One of your main jobs as a business is to keep the customers happy. Customer feedback should therefore be a guiding star for company strategy. However, this particular star can be more elusive than one might think. Customers are so essential to your business that you dare not risk annoying them by constantly asking questions. How can you find the balance between getting the right level of feedback while retaining customer goodwill?

Customer Opinion

First, it may be valuable to take a look at the reasons why feedback is elusive. They are many, and can range from a lack of time to a lack of a strong opinion, or even misplaced politeness. Yes that’s right. Some people may not want to offer what they see as negative criticism because they feel it is rude.

It is therefore paramount when you ask for feedback that you do so in a way that makes it clear that you place a high value on the comments that your customers provide, and that they are a vital source of information to help the company develop and improve. The feedback you receive may very well result in changes in the company, so make sure that customers are aware of this fact. Everyone likes to be involved, so let customers feel that they are playing a part in the future direction of the company.

Make it clear that you place a high value on the comments that your customers provide

Other tips include keeping feedback forms short. Even the most devoted customer may feel daunted by a questionnaire of 20 questions. Make sure that your questions are specific and to-the-point. It will also save your staff time in processing the results. Likewise, channels of feedback should be free and easily accessible. If customers are forced to make a phone call that they pay for themselves, the chances of them calling to give feedback are understandably lower. You could even offer rewards for giving feedback, such as loyalty points, vouchers or the chance to win more valuable prizes.

In line with the spread of online products and services, many companies are also gathering feedback online. It can be convenient to offer a feedback form like a clickable link on your website or in emails and texts sent to customers. Electronic data is also more easily processed and compared over years. So you can find out how effective your firm has been at transforming feedback into satisfied customers.

Take a look at Netigate’s online customer feedback form to gain ideas and inspiration.