Why customer feedback is important and how to get feedback?

Why customer feedback is important and how to get feedback?

When one says they want their business to grow, they overlook that it’s the customers that provide the business. When it comes to customers it is important that you are clear about what they need and how you are providing that. The best and most widely used way for that is getting feedback from your customers. By now, everyone is totally aware of the impact of customer feedback on one’s business. Collecting customer feedback and analyzing this data to provide better customer services is the core part of any successful business. With questions like, are our customers happy or not? Are we doing fine or not? And will our customers do business again with us? The answers to all these questions lie with the feedback of your customers. Because there is nothing better than asking the customers themselves. 

With so many options and methods to choose from, it can be overwhelming for businesses to decide the right method. It can be hard to decide where and how to start. Today there are tons of choices and with the ever-changing demands of the customers, it is very easy to stay behind and lose the competition. That is where feedback helps you out. Customer feedback is a powerful tool in your arsenal, as it not only gives you valuable insight into what customers need but also how you can provide that. With customer feedback at our disposal, we can analyze our current standing and take the necessary measures to make improvements. 

What is Customer Feedback?

Customer feedback is the insight or information provided by your customers about their experience with your product or service or your business. It is the information recorded from customers based on their experience. It provides data for making positive changes to your business. 

Why do you need Customer Feedback anyway?

Every business ever built, is built to generate revenue. Every business owner wants to increase revenue and get as many customers as possible. Every business wants to provide the best products and customer service. This is possible through real-time customer feedback only. Customer feedback makes it possible for you to understand the needs of your customers. What do they like about your product? What are the aspects of your business that require improvements? How can you make customers stay with you?. Customer feedback provides valuable insight that can answer all these questions and much more. With all this information you can easily work on your running products and services but also take steps to improve the ones that are in development.

So the next big question is how to get customer feedback? Information can be obtained in many ways, the catch is to choose the one that is right for your business and suits your customers. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss ways to get customer feedback so that you have the necessary knowledge to make a decision.

So here are the few ways by which you can collect feedback from your customers.

• Customer Feedback Surveys:

When it comes to feedback, and how to get it. The first thing that comes to mind is feedback surveys. Customer feedback surveys are designed to ask certain questions from your customers. Through these surveys, you can determine what the customers feel about your business and what areas need improvement. The most important aspect of this method is designing the survey. What questions are to be included and how to design the survey. 

There are many customer satisfaction survey apps, with these apps you can create custom surveys easily. There are many factors that determine whether a survey is good or not. But the main aspects are:

• Asking the right questions
• Writing open-ended questions rather than close-ended.
• Ignore long and difficult to understand questions.
• Use rating scales and charts.
• Include questions that are beneficial for your business.

Customer feedback surveys are widely considered the most effective way of getting feedback from your customers. If you have designed the survey according to your customers and your business then you are set to succeed.

• Follow-up Emails: 

Whoever says that sending emails to get feedback, is an obsolete method and is not effective now, is not telling you the truth. It is true that most people may not check their emails regularly, but still, a large portion of business customers rely on emails for their professional life. Emails are one of the easiest ways to communicate with your customers.

Follow-up emails are sent when someone buys a product or a service has been provided. Email offers a wide range of choices, as to use them how? You can send polls, surveys, newsletters, and questionnaires through emails. You can create emails by yourself or there are many providers for that. Many companies provide automated email services that can really help you in getting feedback. 

• Live Chat:

Live chat is getting popular with every passing day. It is simple, easy to use, and personalized. The best thing about live chat is that your customers feel like they are having a real conversation over the phone. With everyone texting all day long on their phones, live chats feel natural and can really help to understand what the customers want and think. This way they stay on your website for longer and you can resolve issues they are facing, right on the spot. 

• Social Media Channels: 

I don’t think I need to explain the relevance and importance of social media. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are being used widely by different demographics. These social media channels cannot only connect you with your present customers but also can be one of the biggest fronts to find new clients. Through social media, you can easily connect with your customers, know their interests, and understand them better. You can send them direct messages, reply in comments, or tag them in surveys and pools. You can create polls and surveys on social media to know what people think about your product or business. It will give you a more wide audience to get feedback from and you can use it to improve your current standing.

• Ask Directly for Opinion:

Some things cannot be determined through surveys or messages. But with face-to-face interactions, you achieve much more. This method is not used as widely as it should be, therefore you can be doing the one thing that makes the difference. The best way to ask someone about anything is to ask them directly. With this, you not only get first-hand feedback but you also can watch the person and their body language. Sometimes the body says more than the words. Therefore it is important that you focus on everything. When using emails, surveys, or any other method, we are not sure if the customer is going to respond or when. But with direct interaction, you get feedback at the moment and their tone can explain it all to you. So next time when deciding to get feedback from customers, don’t sit on asking directly.

So these are some of the most common and effective ways to get feedback from your customers. It is important to note that it’s one thing to get feedback and another to use this to improve your business model. Now we will discuss how feedback affects your ROI. After all, it’s all about money. 

Effect of Customer Feedback on Revenue.

When it comes to revenue, the more the better. But to increase the revenue you need not just customers but loyal cheerleaders. And to turn customers into loyal ones you need to provide them what they really want on a regular basis. For that, you need to know what clicks with them. It can be anything, and chances are that it is something that you didn’t think of. Therefore it is necessary to understand your customers and their opinions. Through real-time feedback, you can easily make amends that your business needs. Once you have taken steps that your customers want and you provide them what they want. They will stay with you through thick and thin. This will increase your revenue to manifolds. You will not only have a loyal customer base for the long-term but also endorsers of your brand. Word of mouth is stronger than any other advertisement. And with such customers, you will get good word-of-mouth and it will open room for many new possible customers. So through customer-feedback, you provide a customer experience that makes customers stay with you and generate revenue in large proportions. 

Conclusion:

The customer is always right. Based on this and what we have discussed so far, it is crucial to know what is important for your customers. Customers can help you change every aspect of your business for good. Even your most pressing concerns and goals can be achieved through the feedback of your customers. So based on your business and audience, use every possible channel for getting feedback and use this data to incorporate your business with this information. Hope you have enough information required to decide the why, what, how, and when of customer feedback and its effect. 

Author Bio:

Name: Abdullah Sadiq

Website: https://www.smiley.pk/

Description: Abdullah Sadiq is a Digital Marketer enthusiast at UnitedSol Canada having years of experience in the field of Internet Marketing. He is a Social Media geek, a complete foodie, and enjoys trying varied cuisine. A perfect day for him consists of reading his favorite novels with a hot cup of coffee.