“Without customers, there is no company” is a famous quote that encapsulates the business world. Customers are everything when it comes to business and understanding how they operate is crucial. It’ll help tailor your business to their wants and needs but how do you get there?
That’s where customer feedback comes in. Customer feedback is an important part of any successful business strategy. It’s a great way to understand the psychology of your customers and gain insight into their preferences.
In this guide, we’ll be diving into the world of Customer Feedback Management (CFM) and how to make the most of it.
- Establish An Objective
First and foremost, it’s important to define your objectives. Are you looking to improve customer satisfaction? Do you want your sales to increase? Or do you want to enhance customer loyalty?
These questions can align your feedback objectives with your overall goals, giving you a clear direction. Once you’ve defined your objectives, you can tailor your CFM strategy accordingly.
This will give you data that is relevant to your cause and most importantly, help you make informed decisions.
1. Choose the Right Platform
There are many channels to collect customer feedback. This includes traditional methods like in person surveys or phone calls to more modern methods such as online surveys or social media.
Whatever it may be, it’s important to use platforms that work best for you. This also depends on your target audience, nature of business and specific objectives. Here are platforms that may work well for your business:
- Online Surveys: Online surveys are versatile and can be used for a wide range of businesses. They are cost effective, easy to distribute and very customisable. There are also a ton of free online surveys like these.
- Social Media: Social media is suitable for businesses with a strong online presence. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are very interactive and most importantly, free!
- Email: Considering you have a strong email list, email can be a powerful tool to collect feedback. It allows for more detailed and structured surveys or questionnaires.
- In-Person Surveys: Conventional surveys can be highly effective for businesses with physical locations. They can be conducted at your storefront where you can get immediate feedback from customers.
- Feedback Forms On Your Website: Kill two birds with one stone and integrate feedback forms on your site. That way, customers can easily access them while navigating your page.
2. Compile Your Data Properly
The data you’ve collected is your gold and like any precious metal, it needs proper refining and organisation. You can start by compiling all your data in one place. Avoid having multiple systems or spreadsheets as you may get confused.
Instead, start with a single spreadsheet or feedback board which is accessible and easy to understand. Remember to keep the data safe and secure especially if you’re handling sensitive information. Click here to access free data collection templates.
3. Analyse Your Data
Compiling data is one thing but analysing it is the key to unlocking valuable insights. It’s the part where you transform raw information into actionable strategies.
It’ll take time to make sense of all the data so it’s important to have a good Feedback Management System (FMS). This will help you streamline the analysis process and make it more efficient.
From here, you can develop a prioritisation formula that can develop better products, improve customer service and help internal development.
4. Take Action
All that data will be useless if you don’t act on it. That’s why it’s important to follow through with a plan of action. This includes implementing changes and making improvements based on the feedback.
These changes and improvements should also be embraced as a team. Running a company is a collective effort after all so it’s important for everyone to be on the same page. Last but not least, don’t forget to let your customers know about the changes.
Transparency goes a long way and it’s important to keep your customers in the loop.
Conclusion
“The customer is always right” may be an overstatement but there is some truth to it. While they may not always be right per say, they do give invaluable feedback which can help us improve our business as a whole.
So follow these practices and strategies to make the most of that data. Apply them consistently and you’re bound to see results sooner or later!
