple branches or geographical regions.
Handled correctly, the ongoing dialogue between your customers and your brand can become one of the most dynamic drivers of your brand. It is an unmissable component in any planning that you do for the future of your enterprise.
Identify opportunities for product / service improvement
As users of your product or service, customers can offer unique insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your brand. They may also come up with exciting ideas and advice that you haven’t thought of.
LEGO Ideas is an excellent example of this. On the platform, customers can submit their ideas for new LEGO sets, and vote for the concepts they like best. If an idea is really popular, LEGO puts the idea into review and may start producing them. Not only that, whoever came up with the idea receives 1% of all royalties from the product’s sale.
By showing you are willing to listen to their input, your customers will feel valued, and you will benefit from some excellent ideas to grow your brand.
Find your most profitable niche
Marketing is an exact science, and finding your ideal target market often contains an element of trial and error. Many companies often end up expending a lot of money, time, and effort on ‘testing the water’. The demographics which respond best to your offering may not be the ones you expected, or even targeted at all.
This is where the analysis of customer feedback can be really valuable, as it can often reveal where the majority of your happiest customers are located. This will enable you to strengthen the relationship you already have with them, and turn them into brand advocates – as we’re about to see…
Spot potential advocates / influencers and cultivate them
Analysing customer feedback will help you identify your most enthusiastic customers. By giving them further encouragement and motivation to engage with your brand, you can turn them into advocates who will actively spread the word to their followers.
Engage with them directly on social media, and target them with appealing promotions. Involve them in loyalty and referral programmes and make a point of asking for their feedback.
Use positive feedback to motivate your team
Make sure you pass on positive comments and compliments to the person involved and the team as a whole. Share interesting conversations and ideas about product and service improvements, and get their opinions.
Remember, your customer support team will have a wealth of insights about your customers too. Try to get your entire team to see feedback implementation as a group effort – after all, the companies which listen best to the needs of their customers are the most likely to grow and succeed.
Need help? Providing customer insights and analysis is one of the many services we offer here at Digital Customer Care Company. Beyond just providing outsourced customer support, our goal is to help you elevate the entire customer experience. Implementing feedback is a big part of that – and we can help you get it right! Get in touch to find out more.
