Ways to Collect Customer Feedback

Customer feedback is one of the most useful tools for a brand to improve areas of dissatisfaction if there are any. Not only that, it can help you get to know your audience better and you can see what your brand is doing right too. It can strengthen your brand reputation as one who cares about its audience and sees them as more than just a paycheck. Here are a few of our top choices for collecting customer feedback.

1.     Surveys with incentives: these are a great tool and entice people to take them to receive something in return for their time.  

2.     Net Promoter Score (NPS): this keeps it short and simple for your audience. It will ask a single question, such as, “How like are you to recommend our brand to a friend or colleague?” The answer is a scale of 0-10. Zero is not at all and 10 is definitely. Those that rate you high should be asked for reviews, testimonials, etc. if they’re interested.

3.     Emails: check in with customers on a regular basis. Email marketing is a great way to do this. Some tools allow you to create small surveys within MailChimp to gather information about certain brand topics.

4.     Social media: read comments and see what people are saying about your brand.

5.     Interviews IRL: a lot can be missed with just online feedback. Body language is nonexistent behind a keyboard so it’s important to engage with some customers in person. Read their body language and the tone of their voice. These can tell you a lot but make sure you ask the right questions to get the information you need. The more specific the better.

6.     Website Live Chatbot: collect information from the live chatbot on your website. Have them ask a question when your customers come to your brand website landing page.

Finding out what your audience really wants from you and how they currently perceive your brand should be your top priority. Happy clients equal happy revenue streams. Humanizing your brand to audience connection with strengthen your relationship.

Customer Lifecycle Management Strategies

Every one of us goes on a journey when we decide to become a customer of a brand. Good brands understand that it is more than just getting a one-time deal closed and building lasting relationships with their audience. Customer lifecycle is the process of an individual becoming aware of a brand, purchasing from them, and sticking around for repeat business. Customer lifecycle management is all about managing this journey by tracking the stages, assigning metrics, and measuring the successes of those metrics. There are several stages of the customer lifecycle: 1. Reach 2. Acquisition 3. Conversion 4. Retention 5. Loyalty. Analysis of each stage is pivotal to managing each customer’s journey.

• Reach: this is where you want to find when, how, and why potential customers find your brand. How did they find out about you? Was it a search engine or WOM and what is your performance on these channels? What’s their perceived reputation of you? Hopefully, it is good. This is where they reach out for further information on your product/service.

• Acquisition: this is the area where you want to focus on the tools that you offer your audience, such as blogs, social media, websites, etc. This stage is where they visit your brand via the web, social media, etc., so you want to ensure that each is efficient in providing them with information about your company. Some should be engaging so that you can generate leads here as well. What kind of content is on your website to help them make the purchase? Are there enticing offers?

• Conversion: this is where you want to analyze what is and what isn’t working. Are there any barriers to making the purchase, such as poor website navigation, etc.? Are you making sure that they see the value in your product/service? Do you have a clear refund policy listed?

• Retention: this is where you look at your audience’s satisfaction with your brand. Are they happy with their purchases? Can you personalize their experience more? You want to ensure that they stick around for the long haul. Use customer service surveys and satisfaction scores to find out. Make sure to offer something in return for their feedback.

• Loyalty: one of the most difficult to build but most important. Are there ways for your loyal customers to share and spread the word about your brand? Referral programs, loyalty programs, and exclusive perks are great during this stage. You will know a customer is in this stage once they have made multiple purchases from you. We all know that WOM advertising is the best type of advertising.

There are a couple of ways to manage your customer’s lifecycle. Understanding and analyzing each step is only part of the process.

1. Reach:

   1. Identify the audience that’s right for you

   2. Share relevant content

2. Acquisition

   1. Offer self-service resources

   2. Proactive customer service

3. Conversion

   1. Remove any barriers from the purchase stage

   2. Offer support during purchasing

4. Retention

   1. Personalize experience after purchase

   2. Automation

5. Loyalty

   1. Ask for customer reviews

   2. Encourage referrals

Managing the customer lifecycle can seem daunting, but if your brand focuses on staying on top of it with each customer, it won’t be very difficult. There are automated systems to help you do so. Tracking your customer’s lifecycle is important to help your brand take control and increase your loyal customer base.

