Customer feedback is essential for any business that wants to improve its products, services, and customer satisfaction. But how do you collect, analyze, and act on customer feedback in your industry? In this article, we will explore some of the best tools and methods for collecting customer feedback, and how to use them effectively.
Collecting customer feedback can help you understand your customers' needs, preferences, expectations, and pain points. By listening to your customers, you can identify what they value, what they like and dislike, and what they want to see improved. This can help you make better decisions, optimize your processes, enhance your customer service, and increase your loyalty and retention.
I have used tawk.to in my personal blog and company's website. It is really easy and simple. User-friendly and it seriously helped me in enhancing our company's customer support experience.
Collecting customer feedback is an important part of any business and can vary depending on goals, resources, and industry. Surveys are a popular option for asking customers specific questions about their experience. Additionally, reviews are a form of feedback that customers voluntarily leave on platforms like Google or Yelp. Feedback forms are another way to collect feedback at specific touchpoints, such as after a purchase or website visit. Lastly, social media is a great channel to collect feedback from customers, potential customers, and influencers. It can be used to ask questions, run polls, host live chats, or monitor mentions and hashtags. With the right tools and methods, businesses can gain valuable insights into their customer's perceptions and recommendations.
It's also really helpful to try the products or services as a customer to experience it firsthand and relate to customers better from the business side after.
Additionally, leveraging AI chatbots for instant feedback collection and analyzing feedback data with sentiment analysis tools can unearth hidden trends and customer preferences. Tailoring strategies based on this data enhances customer experience. #AIinFeedback
Collecting customer feedback is just the beginning. To gain meaningful insights and actionable recommendations, you need to analyze your customer feedback. Quantitative analysis uses numerical data, such as ratings and statistics, to measure and compare your customer feedback. You can use tools like Excel or Google Analytics for calculations, charts, or dashboards. Additionally, you can use metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), or Customer Effort Score (CES) to quantify your customer feedback. Qualitative analysis uses textual or verbal data, such as comments or interviews, to understand and interpret your customer feedback. Tools like NVivo or Text Analytics are used for coding, categorization, or sentiment analysis. Additionally, methods like thematic analysis, content analysis, or discourse analysis can be used to identify patterns in your customer feedback. Mixed methods analysis combines quantitative and qualitative data and methods to analyze your customer feedback. Tools like MAXQDA or Dedoose integrate and visualize mixed methods data and analysis. This approach provides a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of your customer feedback.
Efficient and productive approaches to analyzing customer feedback is paramount. Ideally, a consistent cadence of root cause analysis with appropriate tracking is important, as it allows the trending of data over time to identify pain points, and address accordingly. The ultimate method is predicated by the method and mode of gathering information, I.E., what types of questions does your survey ask? Does it quantify customer effort? If customer facing, does it quantify the knowledge, courtesy, and confidence of the agent or employee? The data is only half the battle. Being able to quantify trends, and create remediation through actionable steps is key. Customer verbatims or “The voice of the customer” is a very effective way to analyze.
Analyzing customer feedback is only the second step; you must act on it to improve your products, services, and customer satisfaction. To do this, prioritize customer feedback based on importance, urgency, and feasibility. Tools like Trello or Asana can help create a feedback backlog and roadmap. Additionally, methods like MoSCoW, RICE, or ICE can be used to rank and score feedback items. Once prioritized, implement customer feedback by making changes, improvements, or innovations to your products, services, or processes. Tools like Jira or GitHub can help track and execute feedback projects and tasks. Methods like agile, lean, or design thinking can be used to test and iterate feedback solutions. Finally, communicate customer feedback by sharing insights, actions, and results with customers, employees, and stakeholders. Tools like Mailchimp or Intercom can be used for email updates or notifications to customers. PowerPoint or Canva can also be used to create reports or stories for employees and stakeholders.
Collecting, analyzing, and acting on customer feedback is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and optimization. To optimize your customer feedback process, you should align it with your business goals and use tools like OKR or SMART to measure your objectives and key results. Automation is also important; use tools like Zapier or IFTTT to connect and integrate customer feedback tools, and Chatbot or AI to automate interactions or analysis. Additionally, evaluate your customer feedback performance with data, metrics, or feedback from customers, employees, or stakeholders. Utilize tools like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey for collecting feedback, and Hotjar or Crazy Egg for website or app analysis.
Talking to a lot of fellow PMs in the space, I've grown to like the concept of 'rivers' (that Sachin Rekhi also quotes)—feedback rivers are the way to channelize quotes, suggestions, bugs, goodwill, from customers spread across different platforms (like email, chat, socials). With basic automation through Zapier or setting up scripts/integrations, it's possible to surface up threads to the primary collaboration tool of your team. Even more, setting up specific groups or channels in that collaboration tool where product teams get notified is the most simplest way to help everyone notice trends and critical stuff to look into.
To drive a GREAT customer experience, it is critical to understand that true engagement starts with how we engage with our teammates. Our internal customer (teammate) is the conduit to our external customer. They mirror as a reflection of what leadership models consistently. When you truly show up in the development of fulfilling the dreams of our associates, with intentional purpose, it organically flows into how the customer is treated. Truly value your teammates and they will value others. Data is important at what, and where to look at key learnings, and opportunities to improve in moving the business forward.
I would like to add that while collecting customer feedback is important, the how can be demoralizing to support staff. Customer satisfaction surveys must be solely based on the interaction with support. Surveys should not be used as a way of customer feedback regarding devices, services, or features. When a customer receives satisfactory support, which the customer makes a point of stating so. But, the interaction is scored as unsatisfactory due to the above mentioned, it can be a big discouragement for the support person. Customers should be educated on how to provide feedback when not related to receiving support.
I agree wholeheartedly with Michael's comment but would like to praise the unsung heroes amongst our team-mates in this context - Customer Service representatives. Customers are getting over-saturated with feedback requests from all angles, when companies already have the best, most thorough and realistic form of feedback at their fingertips - their Customer Service team member. The needs to be seen as it truly is - as fantastically skilled and invaluable - and not as the second thought it is by many in leadership roles. These are the people with their finger on the pulse and their insights into customer feedback are worth more than most review requests and feedback forms. Listen to and value your customer service team!