Sales businesses should keep a finger on the pulse to adjust to changing customer expectations. If a few years ago clients only expected an adequate response for their requests, they now are looking for flexible options, emphatic ear, and assistance. We created this guide for all professionals who are acutely aware of the importance of professional customer service and are interested in building a positive customer feedback strategy.
Step 1. Realize the Importance of Positive Customer Feedback
A customer feedback strategy is a process of gathering feedback from people using your product and acting according to the information received. “Feedback is the breakfast of champions,” said Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot, who was recently voted as a top CEO in America. When arranging business we target a particular audience that defines whether our line is going to prosper or the efforts are spent for nothing.
Due to the 2020 Achieving Customer Amazement Study by Shep Hyken, published on Forbes, 96% of customers will leave you for bad customer service. 62% of customers are willing to pay more for good customer service – and even more for convenience
Source: outcry.ioStep 2. Optimize the Channels According to How People Search for Information
Time is a valued commodity. When customers have questions they prefer to receive the answer immediately.
The experts from SalesForce found that while the Millenials don’t mind chatting, generation X prefers solving issues via the phone. If your targeted audience is the Millennials or Generation Z, it’s better if you provide them with instant live chat. For the older audience, it’s better to see a phone number via which they can contact you.
A great example of a company that realizes the importance of the right channels to engage with customers is Apple. They have an option to both start a real-time chat, set up a call, or send an email to an expert. Netflix is also famous for providing fast and informative answers to the demands of their customers. They have a 1-minute response limit for both live chats and phone calls. Who knows if these companies would still be on top if not the excellent customer service.
Step 3. Create a Warm Environment for Your Customer Service Employees
While companies spend millions of dollars annually to support customer service, almost every one of us still has a horror story about dealing with a difficult customer service representative. On the opposite, for each customer support employee, there is a client who remembers who makes them break out in a cold sweat. The relationships between the two are complicated. When taking care of the customers’ satisfaction, don’t neglect the mental welfare and self-growth of your employees. Teach them not only to listen but to talk to customers. Let them have a few-days preparation course and teach the basics of psychology so the customer service can effectively communicate with clients.
Step 4. React to Your Customers
No matter what feedback we leave, we want our voice to be heard. A sense of value is what pushes customers to leave feedback. The core is, people don’t leave reviews if they feel they’re talking to a wall. They’re also not eager to leave feedback if it affects nothing. Uber, for example, they have a star rating system. Clients assess the drivers and it immediately results in a driver’s average. It takes no more than 3 sec to estimate your ride, but the results are more valuable than if you text a long angry message.
Step 5. Analyze the Feedback Received
There are two valuable types of data important to your customer feedback strategy – qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitative Feedback Strategy
Qualitative methods record customers’ opinions and reactions from focus groups, open-ended survey questions, and social media comments. Once you have gathered the information needed, look for similarities in responses, and determine the most common topics. Even though analyzing qualitative data can be complicated, it provides a deeper outlook into customers’ needs.
Quantitative Feedback Strategy
Quantitative data records the statistical data (number of clicks on advertising, the number of people who purchase an item from it, or the number of people who opened your latest newsletter for example). Quantitative data is great for predicting what a large number of customers will do based on a smaller group’s behavior
Source: jcpenney.comStep 6. Offer Discounts for the Feedback
In the modern world, people don’t want to spend their time leaving feedback. As a last resort, customers are more likely to leave negative responses to the company’s services. According to research from a UK customer experience group, 43% of customers don’t leave feedback because they don’t think the business cares. And it’s crazy! Obviously, businesses need to encourage customers to leave the сomment and the simple feedback form is not enough. Some insta shops offer 5 or 10% discounts for mentioning them in your stories or leaving a review on a reputable forum. This is an example of mutual profit. Clients get the benefit and companies receive valuable advertising and feedback.
Step 7. Deliver Feedback to Your Customers
The more reviews you display on your page the more convenient social proof you’re using. The concept of social proof suggests that after your customers see reviews from others, they feel more comfortable leaving a review, too. So go ahead and display the reviews you received from your customers, order some extended comments from professionals ( friends, relatives who know to write well, or apply to organizations who specialize in this).
Don’t be scared of publishing the negative side, admit that some clients may get dissatisfied with your services but you manage to solve the situation. People love to see that their thoughts and appreciation are valued. However, make sure to update these reviews regularly so you’re including new customers all the time.
Step 8. Adapt Customer Service Strategy of Large Companies
According to the authoritative American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) rating, Amazon is the company with the superior customer service team among online shops. Customer service is in the DNA of the company. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos says: “I would define Amazon by our big ideas, which are customer centricity, putting the customer at the center of everything we do, [and] invention. We like to pioneer, we like to explore, we like to go down dark alleys and see what’s on the other side.”
So what can you learn from Amazon?
- Start everything with a core commitment to the customer.
- Help your buyer stay connected – wherever they are, whenever they want.
- Make your customer needs the driver of innovation.
- Foster relationships between customers and brands.
Conclusion
By following these 7 steps on how to collect customer feedback and react to it, you would build a solid reputation of a company that cares for its customers and strives to improve its service. Once you implement the proactive customer feedback strategy, retaining current clients and winning new ones would be so much easier.
Author’s Bio: Carola Richter is a professional esports journalist who reviews esports events and trends in the industry. Recently, she’s decided to create the blog bestesportsbettingsites.net where she could share her passion with the readers interested in the topic.
