Collecting Customer Feedback: Importance and How to Do It

We’ve all heard it: The customer is king.

This statement only becomes more true with each passing day. With the rise of social media and the internet, customers now have more power than ever before. Not only do customers have the power to purchase products and services, but they also have the power to shape your company’s reputation.

One of the best ways to improve customer satisfaction is by going straight to the people who keep you in business—through the collection of customer feedback. By soliciting feedback from customers, you gain valuable insight into how you can improve their products, services, and overall customer experience. Additionally, collecting customer feedback allows you to identify areas where you may need to improve.

There are a variety of methods for collecting customer feedback, ranging from online surveys to face-to-face interviews. However, not all methods are created equal. Some methods can be time-consuming and inefficient, while others may not yield reliable results.

In this article, we will explore the importance of collecting customer feedback, as well as the most effective methods for doing so. Whether you are a small business owner or a seasoned marketing professional, this article will provide you with the tools you need to collect customer feedback and improve customer success and satisfaction.

What is Customer Feedback?

Customer feedback is information provided by customers regarding their experience with your business. It is an essential tool that helps you understand how customers perceive your brand and how you can improve your offerings.

Customer feedback can come in different forms, including direct and indirect feedback. Direct feedback is the information provided directly to the company through surveys, feedback forms, and reviews. Indirect feedback is information that customers provide passively through their behavior, such as purchasing habits, loyalty, or complaints.

Customer feedback can also be structured or unstructured. Structured feedback includes responses to multiple-choice questions or rating scales, while unstructured feedback is open-ended and can include comments, suggestions, or complaints in free-text formats.

Finally, feedback can be solicited or unsolicited. Solicited feedback is feedback that you request through surveys or feedback forms, while unsolicited feedback is given by customers without any prompting or request.

Why is Customer Feedback Important?

Customer feedback is particularly important in today’s highly competitive marketplace. The modern consumer has more choices than ever before—you need to give them a good reason to choose you. By listening to customer feedback, you can do just that. You can figure out exactly what customers want (and then give it to them).

Moreover, customer feedback provides you with a way to measure your performance. By analyzing customer feedback and tracking satisfaction metrics, you can assess your performance and identify areas that require improvement. Maybe your customers wish they could communicate with you more easily, or maybe they find your current payment processes inconvenient. Whatever you uncover, you can spend your time smoothing out those issues rather than shooting in the dark and wasting time fixing processes that aren’t broken.

In short, listening to customer feedback helps you improve your products and services, boosts your bottom line, improves customer retention, and helps you avoid avoidable mishaps. increasing retention metrics, and avoiding mistakes. If collecting customer feedback isn’t already baked into your schedule consistently, it’s time to make some changes.

8 Best Ways to Collect Customer Feedback

From survey questions to emails and customer interviews, there are a lot of customer feedback methods you can use to get into the minds of loyal, frustrated, and new customers. Not sure which type of feedback will work best for your business? Here are eight methods to test.

1. Customer satisfaction survey

Customer satisfaction surveys are one of the most common methods for gathering feedback from customers. These surveys can be conducted online, via text or email, or in-person.

→ The pros: Customer feedback surveys are a great way to gather a large amount of information about customer experiences. They allow you to ask specific questions and receive detailed responses, which can help you identify patterns and improve upon weak areas. Surveys are generally cost-effective and easy to conduct.

→ The cons: One of the main downsides to customer satisfaction surveys is that people might not take the time to complete them. People’s attention spans are short, so keeping the survey short and specific to important aspects of the business is crucial. Additionally, there are a lot of survey times to choose from, like net promoter score (NPS), customer satisfaction score (CSAT), customer effort score (CES) and others. It can be overwhelming.

→ When to use it: Conducting these surveys after a customer makes a purchase or interacts with your company is a good way to get accurate feedback on the customer experience.

2. Email

Email is another popular method for collecting customer feedback. You can send emails asking customers to provide feedback, then direct them to a survey or form they can fill out online.

→ The pros: Email are easy to send and can be personalized to suit the individual customer. Additionally, email can be used to communicate and follow up with customers, providing a direct line of communication to address any concerns or issues they might have.

→ The cons: An email inbox is a competitive place to be—you’ll be competing against dozens of other brand emails trying to get your customer’s attention. Email spam filters can also lead to customers missing or unknowingly deleting your email.

