Two of our most recent articles (Simple Tips for Providing Excellent Customer Service and Simple Tips for Receiving Excellent Customer Service) have given us great insight into the tricky world of Customer Service. In those articles, the last three (3) tips are all about Feedback.
No, this is not a coincidence!
It’s simply because Feedback is one of the key aspects to the success of any business, just as it is with individuals at the Sales’ end of business.
For years now, I’ve managed myself using the B.A.S.I.C.S principle:
- Be prepared
- Ask questions
- Summarise
- Introduce
- Close
- Self Analysis
Obviously, each part has its own relevance and importance, but Self Analysis is the key to improvement.
Why did this transaction go well?
What angered the Customer?
How did I develop that relationship?
These are the sort of questions you should ask yourself, and answer honestly, to ensure the next Customer or Client you deal with gets more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff. The funny thing is, however, that sometimes you can’t answer why a transaction went well or not, especially if you followed a process you’ve used for a long period of time which has brought great results historically, but not on a particular occasion. This is where your Customer or Client feedback comes in. This is what makes it one of the key components to the success of any business – why they did or didn’t deal with your business.
So I’ve put together a few points on: why feedback is important; and, the six (6) metrics that you really need to be tracking and the questions you could ask.
Why Feedback is Important.
- It can help improve a product or service
- It offers the best way to measure Customer or Client satisfaction
- It provides actionable insight to create a better Customer or Client experience
- It can help improve Customer or Client retention
- It delivers tangible data that can be used to make better business decisions
- It can be used to identify Customer or Client advocates (testimonial)
The Six (6) metrics That You Really Need to be Tracking and the Questions You Could Ask.
This metric works very easily – the Customer or Client should be asked to agree with each statement using a number scale. For example, a five-point scale where one (1) indicates “strongly disagree” and five (5) indicates “strongly agree”.
- Customer Expectation vs Perception
Does our service / product live up to your expectation? - Likelihood to Recommend to Friends
How likely would you be to recommend our company to a friend? - Customer Experience vs Ideal Experience
How does our service compare to your “ideal” service? - Overall Satisfaction
Overall, how satisfied are you with our company? - Effective and Cognitive Satisfaction
How important are our SLAs (Service Level Agreements) in your decision to select our company? - Repeat Purchase Intention
Do you intend to renew your contract with us?
Customer or Client feedback provides you with valuable insight into what they think about your product or service. This insight can help you create a product or service that Customers or Clients want, and an experience that exceeds expectations and keeps them coming back for more.
Don’t ask and not act!
Remember that feedback is someone’s view/ opinion. Don’t take it personally. Remember how important it is and then act on it – probably the most important step in the Feedback process.
Remember, there’s never too much feedback – the more, the better!
By Stephen Ward