Creating a relationship with a customer can be a challenge. Finding ways to foster engagement and generate an open community with active participation on both the company and consumer sides is a part of that. Gaining feedback and insight into your business is something many businesses don’t plan for when it comes to their customer relationship management, strategy and business plan. However, you shouldn’t let this aspect of your business fall by the wayside as customer feedback often leads to improvements across all departments. Here are 3 reasons getting feedback needs to be a focus.
Customer Retention
Retaining customers is difficult for every business in every industry. With competition arising from varying prices, features, and more, it is important to understand why your business is losing customers. Gaining insight from customers is one of the best ways to create a customer retention management plan, which is an essential part of a business’s success. While it’s natural for customer loss to occur, knowing why it takes place can benefit your business. By looking at why you’ve lost customers in the past, you’ll be more easily able to discover what has been successful and what hasn’t.
- Questions to Ask: Is there something we could do differently to make your experience using our product (or service) better? What has your experience with our company (or product) been?
Identification
By looking at the feedback your customers provide, you can identify who your target audience is. Look for patterns in the demographics of long-term customers to see who is buying what and what methods of communication are the most successful. When forming a survey or calling out for customer feedback, look at the goals of your company and make sure to ask questions that align directly and provide insight into how to reach those goals. Not only will you be able to identify your customers, you can identify your competition. Customers may indicate preferences for another brand’s features, style, or pricing. You can use these to identify competitors and the appeals each offers – then apply the best practices to your business.
- Question to Ask: What is your preferred method of contact? What first attracted you to our company (brand, product, etc.)?
Product Improvement
Whether you’re planning the release of a new product or analyzing why a specific product hasn’t been successful, customer feedback can help your business with modifications. From color choice to the must-have features that lead to a purchase, customer feedback can help your business make changes and improvements to products. If what a customer wants is unattainable now, their feedback can at least provide an option for future features and considerations. Because product improvement is always a focus for companies, customer feedback needs to be part of your business plan to facilitate positive modifications of products or services and customer service.
- Questions to Ask: What changes would you like to see in the next model? Are there any features you don’t want to lose?
Customer feedback needs to be a part of your business plan. Not only will you be able to gain insight into your target audience and competitors, you’ll discover new methods for customer retention and the best practices for reaching out to potential customers. Use your blog, social media channels and customer service team to get feedback and create more meaningful relationships with customers.
