Do you ever really listen to customer experience feedback?…..
Feedback from your customers on how your product or service is faring is priceless.
Too often organisations formalise the feedback process to the point where it becomes a structured machine. When was the last time you actually sat, listened and had a conversation with one of your customers? Rather than have them fill out a form, which is responded to with an auto-reply email, have you actually conversed back and forth on their thoughts on your customer experience?
Which brands build up the most customer loyalty? Brands that listen. But more than that, brands that listen and act upon their customers thoughts. Listening is only the first step, essentially just acknowledging the customer has a point of view on something. Taking the time to consider the feedback and most importantly, acting upon it, clearly demonstrates to the customer that their thoughts are valued, and improving their customer experience is paramount to the success of the organisation.
As Marietta McCarty succinctly puts it:
“Conversation is not a one-sided lecture, not about being right, not about getting in the last word. It is a mutual exchange”
Even in the age of social media, where you can employ hundreds of different listening tools and engage with your customers through an @reply/dm/update – there can be no more effective tool than the art of conversation.
Remember, customers are just normal people when they aren’t in your store!
By Colin Shaw | Published: March 18, 2010