Get the Feedback You Need from Your Customers
| Your business can’t improve operations without honest and substantive feedback from your customers. But customers can often be reluctant to provide it. Here are three ways to get the input you need. * Reframe customer feedback requests. When following up with customers after they’ve interacted with your company, make it clear that the organization is seeking to improve—not to be told it’s doing well. Instead of asking “How did I do?” ask “What’s one thing I could do to have served you better today?” Ask good second and third questions to encourage customers to generate ideas. * Focus on customer actions, not their words. Instead of tracking “sentiment,” which can be misleading, track and observe customer behavior. How often are customers repeating purchases? How frequently do they come to your store or site? What do they do when they’re there? * Make it habitual, not occasional. Switch up that bi-annual or quarterly survey in favor of mechanisms that are continual and can be integrated into your culture. Whenever you make a change to your operations—even if it’s small—observe how customers respond and seek honest input. Feedback from customers is not only a gift but an imperative. |
| This tip is adapted from “How to Get Honest and Substantive Feedback from Your Customers,” by Geoff Tuff, Steve Goldbach, and Elizabeth Lascaze |
