Customer feedback is essential to the success of any business. It helps not only to improve the customer experience, but also to optimize your services and products. Customer feedback provides you with the insights needed to grow your business.
However, gathering quality feedback can be challenging. Below, we share five practical tips to help you gather valuable input from your customers.
1. Use email marketing
Email marketing is one of the easiest ways to collect feedback. Tools such as Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign allow you to send automated emails after a purchase or service. Add a link to an online survey or review site, and consider adding a personal message. A bridal store owner says, “I use automated emails to reach brides after their wedding. I give them a link to the review site and make it easy for them to give feedback.”
2. Use social media
Social media offers creative ways to gather feedback. Use tools such as Instagram questions, polls on Twitter or boost posts with a specific call to action. Social media is also ideal for monitoring unsolicited feedback, as customers often use these platforms to voice complaints or tout products. Track these responses and analyze trends to gain valuable insights.
3. Try traditional methods
Traditional methods such as thank-you cards or phone calls sometimes still work. “The method that has remained most effective for us is sending thank-you cards to clients after we have built a Web site for them,” said Elsa Heijnen, head of Web development at OnlineLabs. “We design and print review cards the size of a business card with a QR code that leads directly to our Google review page.”
4. Keep it simple
A simple approach is often the most effective. Customers are busy and ignore emails if the process takes too much time. For example, use a smiley survey: a green face for good work, a yellow face for sufficient and a red face for problems. This quick system usually yields a 70% response rate.
5. Offer an incentive
Encourage feedback by offering an incentive, such as a discount code for the next purchase or participation in a contest. For example, an employment lawyer, a client of OnlineLabs, offers free proofreading of an employment contract in exchange for a Google review. Be sure to offer incentives only for surveys and not specifically for positive reviews to protect your reputation.
Conclusion
Collecting customer feedback is a valuable way to improve your business. Use a mix of modern and traditional methods to get feedback that will help you take your services and products to the next level. Want to learn more about how to further optimize your business? The team at OnlineLabs would love to help!