When to use it: Email can be used as an ongoing channel for collecting feedback. You can use it to ask customers for feedback after a purchase or experience and then follow up by communicating any changes made to improve the customer experience.

3. Text messages

Text is quick. Text is easy. Text is convenient. Text is one of the best ways to collect feedback from your customers. In mere minutes, you can send out a text asking for feedback, and then direct customers to a form or review site where they can share their opinions.

→ The pros: 82% of consumers keep SMS notifications switched on and 98% of text messages get opened. This means customers are more likely to see your feedback request if you send it via text—and as a bonus, your response rate will likely be higher, too.

→ The cons: Text messaging may not always be the best method for collecting feedback, depending on your customer base. Text messages may be less likely to be seen and responded to by older generations, which can result in skewed results.

→ When to use it: Most consumers enjoy the convenience of text, so there’s really no reason not to take advantage of this channel. It’s quick and effective—what’s not to love?

Psst: Check out our free library of 500+ free text templates to try.

4. Social media

Social media is a powerful tool—not just for staying in touch with loved ones, but also for connecting with customers, social listening and collecting feedback.

→ The pros: Social media is a great way to reach out to a large audience. It allows you to gather feedback through direct messages, comments, reviews, and polls. Conversation threads can also be started among your followers, which can give you deeper customer insights; you’ll learn how your customers speak, what they talk about, and what their pain points are.

→ The cons: The downside to social media is that the comments and reviews may be public, and the messages could be negative. But remember the silver lining—receiving negative feedback can be upsetting, but it can help you learn and grow your business.

→ When to use it: When it comes down to it, your customers expect you to have a presence on social media. You should collect feedback there, even if it’s not your main priority. If you’re looking to collect feedback from a wide audience, social media can be a great tool to do so.

5. Online reviews

Online reviews are the new word of mouth. They can be found on major platforms such as Google, Yelp, and industry-specific platforms like Angi, Carfax, and Zocdoc.

→ The pros: Online reviews allow customers to provide detailed feedback that you can use to make necessary changes to your products or services. Having a lot of positive reviews also acts as a green flag for potential customers and can result in more traffic and conversions.

→ The cons: Online reviews can easily be manipulated, leading to fake and inaccurate reviews. Additionally, an overwhelming number of unaddressed, negative reviews, can have a negative impact on your business.

→ When to use it: Reviews influence 88% of consumers in discovering a local business. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it: Online reviews need to be baked into your online reputation strategy if you want to stay competitive.

6. Customer interviews

Customer interviews can teach you a lot about your ideal buyers—from how they talk to what they care about and how they feel about doing business with you. Interviews are the perfect time to ask open-ended questions that may not receive answers via channels like text or email.

→ The pros: Interviews provide you with in-depth feedback, leading to a better understanding of customer sentiment. Conducting customer interviews can also help you create stronger relationships with customers because it shows them that their opinions are valued.

→ The cons: Interviews can be time-consuming, as they require careful planning, scheduling, and conducting, which you may not have the time or resources to do. Additionally, bias can be introduced if interview questions are leading or phrased incorrectly.

→ When to use it: Customer interviews work best when you want to gain a more in-depth and personal understanding of your customers’ opinions, wants, and needs.

7. Website feedback

Adding feedback forms, live chat tools, and chatbots to your website can be beneficial because it allows customers to voice their opinions and gives you the chance to address issues that customers may face when they find you online.

→ The pros: Feedback submitted through your website may be easier to analyze in bulk. Collecting feedback via your website is also a great way to get real-time feedback on specific aspects of your website such as product pages or your checkout experience.

→ The cons: Feedback forms on the website may be ignored or not find the attention of a visitor. Customers might not understand how to fully use the feedback form, leaving them frustrated and unaided. Website feedback forms might not provide sufficient insight into the customer’s complete experience, especially if used alone.

→ When to use it: Website feedback forms work best for businesses that want to encourage customers to engage and collect opinions related to their website. Additionally, live chat tools can make it easier for your support to to provide real-time help to frustrated website visitors.

8. Customer behavior analytics

A data-driven approach to obtaining customer feedback lets you track customer behavior over time. This method might use website analytics, customer loyalty program data, and internal sales data to gather insights about customer behavior.

