Customer feedback is important because it tells a business owner what the customers think about their products and services. Whether it’s good or bad, it is crucial identifying a product’s strengths and weaknesses and could guide the company in making improvements or changes.
That makes it equally important to give customers a channel with which to voice their concerns, ideas, and feedback. If you’re looking for ways and strategies to obtain that important market input, here are five ways to get feedback from customers.
1. Using email and customer contact forms
In the digital age, using email has to be one of the most basic forms of communication available. Since it is used for promotions and updates, you might as well use this as a means of collecting customer feedback. Being in email form, you can maximize engagement and ensure meaningful response by starting strong. It sounds cliche but it gives the customers an idea of what they’re about to do and helps set their expectations.
If your survey provides a section for them to write their concerns down, give them a timeline or what to expect from you in return. Simple lines like “We appreciate your feedback. We’ll get back to you shortly,” can make the entire experience more inviting. Additionally, you can use features in your company mail to automatically separate customer feedback forms to make it easier for you to trace and organize them later.
2. Engaging through your social media channels
Social media platforms are excellent places to reach customers since almost everyone has a social media account on at least one of these services. Aside from a comment section that lets everyone leave their ideas or concerns, most of these platforms also have a private messaging feature that enables them to leave a message on your account. Not only is it convenient, but people feel generally at ease using these apps–free from the formalities and restrictions of survey forms and email questionnaires.
You can engage with your customers through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Other companies also include online forums like Reddit and Quora to gain insights into how customers feel and think about their products and services.
3. Implementing live chat features
The use of live chat systems has become increasingly popular, both across websites and social media platforms. If you value quick response and would like to make the customer feel engaged and connected, this is the way to go. It also provides customers with real-time access to your team members, allowing them to air their concerns and your company to act on them immediately.
Aside from being a real-time communication platform between you and your customers, the use of live chat also helps prolong their time on your website. Since they know that there’s an accessible support platform, they can more comfortably browse your content, which in turn increases your chances for conversion.
4. Redirect them to polls and surveys
Whether it’s for your social media posts or website content, you can always use the tried and tested survey forms. It’s structured and can directly give you a measure of the customers’ behavior regarding your products and services. If you’re using a customer relationship management platform, then you can generate customized forms through your CRM software. It can automatically generate surveys and send them to everyone enrolled in your database.
Other options include Google Forms for basic surveys and SurveyAnyplace for more fun and creative surveys. However, it is important to remember that in creating a survey form, it must be concise and coherent to encourage customers to answer it completely. Only ask questions relevant to your objective, use a uniform rating scale, and avoid leading questions.
5. Monitor review websites and e-commerce platforms
Depending on which industry your business belongs to, chances are there’s a review platform for you. Websites like Quora, Capterra, or Choice fall within this category, containing a wide range of extensive customer feedback. You can use the data on these sites to check whether they have something to say about your products and services. Also, you can use their reviews on your competitors to give you an idea about what features or traits to improve upon in your own product.
Similarly, if you’re using e-commerce sites like Amazon or Ebay, make sure to drop by your product comment section where users who have availed of your offer can rate your product and leave reviews. In the event they have a concern regarding your product or service, you can reply to their comment and assure them that you’ll be working on it.
Conclusion
Customer feedback is an important part of keeping a grip on the market response and attitude toward your business as well as your products and services. By utilizing the methods listed above, you can make sure to provide your beloved customers with ways to reach out to you and let you know their concerns or thoughts.
