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Build a Customer Feedback Loop

In our continuing series on how to Prepare for the Upswing, we discuss several low cost options for inclusion in a customer feedback loop. Recession or not, gathering customer feedback is always a great idea as the best companies are distinguished by exceptional customer service. During a recession when there are fewer disposable dollars, small business owners may question whether general economic trends or business specific issues are keeping customers away from spending. Here are a few suggestions to adopt which can answer your questions as well as help you prepare for the coming growth cycle:

1. Customer Surveys: While you can ask as many questions as you like, ultimately the questions you want answered are: How was your experience? Would you buy from us again? Would you recommend us to a friend?
Web-based survey tools such as www.surverymonkey.com and www.surverygizmo.com offer you the ability to create a survey, distribute it via email and analyze results. Most web-based tools provide excellent resources to help you design effective survey questions for actionable results.

2. Initiate a Customer Experience Team: Invite a sample of customers to map your business from the customer’s perspective and look for ways to create a remarkable customer experience. Customer Experience Teams do not have to meet in person as you can use web conferencing technologies to collaborate and meet while minimizing the time commitment requirements from participants. Your customers will love the opportunity to help you design an exceptional customer experience, investing them even further in the success of your business.

3. Do you have a project that needs customer feedback such as the introduction of a new product or a new website? Provide an incentive and ask target customers to participate in a Project Team. Again, web conferencing technology such as www.gotomeetting.com and www.webex.com are among the leaders but there are a host of other options that may suit your needs, with affordable packages available on a per use or subscription basis. I have created “practice teams” to review classes before I offer them to the general public. Usability Teams are teams which are often created to evaluate the intuitiveness and navigational ease of websites from the customer experience.

4. Do you want to modernize the customer suggestion box? Create an Innovation Community using social networking platforms. Using a platform such as Ning or Facebook, create a closed forum where you can share product concepts and gather reactions. Similarly, you can ask customers to contribute product development ideas. I have used Ning to create private communities and find it takes an afternoon to create a branded community with custom content such as documents, websites, recorded video and audio, message boards, private messaging, connection and community capability. For inspiration, check out Dell’s IdeaStorm where, since 2007, Dell customers have contributed over 13,000 ideas and Dell has implemented over 400 suggestions.

Connecting with your customers in a new way, especially during the low economic periods, lets them know you care. Provide your customers with some kind of incentive for their participation and show your appreciation for their time. Follow up on the feedback you receive and demonstrate how you give serious consideration to their suggestions. A well executed customer feedback loop will not only enhance customer loyalty but inspire ambassadors who spread positive word of mouth about your business.

What tactics have you used to gather customer feedback? What has worked for you and what hasn’t worked for you?

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Reputation Management: Are Negative Reviews Good for Business?

Great read this morning by Matt McGee at Small Business Search Marketing, “Five Ways Negative Reviews are Good for Business.” Matt suggests the benefits of negative feedback are:

They create trust.
They provide honest feedback.
They can improve your SEO.
They help you make better business decisions.
They offer a golden opportunity.

Matt’s post calls to mind statistics regarding growth in social media participation by consumers. According to Forrester Research Study (October 2008) on social media adoption, consumers who classify themselves as “critics” (those who contribute to ratings, reviews, blogs, etc) increased by almost 50% over the previous year to 37% of those surveyed. Anecdotally, I suspect the number has increased substantially since then. Many recent studies indicate that between 65 -80% of consumers search the web for local businesses and actively read reviews and ratings as part of their purchase consideration process. Consumers are adopting social media at increasing rates across all categories.

I agree with Matt McGee and recommend the following strategies given trends in consumer behavior:

1. Make engagement a standard part of your marketing plan. Develop a social marketing plan that encourages your customers to provide feedback. Include tactics as simple as asking a customers to complete surveys or as complex as creating a product information and rating system on your website. The truth is that most reviews are positive so encouraging engagement only serves to improve your online reputation and customer loyalty.

2. Develop a web presence on social platforms where your customers hang out. If your target customer is on Facebook, create a Fan Page and develop a plan to engage them there. If your customer is on LinkedIn or Myspace, engage them there.

