As the saying goes, “If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.” From a restaurant Chef visiting your table after a meal to a hotel receptionist at check-out, “how was everything?” has long been the way businesses learn how they can improve. Now, thanks to digital transformation, opportunities for feedback throughout the customer journey are almost limitless. Prioritizing the collection of customer opinions on their experience with your products and services is essential to growth, retention, and overall success.
Here are just 4 reasons to ensure you have an effective channel for soliciting and receiving ratings, reviews, and more.
1. To make better products and/or services
Is your product or service perfect? Didn’t think so. You never know where a great idea for an improvement or enhancement will come from and you could miss out on additional revenue if you don’t have a way to gather input.
How-to tip: Schedule quick and effortless follow up with new customers 2-3 weeks after acquisition with an interactive voice call that includes 3-5 short questions they can answer with multiple-choice key prompts.
2. To enhance user experience
There are many tools and technologies available to track and measure the success of your online assets, but the value of direct user feedback should never be discounted.
How-to tip: After a new registration on your website or mobile app, send a link out via SMS to a short survey where users can let you know about their onboarding experience (friction in the flow? Too much form data to complete? The more you know…).
3. To promote customer satisfaction
If you don’t offer ways for your customers to review your product, service or experience, how can you share with the world all the nice things they have to say about you?
How-to tip: Solicit reviews to relevant platforms by sending out SMS campaigns offering incentives to satisfied customers who post a review.
4. To increase customer retention
When you ask customers for feedback, you communicate to them that their opinion is valuable. This makes them feel empowered, which in exchange makes them feel more connected to your brand.
How-to tip: If you implement a change related to the area of feedback a customer provided, let them know this great news by sending a short notification (and “thank you!”) via SMS.
In summary, if you want to stay ahead, customer feedback is key. Make it a core element of your business by ensuring you’re set up to receive communications through the channels your customers use the most.