Customers Know Best: How to Ask for Customer Feedback (and Actually Get It!)

“Wow, these jeans fit like a dream! But the website sizing guide was totally off. I almost ordered the wrong size.”

“I love Sarah’s coffee, but their new loyalty program is confusing and frustrating. I haven’t used it once.”

These are just a few incidents of what your customers say about your brand. Every day, they’re sharing their experiences, opinions, and ideas online and offline. But are you listening?

You may want to listen but not know how to do it.

Customer feedback, both positive and negative, is an invaluable resource for any business. It can help you:

• Learn about honest opinions about their experience, revealing blind spots and areas for improvement.
• By actively listening and addressing feedback, you show your customers that you care about their experience, leading to increased loyalty and advocacy.
• Customer feedback can reveal emerging trends and unmet needs, helping you stay innovative and competitive.

In the times when customers are practically ruling the brands, ignoring feedback might take you off the trail. So, how do you get honest feedback and implement it to ensure a maximized customer satisfaction rate?

Stay tuned because this is the blog you want to read to learn effective ways to ask for feedback.

Why is customer feedback important?

Have you ever noticed how happy a good customer service experience can make you? It turns out you’re not alone! Most people (81%) are likely to buy again from a company that treats them well.

But here’s the thing: if you ask for feedback, you might take advantage of ways to make your customers even happier. It’s like planting seeds – you need to know what kind of soil your customers like so you can grow loyalty.

Well, this isn’t my personal opinion; statistics are also on the same page:

• People with a super positive experience (5 stars!) are 2.6 times more likely to buy again.
• Almost everyone (94%) is more likely to refer a brand they had a good experience with.
• Just by keeping your existing customers happy (increasing customer retention by 5%), your profits can jump by 25% to 95%!

So, forget about expensive commercials and focus on the real stars: your customers! But why exactly is asking for feedback so important?

Surprisingly, there are many reasons for it:

• It’s your secret weapon: Feedback tells you what you’re doing right (keep doing that!) and what needs improvement. It’s like your customers giving you a thumbs up or down.
• It’s your early warning system: Is something going off track? Feedback can alert you to issues before they become big problems, like product returns or people canceling their subscriptions.
• It’s your best marketing tool: What better way to convince someone to buy than using your customer’s words? Feedback helps you write content that speaks the language your customers understand.
• It’s your content creation powerhouse: Turn feedback into blog posts, FAQs, or articles. It’s like having a constant stream of fresh content that your customers will find helpful.

Before we dive into how to get this valuable feedback, let’s explore the different types you can gather. Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Popular Ways to Collect Customer Feedbacks

There are plenty of ways through which you can collect customer feedback. Some of the most foolproof are:

Net Promoter Score

Imagine knowing exactly how likely a customer will recommend your offerings.

That’s the power of the Net Promoter Score (NPS). It’s a simple yet powerful way to help you collect customer satisfaction feedback and predict future brand growth.

Here’s the deal: Ask your customers this one question: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our product/service to a friend, colleague or family member?

What does your score mean?

1. Promoters (9-10): They love your brand. They’re more likely to make another purchase and spread all the good about your product’s awesomeness.

2. Admirers (7-8): Not big of a fan, but liked your product. They might need to be more enthusiastic to promote your brand.

3. Passives (4-6): Somewhat satisfied but still have some issues. Chances are bilateral: They might return or not say another word about yourself.

4. Detractors (0-3): Uh oh! These unhappy customers could hurt your reputation through negative word-of-mouth.

Why should you care about NPS?

I do care about this one. Besides this, research shows that companies with high NPS scores outperform the competition significantly!

Here’s the interesting part:

1.  Take the NPS Challenge: Think about your own recent experiences with a company. How likely are you to recommend them on a scale of 1-10? Why or why not?

2. Let’s Analyze: Are you attracting the right customers? NPS can also help you understand your product-market fit. For example, a fitness tracker might see high NPS from athletes but low NPS from casual users. This could indicate a need to adjust marketing strategies.

Post-Purchase Survey

“Thank you for shopping with us and becoming part of our awesome community. Now, we’d love to hear your experience.”

This message or pop-up needs to appear once a customer checks out. Why? Because it’ll make things better for you and your future shoppers.

Many times, businesses encounter customers with bad checkout experiences. But here’s your chance to help companies fix those frustrating shopping experiences with Post-Purchase Surveys.

Post-purchase surveys are a direct route for exploring customer satisfaction. They help businesses understand your journey from browsing to buying and how to make it smoother for everyone.

Recall the time when you last purchased something online:

• Did it feel easy and intuitive?
• Or did you get stuck jumping through hoops?