3. Create a pro-active communications plan to address the customer feedback. I recommend my clients use a simple decision tree process. Include decision points to handle situations such as :

a. Customers with verifiable complaints
b. Competitors planting negative feedback
c. Customers with incomplete information or distorted versions of the truth
d. Customers with positive feedback

Matt McGee is correct in suggesting negative reviews provide an opportunity to improve your operations. The beauty of social technologies is that they place inexpensive tools into the hands of a small business owner to form a more personal customer relationship. The functions of these tools play right into the strengths of small businesses that are already heads and shoulders above large organizations in personalizing the customer experience. Responding to the negative feedback in a positive way demonstrates your commitment to the customer and your desire to improve their experience with your business.

Would you rather use negative feedback to improve your operations and service or lose a customer without knowing why?

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What About the Customer Experience?

No, I did not abandon my blog series! Pneumonia struck me in April and it took a few weeks to recover but I am back to my full schedule. Thanks to everyone who expressed concern!

This is the third installment in my ten part series regarding the biggest mistakes small businesses make when it comes to implementing social media technologies. Mistake # 3 – many small businesses forget to develop and implement a participation marketing strategy that engages the customer and enhances the brand message at every stage of the customer experience.

Traditional marketing and advertising programs focus upon creating awareness via a variety of shout techniques: advertising, promotions, public relations, etc. The concept is that the more the prospect hears your message, the more they trust you and the more inclined they are to buy. But social technologies empower the prospect in ways unseen until this time. Most people research your name and your brand on the web before they make a purchase decisions. Most prospects consider ratings and reviews as influential in their purchase decisions. For you to be successful with social technologies, you must have a marketing strategy that creates awareness, educates the prospect through consideration and preference, encouragers purchase, and ultimately fosters loyalty.

Awareness: You may have a Facebook page and a website and a twitter account. Are you using these platforms as a way to engage in 2-way conversation or are you simply sending status updates all day long? Again, are you taking traditional shout marketing and transferring it to the web? Expect to be blocked and dropped from friend’s lists. Try joining groups and twitter chats. Provide value in the conversation so your readers want to know more about you.

Consideration: By this point, you are connected in some way. They know your name and may consider buying from you. Your target prospect is a “friend”, or “follower” and they may have actually subscribed to your newsletter. Again, making connections is not good enough if all you are going to do is send sales messages all day long. Ask questions. Create surveys and ask your readership for feedback. See who is following your competitors and who the influencers are for your industry. Befriend them and engage them. Determine what kind of information and content you can provide to help them make a purchase decision. Educate them with product information.

Preference: Follow-up on your conversations. Thank them for their ideas. “I enjoyed your participation in this class or this tweetchat.” Comment on their blogs. Send them bookmarks and articles that provide value, content created by yourself or others. Your prospect has given you permission to begin a conversation so inform them about ratings and rankings. Let them know what others are saying about your company and brand. Follow-up on prior conversations.

Purchase: Ask for feedback on the purchase process. How do you like our product? How has using the product been for you? What uses have you found for the product that we did not consider? Consider a targeted promotion for the customer asking for their feedback and providing a discount on one future purchase. Ask them to join your loyalty program!

Loyalty: At this stage, the customer is a fan. Whether they purchase from you or not, you want create campaigns that encourage them to make future purchases and refer others to your brand. Develop a loyalty program that provides customers increased value for engaging with you as a member or affiliate. Their value to your business increases as they refer you to others and become a repeat purchaser – make it worth their while. Continue to survey. How is the brand working for you? Target promotions for loyalty members only. Create an affiliate awards program. Encourage them to write online reviews. Ask them to join a focus group, a collaboration team to develop new products. Create communities and engage the membership! Remember their birthdays and anniversaries or provide other personal promotions.

Keep in mind all the systems and processes of your business that touch the customer experience from pre-sale awareness campaigns through point of sale emails and communication and finally through distribution and reflect a consistent brand message at every customer touch-point. At every stage, ask the question – how can I provide value? Better yet, ask your customer.

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