Owning a business means that you are always on the lookout for new ways to improve the service you offer to customers. You are on a never-ending quest to find out what customers need and then deliver it to them as quickly as possible. However, doing business in the age of e-commerce presents several benefits and challenges. For one, the online business environment is quite different from what we’d call a traditional business approach. Unlike brick and mortar businesses, this environment is much less forgiving on a business’s reputation. However, one important benefit of conducting business in the e-commerce space is the accessibility of customer feedback. Feedback is a direct line to your customers and is priceless. Thus, your primary focus as a brand targeting the online market must be to acquire good customer feedback. Here is why.
Learning About Your Customers
First and foremost, consumer feedback is a direct reflection of the customers’ experience with your brand. There is no better way to learn more about your customers than through the feedback they voluntarily supply to you. In a traditional brick and mortar store, this type of feedback is largely unavailable to business owners. Very rarely do shoppers return to a store to offer face-to-face feedback or suggest ways to improve a product or service. Often the only negative feedback is given though returns or by the customer taking their business elsewhere. Having the ability to gather positive and negative feedback from customers is a bonus business should not take lightly. Any business desiring to learn more about its customers’ wishes, expectations, and wants, needs only set up a way for them to leave feedback.
Improving Customer Satisfaction
Allowing users to leave feedback that your staff will be able to interrogate can improve customer satisfaction. Feedback helps you to know what works, what does not and what needs tweaking. In this way, obtaining input from customer feedback can help you adjust your approach without the fear of making this worse. The path to improvement is much more straightforward when based on reliable feedback. Of course, when customer satisfaction is high, this can translate into repeat purchases for your business and strong word of mouth recommendations that can have the same effect.
Delivering Better Products & Services
Each brand’s products and services undergo many iterations to keep them fresh, up-to-date, and adjusted to the time they are being offered. To keep up with the competition, and give yourself a chance at becoming an industry leader, you’ll need feedback to point you in the right direction. While initial market research can help you get your products or services in the hands of customers, it is only through customer feedback that you will appreciate their user experience. Apart from this, customer needs and wants do not remain constant. Monitoring feedback allows business owners to keep tabs on customer needs while also fine-tuning their offerings.
Keeping Customers Loyal
Modern customers appreciate having their opinions considered and validated. In the consumer’s eyes, a successful business is one that collects and analyzes their feedback to discover trends and patterns, allowing them to make adjustments based on that information. Customers tend to patronize businesses that not only seek after their opinions but take steps to act on it. In short, happy customers stay; unhappy customers leave. Consequently, when unhappy customers offer negative feedback, it is imperative to address the issue immediately. This both leaves the customer happy and nips further disenchantment in the bud. However, don’t forget to address customers’ contribution to your business development once you implement the changes.
Making Customers Feel Important
Customers want to know that you are there for them and that you desire to address their needs. If your company fails to demonstrate this attitude, the customer will believe that money is the company’s only goal, which will leave them feeling neglected and unimportant. Additionally, a brand that acknowledges customer feedback notifies said customers that they play a role in its development. Seeking out a customer’s opinion lets them know that they play a role in how your products are developed and services dispensed. You also nurture stronger bonds with your customers and in so doing, help boost your word-of-mouth reputation. If you want to prove that you are running a customer-centric business, this is where your attention should be.
Predicting new Market Trends
We sometimes lose track of what an industry market really is. It boils down to customer demand and the ways brands adjust to meet them. Feedback is your way of getting first-hand insight into customer needs, and through this, you’ll be able to anticipate new trends in the market. However, it is important to note that this is not a place where guesswork should take precedence. This is especially true if your company operates in a highly competitive space. Luckily customer feedback is one of the most important and tangible data points in your businesses’ possession. Not only will it grant you better insight into your customers and their needs, but it will arm you with their suggestions as well. This will help you decide what needs attention and where your business should spend its capital to ensure the best investment return. Armed with this customer feedback, you may decide to expand your product line, cut back in some places or even decide if a trend is worth exploring.
Sure, not every feedback will be valuable. Difficult customers and that intent on nitpicking will always be a factor. However, a long-term examination of constructive criticism will offer the important insight necessary to adjust your brand’s strategy.
Conclusion
Unquestionably, there are many benefits to allowing, tracking, processing, and engaging with customer feedback. After all, it’s your business’s direct communication channel with clients and customers. Whether positive or negative, collecting and examining your feedback will prove to be one of the best uses of your time and resources. Doing so will help put your customers at the centre of your business and help you develop and improve your product and service offerings.
Read more: Customer Feedback is the Oxygen of Social Enterprise
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Rahis Saifi.
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