Why Customer Reviews Matter

87% of people read reviews when considering a purchase and 79% trust them as much as they would a personal recommendation (Forbes). As we know here at Locomotive, people trust real people when it comes to advertisements and brand recommendations. It’s part of the reason we truly believe in what our company does. But do customer reviews actually correlate to increase or decreased revenue? Do the reviews actually impact the business coming in? The answer is yes, most definitely! Actually, according to a study conducted on hotel sales impacted by online customer reviews in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, there is a “significant relationship between online consumer reviews and business performance of hotels.” This is not really surprising. We all do it. Let’s say that we want to buy something online. So, what is the first thing that we do? We look at the products online reviews to see what others are saying about it. Then we weigh out our options by searching that same product from their competitors. This helps us get a clear picture of what we’re buying before we buy it when we can’t touch or see it in real life. “66% of consumers consider positive reviews to be an important factor in their purchase decision” (SOCi). It makes sense. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful factors in driving business growth. Online reviews are just the digital version of this and it has even been dubbed eWOM, standing for “electronic word of mouth” now. Furthermore, a Hard University Study found that, “a one-star increase in a restaurant’s Yelp rating led to a 9% increase in revenue.” Seems that the numbers cannot be ignored. Customer reviews do affect a business and do matter. It’s important that this is not be ignored and feedback from your audience must be addressed in order to keep a positive light on your brand.

The Importance of Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the measurement of how well a business’s products or services meet their customer’s expectations. I mean, we all know this. We have our favorite brands that we buy from and we know the reasons why. We have all also been in a place where we have decided to stop buying from a business. Statistics show that 59% of customers will leave a company after several poor experiences and 17% after just one according to PwC. I know I have done this and you’re probably saying to yourself right now that you have too. The top reasons for customer dissatisfaction are quality issues, pricing problems, poor customer service, failure to meet implied expectations and usability complications. Don’t be that person. Listen to your customer’s wants and needs. It’s much easier to keep a client than acquire a new one and it’s actually costlier. According to Survicate, it can be 5-25x’s more expensive than retaining an existing one. Exceptional customer service will also lead to new customers through word of mouth. So, what makes great customer service stand out from just good customer service? Well, it’s going that extra mile to make sure that each customer’s experience is positive by going the extra mile. Going above and beyond expectations. Here are a couple of ways to ensure that your company has stand out, customer driven service.

1.     Offer omnichannel customer service avenues. This will offer options for everyone. Offer phone, text, email and live online web chats. Everyone has a different preference when it comes to contact so be prepared for that.

2.     Be timely. No one likes to sit on hold for a half hour! Ensure that your customer service is prompt! 66% of people think that valuing their time is the most important thing in any online customer experience (Help Scout.) Resolve issues as quickly as possible but make sure not to rush through. Quality over speed every time for the more complex problems. 

3.     Don’t be pushy. No one likes a pushy salesman. Help customers help themselves by not shoving products down their throats. Offer help but don’t be overly aggressive.

4.     Personalize and be consistent. People like to feel like their experience is being tailored to their own needs. For example, know your customer’s names. I know that I personally love it when I repeatedly go to a business and they say hello calling me by name. I’ve actually recently stopped doing business somewhere because the owner acted like she doesn’t know me when I’m there every single week and we had personally had introductions at some point early on in the business relationship. Rude!

5.     Be positive and know how to problem solve. A positive attitude is one of the most important aspects of the customer experience overall. Smile, say hello, know what to do when there is a problem and how to go about solving it. Be creative in the process. Be flexible with your customers. Relationships are a give and take from both sides. They choose to do business with you. Respect that and make sure that they know you appreciate that!

Understanding ways to provide great customers service are vital to the success of a business. A business will thrive with the skills to provide this to their customers. Of course, this is not the only thing necessary for an accomplished business but it by far one of the most important in retaining your audience and growing it.