Providing the best customer experience possible relies on knowing how your customers feel. But getting to the heart of the matter is easier said than done. With that in mind, here are five tips to help you gather more insight from feedback.
1. It's not about you - let your customers tell you what they want
You’ll obtain more insightful feedback if you let customers tell you what they feel about their experience, in their own words. Asking specific questions about individual parts of the customer experience might seem helpful, but it benefits you and not your customer!
Specific questions shoehorn the customer's response, which means you can miss out on valuable insight about other parts of their experience. Rigid questions prevent the customer from sharing their true feelings and - at worst - suggest you may not want to hear what they really think.
Ask for the reason behind the score - not just the score itself
While scores and metrics are important, knowing the reason behind the score is the best way to make positive changes. For example, if a customer scores you eight on an NPS question, wouldn't you like to know what could sway them to score you nine or ten in future?
Asking for a score and the reason behind the score lets customers express themselves with a free response and demonstrates that the business cares how they feel. It’ll also give you vital information to take action.
Pick the right channel for requesting feedback - not the one that is most convenient
Sending an email with a lengthy questionnaire, weeks after the customer interaction, creates a missed opportunity to find out exactly how that experience made them feel; the moment has gone.
The right channel is the one the customer wants to use to communicate with your brand. This preference will vary, depending on your customer. But knowing which channel they want to use to speak with you will increase your feedback response rates and help keep your customers happy.
Continue the conversation - tell the customer what you're going to do based on their feedback
Gathering feedback is only part of the puzzle; customers want to see action.
Demonstrate that you're listening by following up. Acknowledge feedback, by saying thank you to the customer. Then tell the customer exactly what you're going to do based on their feedback. It might not be possible to make immediate changes. But keep the customer in the loop so they can see the impact of their feedback.
Use real-time feedback to support evidence based coaching
There's nothing more powerful than the words of your customer, to show employees what they're getting right and where they need to improve.
Customer feedback provides relevant and insightful examples, showing employees exactly what the customer expects and where they can make improvements. It also shows when an employee goes above and beyond for a customer, seeing the positive feedback and the impact of their actions is a compelling motivator.
