It’s never easy to get feedback, especially if it is negative. However, if you initiate the process and ask for constructive feedback, you are more likely to avoid public negative criticism.
Times have changed since social media became a thing. In the past, if your customers had a bad experience with your business, the worst that could happen would be a bit of bad mouthing around the braai and at the hair salon. Or perhaps the remote possibility of a letter of complaint published in the local community newspaper.
These days, social media gives every consumer a massive booming voice that communicates dissatisfaction to a vast audience of potential customers and allows other equally unsatisfied customers the opportunity to jump on the band wagon.
As business owners, there are two valuable lessons to be learned here.
Firstly, you simply can’t afford mistakes. There is no mercy when your customers have access to such massive communication channels. Doing things right the first time, delivering what you promise and fixing mistakes immediately to the satisfaction of the customer is becoming more and more important.
Secondly, you need to build feedback into your customer experience so that your clients have the opportunity to tell you where you let them down rather than telling the world.
Inviting constructive feedback has a number of positive spinoffs beyond avoiding negative social media attention.
Growth and improvement
Feedback gives to insight into blind spots that you may not be aware of. You can’t change a process or product or a behaviour if you are not aware of its flaws. Feedback gives you an opportunity to make good, and to make changes.
Respect for customers
By inviting the feedback, you are telling your customers that you value their opinion and send a strong message that you aim to please and improve.
Customer retention
When you get feedback from your customers, you are more likely to retain them as customers. Remember, it is much easier and more profitable to retain an existing customer than to secure a new one, so businesses need to do what it takes to keep their customers coming back for more.
Service consciousness
Inviting feedback needs to be ingrained in the mindsets of the team and the values and culture of the business. It needs to become second nature to ask for it, accept it and act on it. The more you ask for feedback, the more conscious you will be of ensuring that the service you give will result in positive feedback. And positive feedback makes for great marketing on social media platforms!
So how do you invite feedback without sending out a formal customer satisfaction survey that relies on your customers to take the time to respond? The best way to get feedback is to ask for it. Go back to your business processes and identify the touch points where you could ask for feedback as you progress. It can be formal, but more effective when feedback is part of the everyday conversation.
In my executive coaching programmes, we regularly start the process by inviting constructive feedback from peers and colleagues. Leaders also complete assessments that provide invaluable insights on motivators and blind spots. Similarly, businesses can ask for constructive feedback from their employees to gauge leadership, culture and values. In addition, companies can ask their customers for constructive feedback on their service and products.
If you are keen to grow and improve your business and your leadership skills through constructive feedback, contact me to discuss how we can assist you.
