Customer feedback is the best advertisement that you can give your business! Why? It’s because this time, it’s not just you tooting your horn about how amazing your service or product is and why anybody should buy – after all, nobody will say anything bad about their own product, abi?
This time around, it is your customers – people who have actually experienced your product or service that are coming out to say how amazing or how not-amazing it is.
Why is customer feedback so effective?
It’s because it is easier to believe the buyer of a product than the seller; the seller has something to gain of course but the buyer has nothing to “gain” so to speak. After all, it is not even his own business. You see why?
If everybody is saying a product is good, then you are more likely to try out that product than if you watch 1,000 and one advertisements or promotions about it.
Customer feedback comes in many forms…
It could be Testimonials, Reviews, Surveys (Which involves you asking your customers to fill a sort of form to know how they experienced your product.)
Basically, once you get a customer talking to you about how they perceive your product then that is a Customer Feedback.
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With this digital age when everything is online, you have access to customer feedback more than ever. But it’s not just about having feedback anymore, how do you apply it to make your business grow?
No business can survive without customer feedback because how else will you know what you’re doing right or wrong in your business? How else will you make your customers feel heard and know what they really want?
auntyronke
TIP – It’s not all feedback that should be acted upon!
1. Make yourself accessible –
Some business people make it hard for their customers to reach them with their feedback. I mean, how can you put your Whatsapp number on your Instagram bio and the number is not even active???
If you don’t respond quickly, what your customers see is that you’re ignoring them. What happens next is that they’ll go to social media to “cast” you and if they have something bad to say or maybe a grievance then that will reflect badly on your business and spoil your reputation, making you lose customers.
Clearly provide a way for your customers to reach you and be active there as well whether it’s a phone number or email etc. Be very responsive as this will encourage your customers to reach out to you more when they have a problem instead of calling you out on social media.
2. Pay attention to indirect feedback –
Indirect feedback is basically the actions of your customers rather than their direct words.
Is there a particular product that nobody wants to buy no matter how low the price is?
Is there a particular one that your customers cannot seem to get enough of?
Is there a particular post that had high engagement even more than the others?
All these are indirect forms of feedback that you must take note of and act on to move your business forward.
3. Respond quickly to your feedback –
Nobody likes to be waiting, especially not your customers! When your customer reaches out to you, immediately respond to them and let them know that you are working on it. Doing otherwise will make them think that you do not value them and that is a loss for you.
However, you must also know that not all feedback should be taken seriously or should make you change an aspect of your business.
For example, if Aunty Bisi should come and complain that she does not like that there is too much sugar in your zobo that you’re selling – that does not mean that you will stop putting sugar in your zobo O! You have to consider first, is Aunty Bisi a valuable customer?
If she is, you can make her own special zobo without sugar instead of removing sugar and abandoning the customers that do like plenty of sugar in their own zobo.
4. Use your feedback to market your business –
Like I said before, glowing reviews from satisfied customers will go a long way towards convincing others to patronize you.
You don’t have to wait for your customers to give you reviews, you can reach out to them and ask them to give their reviews on your products.
auntyronke
Do not hesitate to use these materials to market your products further! Post the screenshots online, post the testimonials so that others can see that what you offer is genuine and has worked for other people too.
And don’t forget to thank your customers for the reviews so that they will be sure to come back again and again.
5. If you have a team, pass on the feedback to them – whether positive or negative –
It is important that whoever is responsible for the feedback owns up to it. For example, if your customers are praising your good customer service and there is actually a staff that handles this aspect of your business, you must not take the glory but pass it on to the appropriate person.
This will help the person to do better. And if it’s negative, it’ll help that person to buckle up and do better as well.
Very importantly, always remember to ASK! Your customers may not always reach out to you so it is your duty to reach out to them instead.
Also, when you discover that your customers are complaining about the same things then act quickly to fix it and create a better experience for your customers!
So tell me, which one of these can you relate to? My comments section is wide open!
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