These questions are the parameters that will help you define your experience. This somewhat highlights why post-purchase surveys matter:

• Uncover pain points: Businesses can identify areas where the checkout process needs improvement, like confusing forms or hidden fees.
• Boost conversions: A smooth checkout leads to happier customers, more purchases, and fewer abandoned carts!
• Improve your shopping experience: Feedback helps businesses create a seamless buying journey for everyone.

Exit Intent Surveys

Have you ever browsed a store, filled your basket with goodies, and mysteriously changed your mind at the checkout? It happens online, too! Customers might visit your website and explore products but then. Poof! They’re gone.

It feels bad. Here’s how to turn them into Fans.

Exit-Intent Surveys is the tool you need as your secret weapon! These surveys pop up just as visitors are about to leave, offering a chance to understand their frustrations and turn them into loyal customers.

Let’s picture it like this:

Imagine you’re browsing an online clothing store. If you find a cute dress, add it to your cart, but then hesitate before buying. What might make you change your mind?

1. Website Issues: Maybe the checkout process was confusing, or the website took too long to load.
2. Missing Information: You couldn’t find the size chart or return policy.
3. Second Thoughts: You may have seen a better deal elsewhere or weren’t sure about the style.
Now, let’s use Exit-Intent Surveys to address these concerns!

How to avoid the drop rate?

• Interactive Pop-Up: Whenever your website detects a visitor leaving, launch a quick survey asking: “Were you able to find what you were looking for?”
• Cart Abandonment Rescue: If someone abandons their cart, send them a follow-up email survey. What would make you come back and complete your purchase? (Discount code? Free shipping?)

How can these surveys help?

• Improve your website user experience (UI): Identify confusing navigation or checkout issues.
  Boost conversions: By understanding why people abandon carts, you can address their concerns and encourage them to buy.
• Gather valuable customer feedback: Get real insights into your audience’s wants and needs.

Get feedback from a live chat session

Want to know what your customers think about your live chat service?

Live chat sessions offer a unique opportunity to gather immediate feedback – both positive and negative – while emotions are still fresh. This raw data can be precious for improving your customer service!

Here’s the deal:

• Happy Customers, Happy Feedback: Did your chat person rock it? Happy customers would love to share their positive experiences and let you know you’re doing something right!
• Unhappy Customers, Valuable Feedback: Did something go wrong during the chat? Capture that feedback, too! By addressing concerns quickly, you can turn a negative experience into a positive one and regain customer trust.

By understanding your customers’ experiences, you can fine-tune your live chat service to ensure it always provides exceptional support.

Social Media Interaction

Social media isn’t for memes anymore. It takes you to the goldmine of real-time customer feedback. You can see what people say about your brand on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

But here’s where the dark clouds will appear. Whenever you will try to harness the power of social media to make your customers feel happy?

Here is the Q-tip:

1. Always eavesdrop:

Stay active on all your social media channels from different accounts. And remember to utilize tools like Klout, Social Mention, and Hootsuite to track brand mentions across the platforms. (you can also track your competitors).

2. Always be proactive:

Good or bad, word-of-mouth spreads like jungle fire. Be promptly responsive comments and complaints. An emphatic plus prompt response can turn a frustrated customer into a loyal one.

But wait, this isn’t the end of the story.

Read how Dominos is always listening and winning (undoubtedly).

Remember the “worst pizza ever” reviews Domino’s received in 2010? They could have ignored them, but instead, they did something remarkable.

Domino’s Listened & Responded:

Dominos encouraged their customers to upload pictures of their not-so-good pizzas on “Show Us Your Pizza“ campaign. Not only they embraced the criticism, but publicly acknowledged their pitfalls, and promised to improve.

The result? A PR Masterstroke!

By leveraging the power of negative feedback (people are naturally drawn to negative news!), Domino’s sparked a massive conversation.

Here’s the Domino’s Effect:

• Massive Publicity: The campaign generated huge media buzz, putting Domino’s back in the spotlight (for good reasons this time!).
• Data & Insights: Public feedback provided valuable data to enhance their recipes and mobile app.
• Customer Engagement: Publicly addressing concerns fostered trust and encouraged more customer interaction.
• Vulnerability as Strength: Domino’s willingness to admit their mistakes resonated with customers, showing them a human side.

Domino’s story teaches us: listening to customer feedback, even the negative kind, can be a powerful tool for growth.

The outcome? Domino’s sales soared, and their stock outperformed even Google!

Final Take

Customer feedback isn’t a “maybe” – it’s a must-have for any business! Blind spots are inevitable, but feedback helps you identify what’s working and where to improve.

Imagine a constant stream of fresh ideas – that’s the power of customer feedback! Use multiple channels like surveys, emails, and social media to capture diverse perspectives.

Follow the golden rule: The Right Message, Right Time. Tailor your feedback requests to specific situations. Don’t overwhelm customers!

P.S. Want more business-boosting tips? Stay connected with me for ongoing strategies to help you thrive in today’s market!