→ The pros: Data and analytics allow you to see where customers are spending the most time on your website and what products or services loyal customers buy the most. Analytics can also help you determine which customers are most valuable or satisfied and which customers need a little extra attention.

→ The cons: It may be challenging to correlate analytics with customer experience which might create an inaccurate feedback mechanism. You’ll also likely need to invest in tools (like Hotjar or Zoho) or to gather data, which requires some budget.

→ When to use it: Behavioral analytics work best when you want to understand your customer journey or are looking for ways to increase retention and profitability.

How to Encourage Customers to Give Feedback: 6 Tips

Does getting customer feedback feel like pulling teeth? It shouldn’t. Most customers are happy to provide feedback if you’re willing to ask and you ensure that the response process is convenient for them. The key is to create a customer feedback loop that fits into your existing processes seamlessly. Here are some tips to help you get it right.

1. Offer incentives.

Everyone loves being rewarded or compensated for their time, so offering incentives can be a great way to encourage feedback. This can include discounts, free products or services, and even the chance to win a prize. Incentives show customers that you value their time and feedback and are willing to give back to them.

2. Get the timing right.

Timing is critical when it comes to requesting feedback. Give customers time to evaluate their experience and ask for feedback a day or two post-purchase. If you wait too long, their experience with you won’t be fresh in their mind and this could lead to inaccurate feedback.

3. Write clear and concise questions.

When requesting feedback, it’s essential to write clear and concise questions. Depending on the channel, you might ask open-ended questions that allow the customer to provide detailed feedback or you might ask simple yes or no questions. Whatever channel you go with, make sure your questions are easy to understand and avoid using industry-specific jargon.

4. Provide clear instructions.

Confusion leads to unhappy customers, which leads to negative feedback—or no feedback at all. As such, it’s crucial to provide clear instructions when you ask customers for feedback. Always give an estimate of how long it will take to complete the survey or leave the review, and be sure to include a link so that customers can get where they need to go easily.

5. Send follow-ups.

Following up with customers after they provide feedback shows that you value their opinion. You can share the changes you have made based on their feedback or provide additional information. This helps to strengthen the relationship and keeps the customer engaged.

6. Keep it light and casual.

Last but not least, be personal when requesting feedback—like you’re talking to a friend. Use the customer’s name and thank them for their time. In follow-up conversations, be sure to mention specific things they said in their feedback to show that you read and appreciated their input.

Get Customer Reviews and Feedback to Drive Leads

Implementing a customer feedback strategy and growing your online presence has never been easier—thanks to Podium.

With Podium, you can easily collect and manage customer reviews and feedback from all major review sites, such as Google, Facebook, and Yelp, all from one convenient platform. This allows you to keep track of what your customers are saying, respond to feedback promptly, and improve your service based on customer needs.

Moreover, Podium makes customer interactions a breeze. From texting and phone calls to collecting payments and allowing customers to contact you via your website, Podium has what you need to keep customers happy and take your business to the next level.

Ready to try our customer feedback tools and see how Podium can take your business to new heights? Try Podium today for free.

FAQs

1. What are the best practices for collecting customer feedback?

Best practices for collecting customer feedback include designing surveys that are brief, relevant, and easy to understand. When crafting a survey, it is also important to ensure that the questions are open-ended, specific, and unbiased. Additionally, it is necessary to respect the customers’ time and appreciate their feedback by acknowledging their responses and incorporating their product feedback into product development, where possible.

2. What does it mean to gather customer feedback?

Gathering customer feedback involves soliciting, analyzing, and acting on customers’ perceptions of a brand’s products, services, or customer service. Collecting customer feedback helps businesses identify areas of improvement, as well as enhance their existing products or services to better serve customers. Gathering customer feedback is an ongoing process that helps businesses stay ahead of their competition and remain in tune with their customers’ needs and expectations.

3. What is the best way to collect customer feedback?

The best way to collect customer feedback is through a variety of channels that cater to the different preferences of your audience. These channels may include customer satisfaction surveys, feedback forms, social media channels, email surveys, and review sites like Yelp. It is important to choose the right channels that suit the audience and make it easier for them to provide feedback. Collecting feedback regularly, not just when something has gone wrong, also helps to show that you value your customers’ input and are willing to take the necessary steps to improve the customer experience.