In this blog, we will talk about 10 ways to collect customer feedback. Customer feedback is a very important aspect of maintaining a better customer experience. Rather than indirect indicators and signs what could be better than asking your customers directly about their opinion on your products/services and overall brand. If you have the following questions:
- What my customers want?
- What we can offer to help them?
- How should we improve the customer experience?
- How should we sustain a long-lasting clientele?
- What is repelling our customers?
Then you must seriously think about having a mechanism to ask those questions directly to your customers. I came across a lot of misleading information on this subject which is why I compelled to write this blog.
The human beings are a very sophisticated species. Customers often tend to sugar coat their criticism when asked directly or face to face. Sometimes people don’t want to be rude to the sales staff. Some customers get annoyed because either they are in hurry or either they simply don’t want to have a direct conversation at the moment. There could be so many reasons why people don’t give feedback or avoid one on one conversations about their experience at your branch. Which makes it even more difficult to extract precise information which a business can utilize to improve their customer experience.
By the evolution of the online and digital mediums, it is surprisingly simple to extract valuable information from your customers. People use to spend hours surfing online in a single day. This opens up a new frontier for the communication department. In order to measure the effectiveness and usefulness of your products and services, the single most valuable asset is customer feedback. And for that, the online domain could serve the purpose very well.
Here are the 10 ways to collect customer feedback:
1. Conduct Online Surveys
The online surveys are a very effective way to communicate with your customers. In order to make them more effective, the businesses should make them small, easy-to-do and if there could be some award for the customers who are conducting the survey, which will encourage people to do the surveys.
2. Tablets and Kiosks
Business can place small tablets and kiosks on strategic locations on the premises to gather customer feedback. The rule again is to make the process simple, short, and easy-to-do. Maybe just a few MCQs on the touchscreen of the kiosk or a Happiness Meter on the tablet could let the businesses gather basic information and let them conduct comprehensive surveys when needed.
3. Active Social Media Channels
Businesses should hire full-time social media managers to engage with audiences over various social media channels. Sharing helpful and engaging content on social media, engage with the customers and gather their opinion.
4. Online Poles
Online poles are a popular way to get instant feedback from the customers and large audiences. Set up your questions to be specific or to be indirect, whether it is a critical issue or a lighter question, people tends to do online poles more than anything else on social media.
5. Personalized Emails and Email Shots
Mass emailing is the most cost-effective online communication channel. But in case if you are interested in gathering the customer feedback then you should use only a few questions and encourage the customers to answer them. Personalized emails often get more response than mass email campaigns. Send an email on the same day when the customer visits you or make a purchase or utilize a service and ask them about their personal experience.
6. Website Reviews and Rating Mechanisms
Website reviews and rating mechanisms are also very helpful in collecting customer feedback. There should be a rating and review facility on each product/service web page. Especially in the case of digital products and services the online rating and review mechanisms is very convenient for the customers to express their feelings about their experience.
7. Online Sign-ups and Customer Portals
Online sign-ups and customer portals could be very effective in gathering customer feedback. As customers usually log in to their customer portal to search for the information about their subscriptions and purchases. So, having a mechanism to gather customer feedback in the customer portals can really help you gather valuable feedback from the customers.
8. Smart Phone Applications
As the information technology rapidly evolves from the on-desk to in-pocket. Smartphones and smartphone applications have become the major source of information for most of the customers and prospects. Integrating customer feedback modules within your smartphone application could let you gather a lot of data about the customers, their behaviour and their experience without even any additional cost.
9. Custom Feedback Short URL via SMS
Sending a custom feedback short URL via SMS is also a great approach to collect customer feedback through online mediums. As SMS are cheap and instant, so we can automate the SMS through the system and request the customers to follow the short URL to give feedback. The collection of feedback through short URL via SMS is a much better way than many other digital mediums.
10. Customer Feedback by QR Code
As smartphones are getting more sophisticated and technologically advanced, they are also opening up new opportunities for marketers. Such as in modern-day smartphones whether you are using Apple iPhone or Android Phones, all of these devices are capable of scanning QR codes, so we can use QR codes to let the customer access the feedback survey. This not only looks modern but it is also very simple and easy for the customers.
Read also: Customer Feedback System with QR Code for each property – DAMAC Properties
Conclusion
The customer feedback and their opinion about your brand, your products and services are very critical. The businesses should also consider the online domain for their communication purposes. The digital mediums look a bit tricky but in reality due to the advancements of the analytical tools, and social media platforms the online channels of communication have become more effective than the traditional communication mediums.
Do let us know of your thoughts in the comments box below.
Check this out: 10 impacts of Queue System with Customer Feedback System