Illustration of a closed feedback loop

For customer-centric organisations, closing the feedback loop is as important as collecting it in the first place. It might be surprising, but according to HubSpot’s recent research, 42% of companies don’t actually capture any customer feedback. So, how can a business insist it puts the customer first, if it doesn’t even listen to them?

Truth be told, collecting feedback alone won’t bring you any benefits. If you don’t analyse the data, implement changes, and communicate these to your audience, you’ll never improve customer satisfaction or grow your business.

ASK FOR FEEDBACK

First and foremost, you need to make it easy for customers to provide feedback, whether it’s with on-site survey kiosks or online surveys. There’s no one better to tell you how to improve customer satisfaction than your own customers. Don’t be scared of criticism or negative feedback. Think of them as free pieces of advice on how to improve your business.

ALERTS SPEED UP RESOLUTION

With Avius Surveys alerts, you can get notified of any negative feedback within 30 seconds. Issues highlighted by alerts could include dirty floors, out of order equipment, lack of supplies, but also bad customer service. All of these problems can have a negative impact on the overall customer satisfaction, so it’s important you respond and resolve them quickly.

Closed feedback loop illustration

ANALYSE COLLECTED DATA

Don’t just collect feedback. Analyse it regularly to identify trends and opportunities, and help you resolve any reoccurring issues. Always read through customers’ comments to understand the reasons behind their scores.

If you notice you’re getting bad service scores and comments around lunchtime, arrange for more staff to cover that time. Or if customers start complaining about the smell in the changing rooms, invest in an air freshener or look into changing your cleaning company. Always check if your scores go up after implementing changes to make sure there’s not another underlying issue.

Additionally, analyse your demographic data as it could highlight a segment of customers you’re missing out on. Consider asking specific questions to any customers you have in that segment to see what you could do to attract them.

TAKE ACTION

Once you’ve identified what customers want or need, take action and make changes. There’s no point asking for feedback if you don’t act on the results. Provide further training for employees, change processes or suppliers, add new facilities, tweak products, or create new ones.

COMMUNICATE CHANGES

Always go back to your customers to communicate what changes you implemented as a result of their feedback. This will make them feel valued, help grow your relationship, and increase their loyalty and advocacy. It’ll also help acquire new prospects who will see you actually care about your customers’ opinion.

Promoting the changes you’ve made should also inspire more customers to provide feedback or encourage them to leave feedback more regularly.

By closing the loop on your feedback, you’re gaining a powerful tool to drive continuous improvements and help your business grow.

By Dom Harding