It’s essential to get accurate feedback from your customers to improve your business. However, this can be difficult because customers often don’t want to give negative feedback or might not know how to express what they want. According to a study by the Wharton School of Business, only 4 percent of customers will take the time to complain about a bad experience.
But there are a few ways to get accurate feedback from your customers without them feeling like they’re being interrogated. Here are a few tips.
1. Encourage customers to leave reviews on third-party sites.
Customer reviews on sites like Yelp and Google can give valuable insights into what people think of your business. You can’t control what people say in their reviews, but you can respond to them publicly and address their concerns. You can also use positive reviews as testimonials on your website or marketing materials.
When asking customers to leave reviews, ensure you’re directing them to the right site. For example, if you have a Google My Business listing, you should encourage customers to leave reviews on that site. This way, you can be sure that the reviews come from actual customers and not fake accounts. If you have multiple listings on different review sites, you can use a service like ReviewPush to manage all of your reviews in one place.
2. Use surveys to collect feedback.
Of course, you can’t rely on customers to leave reviews on their own. You also need to solicit feedback from your customers actively. One way to do this is to use surveys. There are a few different ways to administer surveys. You can send them out via email, include them in your packaging, or have them available at your point of sale.
When creating a survey, ensure you’re asking questions that will give you the information you need. For example, if you want to know why customers are leaving your store without buying anything, you might ask, “What was the main reason for your visit today?” You can also use surveys to determine what customers think of your product or service, how likely they are to recommend you to a friend, and their overall satisfaction level.
3. Host an online event.
Another great way to collect customer feedback is to host an online event. This could be a webinar, a live Q&A session, or even just a live chat. This is a great way to engage customers and collect real-time feedback. You want to use an online event platform that offers features like polls and surveys so that you can collect data from your customers while they’re interacting with you.
This is also a great way to build a relationship with your customers and show them that you care about their feedback. When customers feel like they’re being listened to, they’re more likely to be loyal to your brand. During the event, you can ask customers about their experience with your product or service, what they think of your brand and their needs.
4. Use social media to collect feedback.
You’re missing out on a valuable opportunity if you’re not using social media to collect customer feedback. Social media is a great way to engage customers and collect real-time feedback. If you have a Twitter account, you can use it to run polls and collect feedback from your followers. Facebook also offers several features you can use to collect feedback, including surveys, polls, and quizzes.
You can also use social media to track negative sentiments about your brand. You can do this manually by searching for mentions of your brand and monitoring conversations. Or, you can use a tool like Hootsuite Insights to track sentiment and get alerted whenever there’s negative chatter about your brand.
However, it’s important to remember that not all negative feedback is bad. You can use it to improve your product or service and make your customers happy.
5. Use customer service as a feedback channel.
Your customer service team is a valuable resource for collecting feedback from your customers. They’re on the front lines, dealing with customers daily. They have a unique perspective on customer needs and what they’re looking for from your product or service.
Make sure you have a process in place for customer service to collect feedback and pass it on to the appropriate team. You can also use customer service as a way to resolve any negative feedback that you receive. This is an opportunity to turn an unhappy customer into a loyal one.
There are a few different ways to collect feedback from your customers. You can use reviews, surveys, live events, social media, or customer service. The important thing is to ensure that you’re collecting feedback regularly to improve your product or service and make your customers happy. You can improve your business and build a loyal customer base with proper feedback.
