8 Simple Ways to Collect Customer Feedback

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When Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot, said: “If we don’t know what’s right, we can’t do more of it. If we don’t know what’s wrong, we can’t do less of it,” he had a good point. It’s impossible to grow a business without getting to know your customers, figuring out what makes them tick, and what their smallest whiffs of discontent may be. There’s no better source of learning than your customers.

That’s why their feedback is so valuable to you and your bottom line. However, you must stop assuming what they want or need – instead, you must ask them. If all this makes sense to you, but you’ve got no idea how to go about it, IM NewsWatch has your back. Here we will share with you eight simple ways to collect customer feedback.

What is customer feedback? And why you need it

Customer feedback is one of the cornerstones of long-term business growth. It’s all the information, insights, issues, or any other input your community shares with you about their experience with your product or service. If you set aside some time to listen to the voice of the customer, you are bound to learn what you’re getting right – and wrong.

Your community is the best source of learning and improvement.

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By getting your customers’ feedback, you’re keeping your community at the heart of everything you do. In return, they’ll tell you how to grow. Within the good, the bad, and the ugly, you’ll find gems that empower positive change across your entire company. You’ll be able to:
• improve customer experience,
• improve product offerings,
• build a loyal customer base,
• earn more profit,
• cut marketing expenses, etc.

Indeed, the benefits are numerous, which is why it should be a central part of your business strategy.

Before you start collecting customer feedback, pinpoint the “why”

The approaches that you can adopt to collect feedback from your customers are many. But before you choose one – or several – of them, you need to pinpoint the “why.”

First things first; some questions need answering.

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Figuring out why you’re seeking their input will help you identify your desired outcome. And identifying your desired outcome will subsequently help you outline the process for getting there. In other words, with a clear intention and a well-thought-off plan, you’ll know how to best use the data you collect from your customers. Without them, on the other hand, it may not serve anyone, and you may end up wasting your (and your customers’} precious time.

Perhaps there’s a part of the customer experience that you’d like to improve? What is that part? Why does is need improvement? Once you understand why you are collecting the data, you can develop a plan for the data you collect. Before making the next move, be sure that you’re willing to invest in fixing the issues.

What are some of the best methods to collect customer feedback?

As we’ve said, there are many ways to collect customer feedback. The best way to go about it is to choose several.

Why? Some people respond to one approach; others, to a different approach.

Also, be ware that this will not be a one-and-dine activity. The one thing we know about customer experience is that it’s subject to constant change. There are always new customer experience trends and new standards you should know. It helps you keep up and give your customer the best experience with your products and services possible. To do that, you must make it easy and convenient to voice their opinion. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to provide multiple means of giving feedback at different points of (feedback) collection.

Now, let’s see what the top choices for gathering feedback are.

1. Feedback box mechanism

People always want to give feedback and get the best out of your business. So, they won’t hesitate much to push that handy little box on your website when they have a comment or suggestion. The feedback box mechanism is highly convenient, especially when you have many website visitors. Whether you ask open-ended, closed-ended questions, or both, you’re sure to get a lot of rich information on things that interest you.

2. Short in-app surveys

If some parts of your app don’t have what your customers are looking for, your design’s not the best it can be, or if there’s some glitch, you’ll want to know about it. So, try offering a survey while your customer uses your app – perhaps after they’re done interacting with a particular feature? That’s when their feedback is most likely to be precise and to the point. But don’t make it long; keep it to three or four questions relevant to the page or feature they’re interacting with.

3. Tap social media

Social media is highly effective when it comes to connecting with your community. Almost 60% of the world’s population uses social media, and it’s also the one place where people feel like they can always speak their minds freely. So, you can expect to get genuine feedback, good and bad. You can create surveys and share them, look at brand mentions, send direct messages, and respond to customer comments to learn how your customers feel about your services, products, or brand.

On social media, people generally share their honest opinions.

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4. Create an online customer community

If there’s something that is sure to give you access to a reservoir of customer feedback, that would be an online community. Setting one up will enable customers to ask questions, discuss with their fellow customers, and detect pain points freely and without the fear of being judged. For example, you can set up a community (called a “group”) on Facebook at no cost.

5. Gather customer feedback via live chat sessions

Live chat is a chance to talk and connect with your customers, hear their concerns, and let them draw your attention to any problems they might face. It’s a compelling customer feedback method because it helps your brand build trust and loyalty with existing customers or win over new customers. You can send direct messages asking questions that interest you and even let people rate your live chat sessions, thus helping you boost the overall quality of your customer service.

6. Leverage analytics to analyze customers’ actions

Analytics can help you dive deeper into customers’ behavior and actions to understand them better, discover flaws in your offerings, and take timely measures. It can work as an add-on to whatever tools you’ve already adopted to collect customer feedback, helping you discover the most-searched topics, a page’s bounce rate, most viewed pages, etc.

7. Give incentives for participation

Yes, users love helping brands improve. But let’s be honest: they need some motivation, a reason to put in their thought, time, and effort to fill out your brand’s survey. And this reason comes in the form of a reward. Offering customers incentives, such as product discounts, free shipping, gift coupons, or an eBook, can instantly pique their interest and persuade them to provide the most candid responses possible.

8. Ask directly

If all else fails, you can always ask for your customers’ opinions directly. For instance, start by designing a feedback email form. Then use the email addresses from the customers from your customer base, and send the form. Make sure to choose a simple design with only your message and a call to action. There’s no need for fancy images, website links, or headings distracting readers from your main point. Next, use the recipient’s name in the opening line to encourage them to provide customer feedback. Simple personalization goes a long way. Finally, explain why their feedback is significant to you and what you plan on doing with it.

If you haven’t been collecting feedback, it’s time to start. Your business will improve if you do.

Jassica Mendez contributed this article