How to Best Utilize Your Customer Satisfaction Feedback

Customer satisfaction feedback is the mine of gold for your business. It shows that your customers do really give a damn with what you are providing – they have interest in your business. If not, customers just come and go without saying any word or leaving any trail.

Having a report of customer feedback on your hand doesn’t mean this is it. You’ll have tons of work to do to make the best use of those numbers as well as ideas to improve customer satisfaction.

This time, let’s see how you can dig deeper to make the most out of customer satisfaction feedback. Also, there are several ways to turn customer feedback into revenue as well as better user experience.

How? Keep scrolling down!

1. Be active in following up customer feedback

tips-to-utilize-customer-satisfaction-feedbackBe it a good or a negative feedback, make sure the first thing you do is to follow up with that customer. For a compliment, a “Thank you” reply will let the satisfied customer know how much you appreciate their review and you will try your best to keep them stay comfortable. And for a complaint, a sincere apology for the bad experience with asking about clarifying the problem will help you avoid similar situations in the future.

You may not change customer’s thought about your company at the moment but at least you don’t neglect their words. That’s the point.

2. Work on the reviews from customers

Now that you have a pile of customer feedback gathered in front of you, take action and work on it! The next step is to analyze all the numbers and ideas presented in those reviews. Compile those feedbacks to have a bigger picture of what exactly customers want from you.

Bad comments always provide huge values for your company. If there are bad reviews, work out the reasons why and group out the main causes. Discuss within your team about these negative reviews and improvements – don’t make it a blame game.

Also, find out what needs to be improved if there are enough data to support that those changes are necessary.

tips-to-utilize-customer-satisfaction-feedback-2There’s always a need for new trend – or transformation embraced in the customer satisfaction feedback. By soliciting their reviews and filtering different wishes in those reviews, you know which way customers are going to. For example, they are no longer into point collecting program but want a reward program which can be applied for the next purchase right away.

Identifying the trend in customer’s needs helps you closely follow the change in customer’s preference and take action before their interest in your company get drained.

4. Set an action plan

After finishing analyzing and identifying new customer’s preference, your next task is to set an action plan to apply necessary enhancements. However, keep in mind that you should only make the changes when there’s enough data to support it. If there’s only one person or a few people don’t like your product, then the product might be not for them – it’s not that your product sucks.

Also, don’t forget to rationally transform feedback into product’s revolution as well as reconsider your marketing campaign if the product doesn’t earn much traction like expected. Use customer observations, their ideas and reviews to make a product innovation for your company. You’ll be surprised about how customer’s wishlist features can make a big jump for you product as well as revenue which your competitors can’t achieve.

After all, your customers are the ones who apply your products in reality much more regularly than you do. They know what needs to be added.

5. Use social media to leverage positive feedback

tips-to-utilize-customer-satisfaction-feedback-3You got nice comments for your product as service? Why not spread them further and outreach potential fans via social media channels?

First, add some depth in the customer’s compliment with a back story and let the community go wild with talking about you. To do this effectively, you can gather customer’s case study with their testimonials to help your fans and followers personally relate to the experience of current customers. The power of emotion in the story and its personal real experience will speak your brand louder than any marketing slogan.

Of course, don’t forget to use multimedia as well as social media to help your stories go viral. Make an animated video, design a series of picture for your story or make an infographic… – it will have greater impact than just an article with texts. Potential customers always look for a third-party proof before they can trust and buy from you. That’s why you should build your credibility via your existing customer’s endorsements.

Show off what you are good at and thrive!

6. Test and track results

When applying changes according to customer’s reviews, you also have one last important task to do: test what is effective, what is not and keep a record of the results.

Examining the changes as customers wish offers your company the key to identify the right direction for applying improvements. Test the changes one by one, with a small portion of customers to see their reaction before massively apply these changes for all. Remember to utilize tools like Google Analytics, customer service tools, etc. to track sales, performance and customer’s response or whatever you are expecting for.

If you find out that the changes are welcomed by customers but there’s still a better way to apply it, then go ahead and use another method to deliver the same outcome. There’s a golden advice from Whitney Wood of the Phelon Group: “As you launch feedback-driven changes, track which and how many of your customers offer up additional ideas and input. In my experience, the more you can get the right customers to participate, the better your business is growing.”

Implement changes and follow up with those changes. This is how you sum up everything.

Wrapping up

For any business, listening to and understanding customer’s needs is the key of the success’s door. Today, there are myriad ways for your customers to let you know how they feel about your company, brand and products. If you’re good at collecting their opinions, make sure you handle what’s next well with the tips discussed above.

How about you? What have you been doing with customer feedback? Have you applied the methods listed above? Let’s exchange experience in the comment section below!

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July 8, 2015 - Customer Service Tips