A majority of the companies place so much emphasis and importance onto the customers whenever they put out any new product or material on their website and digital or traditional media. It’s only right to do so though, as your customers are a catalyst. What your client base is like can mean the difference between success and failure for your business. Aside from assessing what your customers do, it’s also significant to see what they think and say about your company. Customer feedback is entirely different from customer behavior, and understanding their distinction is a must for every company that aims to improve both. Continue reading this guide to learn the importance of feedback and how to approach collecting this feedback from your customers.
What Feedback Is
In essence, feedback refers to the data that your customer provides regarding their thoughts and stance about your brand and its goods. It’s best to be informed about what they like and dislike about the company’s products, services, aesthetics, and more. Others also see feedback to get the requests that people may have for the company. Feedback, more often than not, looks into the entire user experience with the brand. This is in contrast to a review and recommendation. Although feedback can also discuss the product that they’ve purchased, it can also be defined by other factors such as using the website, the information available, and so on. Who Gives Feedback The business’s customers are responsible for giving feedback. The customer doesn’t just refer to someone who’s made a purchase of what a service is offering, though. As mentioned above, feedback can refer to website use. You can ask site visitors to rate their experience of going through the web pages and allow them to add additional comments. Customers can also refer to playing clients who bought a product or hired a service of the business. Inquire how satisfied they are with their purchase and whether or not they would recommend it. It would also be good to learn how they decided to choose your products and services over another company’s, as well as if they heard of the company name before. When to Obtain Feedback Collecting feedback is something that all companies should practice, and the first thing to consider is timing. Having incessant pop-ups to ask a customer for feedback can lead to irritation and backlash. Not only will it bring negativity to your company’s reputation, but it will also hinder you from getting the feedback you need. Here are some of the best times to obtain feedback:
- After Sign-Up. Getting the initial impression that a customer form is significant in learning what new patrons will think about your business.
- After Purchase. Feedback regarding the buying process and checking out from the business website is helpful. Leave a question for when the transaction is complete too.
- After Converting An Account. Whether it’s a user converting from a free trial to a paid account or vice versa, getting the reasons behind it is useful insight about your services. Subscription renewals are also a good opportunity to determine how to retain customers.
- After Cancelling An Account. It can’t be helped that some customers would need to cancel their account, but understanding why is important. Narrow down the possibilities between their lack of use, lack of satisfaction, or desire to seek solutions from others.
- After Interacting With Support. Live chat or customer support aims to improve the user experience. Obtaining their feedback after interacting with these features should ensure that you’re helping your customers out and identifying areas of improvement.
- After Introducing A New Feature. If there are any significant updates to the site or a new page that may be relevant to the customer experience, check-in with the user. Get their opinion of whether the site has become more feasible and helpful to them.
Where Feedback Helps
Customer feedback helps in many different areas depending on when it’s being used and the questions being asked. However, each part of the information collected can help a number of departments and operations in your company. Here are just a few examples of where feedback helps:
- Website Development. A website is central to businesses as it acts as a hub for the information, products, and services of the company. Based on the feedback, your business will be able to understand what changes need to happen or what features were being useful.
- Product Development. Similarly, listening to your customers can also help in product development. The goods and solutions being given to your clients may still be unsatisfactory or in need of refinement. Feedback gives you a place to start when planning what elements should be prioritized.
- Marketing and Sales. Every company should put significant efforts into promoting their goods to their customer base and increasing sales. However, it may be ineffective if your customers’ thoughts aren’t gauged properly. Be sure to get feedback as a metric for your marketing performance.
- Management. Feedback often tells you what areas you’re doing well in and what is in need of development. Those in managerial positions can use the data to pinpoint and understand which departments are getting behind. They can allow the feedback to influence their decision-making.
How Feedback Is Collected There’s usually a rating system or a comment box involved when collecting feedback, weighing between the qualitative and quantitative information that businesses can get. However, companies aren’t limited to those methods. Here are other various ways for businesses to get feedback:
- Survey Forms. Many businesses use questionnaires and surveys to get information from their customers. Tools for a business’s net promoter score and customer satisfaction often fall under this category.
- In-App Tools. In-app feedback tools differ from survey forms as they are more central to the website, appearing like a pop-up. This zones in on the ease of navigating the site, setting up an account, or looking through the business’s online pages.
- Customer Interviews. Calling up a customer can be a great way of getting qualitative data as you allow them to use their own words to discuss their experience. These calls can be time-consuming for a client though, so it isn’t a regularly used source.
Why Feedback Is Important It’s been discussed since the very beginning that user experience and what the customer thinks can be very important in catering to your clientele. The better the user experience, the higher the chances of customer acquisition and retention. Positive feedback will likely translate into good sales and revenue. Negative feedback can be just as important too. Having honest customers share their thoughts about what needs work will incite changes. After all, companies should seek suggestions and ways of improving the business to achieve company growth. Conclusion With this guide, your business should be more equipped with the knowledge of how to collect valuable feedback from your customer base. By listening to your patrons, your business will advance one step closer to success. Looking for the best customer experience company? CrewBloom offers the best professionals in remote sales, support, and other roles so that your business can provide optimal satisfaction to your clientele. Hire a CrewBloomer today.
