10 Golden Rules For Customer Feedback

• Believe that customers have good ideas. Asking customers to help in your problem-solving and idea generation is an act of courage, not of weakness.Gather customer feedback at every opportunity. Every customer interaction is an opportunity for feedback.

  Focus on continual improvement. Enlist the aid of your most passionate customers to help you improve an aspect of your business every week so that it builds monthly momentum. Word spreads fast when you improve, especially if you thank customers for their help.

  Be proactive = ask for good and bad feedback. The first part is easy. The second question is usually the source of feedback fear. Ask “what is the one thing you would change or improve about your experience with us or our product?”

  Don’t spend vast sums of money doing it. Long customer surveys that take six months and cost a fortune may impress the CEO and board of directors, but they may be out of date when the data arrives. Short, quick surveys deliver better response rates and allow you to react fast to any issues. Solve one or two problems at a time, not everything at once.

  Look for real time feedback. Kimpton Boutique hotels CEO Tom LaTour says he has three duties every day: Review revenue targets, manage people, call 8-10 customers. This means he’s not the last to hear about problems. Often, he’s the first.

  Make it easy for customers to give feedback. Companies have many input points: in person, email, Web sites, point-of-purchase cards or receipts, conferences and the telephone. Feedback is about making it easy for the customer to provide feedback, not what is convenient for you.

  Use technology. Online survey tools make it easy to gather feedback via the Web. They are fast, efficient, and inexpensive.

  Share customer feedback throughout the organisation. Ensure that everyone in the company knows what customers are thinking by sharing customer feedback; product and service decisions will be better informed as a result.

  Tell customers and employees what changes you have made. You can’t move a mountain in a day, but you can make it easier to climb by clearing a path. Customers love a responsive organisation, especially ones that use their feedback.

Keep in touch for regular advice and practical examples about customer experience.

Get in touch to see how we can help your business.

Ask an expert if you have a specific question about customer experience.