With immediate access to the public at large through social media, customer feedback can be prevalent. In fact, news of bad customer service reaches more than twice as many ears as praise for good service experience.(1) Oftentimes, those who have had the most extreme experience - positive and negative, are the ones most often sharing.
How do you tap into this information and why would you want to?
Given that 85% of customers learning about small businesses through word of mouth, it is imperative that you are actively reviewing input about your company online. One approach to minimize negative feedback is to seek out that information directly from your customers.
There are a myriad of ways companies can obtain feedback. Depending on your type of business and how active you are on social you may choose to go the traditional route of customer comment cards, or through focus groups. However, with all age groups active on social, an online presence is a great way to connect with customers and build a community. Don’t limit yourself to the feedback you receive from dissatisfied customers. According to “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner, a typical business hears from only 4% of its dissatisfied customers. That means 96% are choosing not to voice their complaints.
“It’s crucial to not only listen to customers but also to understand the motivation for their feedback.” – Josh Pigford
Reaching out to your online community can help you sort through the critical feedback to help determine what is something that can be changed – such as prices, and what cannot – delivery companies. A small, yet very vocal group that is focused on one part that may not be relevant and therefore doesn’t help you move forward is less important. However, feedback from your most trusted and loyal customers are particularly valuable and hold more weight – they often can provide greater insights.
“I think it's very important to have a feedback loop, where you're constantly thinking about what you've done and how you could be doing it better.” – Elon Musk
Receiving comments and criticism – helping you to understand the customer’s perspective can be eye-opening. But once you have that information, what are you supposed to do with it?
1. Organize your feedback. How much is falling into the same bucket. If there is one issue that is frequently mentioned, it likely needs to be evaluated to determine the level of importance.
2. Some feedback will be labeled as high stakes. This may require immediate attention in terms of a product fix, or include required new features in upcoming products to allow you to remain competitive.
3. For easy wins, fix the issue and move on.
4. Prioritize the rest of the feedback. Determine what requires action and what does not.
5. Take advantage of customer testimonials. Use customer stories to help get others on board to make necessary adjustments. Share with your community, use this as a way to build rapport with your customers – allow them to become part of your solutions rather than a continual source of problems.
6. With regard to social, when receiving positive comments – thank the poster. For negative comments, publicly direct them to an offline conversation to let the world at large know you are dealing with the problem, but the details are limited to you and the individual who made the original post.
Investing in understanding your customers through their feedback will prove beneficial as ‘Customers overwhelmingly show appreciation for great service with their wallets.’2
1 White House Office of Consumer Affairs
2 HelpScout