Customer feedback is the one thing nearly every business can’t survive without. You risk losing valuable customers if you don’t actively seek their opinions and feedback and make the necessary changes to your products or services. According to a Canadian study, 49% of businesses lose clients due to bad customer service. Fortunately, you can leverage feedback to promote a customer-first approach that converts consumers into decision-makers. Below are five proven ways you can acquire customer feedback.
- One-on-one customer interaction
Engaging your customer in one-on-one interactions should be a top priority for businesses because it is an effective approach to gathering feedback. Unfortunately, it is one that most avoid. That’s because it can be intimidating. However, it doesn’t have to be unpleasant or stressful if you have a plan. You can do two things to make the interaction go smoothly. First, avoid being only about business and demonstrate your humanity and genuine interest in your customers. Second, prioritize figuring out what you can do to assist clients in reaching their objectives instead of appearing sales-y. Demonstrate that you’re effectively on the same team. By building this rapport with each customer you can make the transactional process much more relaxed, which can make it more comfortable when asking for feedback or a review of your business. You might even consider using something like these scannable google review cards that can streamline the feedback process, this way it doesn’t have to be a big deal and you can focus on keeping the customer happy until they walk out the door.
- Utilize surveys
Customer surveys can take many different forms. However, customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys are among the most prevalent. They measure how much you’re meeting customer expectations using a Likert scale. You can also utilize short surveys in-app, on-site, or via in-person or email campaigns to gather direct customer feedback. For example, following a product demonstration, you can utilize a short survey to learn whether customers are confident about your product, if they feel it has the relevant features, or what could have made the product demo better. You can also use conjoint analysis to present respondents with various product alternatives with different prices and costs and use that to determine factors that influence customer preferences.
- Acquire feedback through user testing
User testing offers various advantages, making it one of the finest ways to get actionable insights for business improvement. For example, when testers provide quick feedback and real-time responses to whatever you’re testing, it might offer more reliable information than delayed surveys. It can also provide more precise information because you can filter tests to address certain areas of concern. Instead of soliciting broad feedback, you can collect data on specific topics such as your online store’s checkout experience or program usability. While you can conduct user testing anytime, it is especially beneficial before releasing a new update or offer to your entire client base or audience.
- Focus groups
A focus group is a qualitative approach to gathering customer feedback. The process requires guiding a small group through a conversation with a moderator. This customer feedback acquisition method is useful for investigating a group’s requirements, interests, and priorities. Focus group responses are often open-ended and useful for getting responses that may be unattainable from data alone, including non-verbal cues like a prolonged pause or a visible hesitation to speak. They are frequently used to supplement quantitative research projects to provide extra context. The moderator can elicit clarification from participants and fill in any gaps in your study.
Customer feedback helps your company understand individual behaviors. Why is there a sudden drop in certain product usage? Why would they choose another business or product over yours? Comparing client feedback to your analytics can help you better understand what’s happening, and resolve any issues.