In the age of reviews and star ratings, the customer is king. It is well known that poor customer service is something people talk about frequently and those who have experienced a less than satisfactory encounter are far more likely to tell their friends and family about the situation than if they received good or acceptable service. This article explains how you can use customer feedback to continually improve and meet the changing needs of the people who use your products or services.
Respond to each complaint
This is essential as nobody likes to feel as if they are being ignored. If you have been left a low scoring review or a negative comment on your website or social media, the worst thing you can do is ignore it. Even if you feel the complaint is unjustified, a professional, friendly and helpful response is always the best approach to take when dealing with situations like this. Though it may not be possible to respond to every comment you receive in person immediately, things like automated email responses can be a good way of ensuring your customers don’t feel as if they’re dealing with a faceless organisation or company. Webchat systems can be great for this as well as they allow staff to take ownership of particular problems immediately, while also circumnavigating the sometimes restrictive formality of something like an email. Though some complaints may take time to resolve, providing a response immediately will always create a good impression and shows that you value the opinion of your customers.
Celebrate your achievements
If you have done something well, its ok to be proud. A selection of glowing reviews, prominently placed on your website, facebook page or twitter account can be some of the best advertising you can do. Ensure you check the feedback sections of your sites regularly and take notice of the good as well as the bad. Thanking happy customers for their service provides a little extra positivity for everybody involved and also shows that you care about compliments as well as complaints. With repeat customers who consistently leave positive feedback, don’t be afraid to get in touch with things like surveys or questionnaires. A genuine, positive review from a real human customer will always seem so much more relevant to other consumers than marketing copy that’s too heavy on the buzzwords and management speak.
Listen to advice
Its the easiest thing to give and the hardest thing to take but good advice can make a real difference to the way your business or company performs overall. Realistically, not everything your customers suggest will be practical, relevant or even true, but once you have sifted through the anomalies and comments that don’t make a great deal of sense, you can start to build up a picture of how your client base see you. When you’re running a business, it’s easy to forget how consumers think but it’s essential you keep their needs at the forefront of your mind at all times. Try to implement any changes that are within your budget and working capacity if you can. Regular posts about the adjustments you are making in line with customer feedback look professional and also demonstrates that you are constantly striving to be better. If you can’t afford to make a certain change or don’t have the staff to provide what your customers are asking for, be honest about this and explain that you are aiming to continually develop. Though this may not solve their problem immediately, it does show that you have listened and taken on board what has been said to you.
Use the data wisely
Data is important and using customer feedback on things like delivery times, quality of packaging or customer service is a great way of measuring the performance of your business. Before launching any new campaigns or products, spend some time going through your data to see what customers like and what they dislike. Capitalising on your strengths and making improvements to areas that need attention shows your customers that you are listening to them and doing everything you can to provide a service they love. Capturing data should be something you do as a matter of course, though many smaller businesses still don’t do this. Though they aren’t always responded to, including a customer satisfaction survey after each transaction is a simple and effective way to gather specific information about the way your customers felt during their interactions with your business. Pay close attention to areas of concern and make these your top priority. For example, if you are scoring well on the overall quality of the product but poorly on customer service or delivery, taking immediate action to rectify this will show that you’re in touch with what your clients want.
Use your reputation to your advantage
Though it is generally quite rare, a very small number of unscrupulous people will deliberately provide negative feedback to businesses in a bid to try and undermine their success. After you have enjoyed multiple positive reviews from customers, you will start to feel more confident about the quality of the service or product you offer. Though politeness and professionalism are mandatory at all times in business, taking a considered, rational approach to negative customer feedback is much easier when the complaints are few and far between. It’s important not to get complaisant but if the vast majority of your customers are happy with what you do and regularly tell you this, unusually low scores and negative feedback begins to stand out. This means you can identify whether the issue is genuine and something you could work on or something that has arisen from a misunderstanding on the part of a customer. Essentially, when you are confident that most of your customers love what you do, it is far easier to spot troublemakers and those who are expecting too much from you. Great customer service should always be something you take seriously but its also important to know when somebody is trying to take advantage.
