Feedback is not a ritual, though it often becomes that with many businesses. It is an avenue for getting to understand exactly what your customers think about you and your business. Here are a few points to note on getting feedback from your customers.
1. Make it frequent.
Instead of requesting feedback quarterly, try getting it weekly. I would even suggest you request feedback upon each encounter. Why wait a whole week to know your customers think you are not serving them well?
2. Make it informal
Many customer service surveys often seem scary; they look like those dismal registration forms you completed in school. Try to make them friendlier and shorter. Who even says your customers have to fill a form? Ask them designed questions, note down their responses, and analyse later.
3. Take it serious
Feedback is serious. It is a health check for your business. Don’t get the responses and tuck it away in the drawer.
4. Communicate the results to your customers.
Wouldn’t it be great to share your feedback with the very people who gave it? Let them see a summary of what they have told you about your business. Remember to include the action steps, as well.
5. Implement the suggestions
Finally, implement the suggestions. This is the main reason many customers dislike answering surveys. Many organizations simply don’t use the feedback. Ensure you think through the suggestions and promptly implement.
A fresh, serious, and consistent use of feedback will surely stand your business out.
Dayo Adewoye 