Using Feedback to Improve Your Business

ByNicole Waltman
Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
0 Shares

Whether it’s online reviews or responses you gather through research, you can learn a ton about your business and how well it’s working for clients through feedback. You just have to be willing to accept the feedback and consider what clients tell you. Negative or positive, using feedback to improve your business is essential. 

How Using Feedback Improves Your Business

Positive feedback boosts your brand’s visibility, results in more sales, and feels dang good. Negative feedback allows you to acknowledge, revisit, and adjust your products, services, or customer experience. No matter what kind of feedback you receive, use it to benefit your business by doing more of what works and changing what isn’t.

Using feedback:

  • Adds Credibility. You’re not very visible or credible without feedback. Adding positive feedback to your website or social media posts is beneficial to grab your audience’s attention and show that you value customer experiences.
  • Improves Products and Services. Listening to feedback can help you improve. The people using your products or services are your most credible source of information. Use their views to make adjustments you may not have considered previously.
  • Measures Customer Satisfaction. Customer satisfaction reflects customer loyalty. Their experience determines how likely they are to stay clients and recommend your business to others. 
  • Increases Customer Retention. When customers feel heard, they return. Knowing they can come to you with constructive criticism or praise is valuable in maintaining positive relationships and ensuring loyalty. 
  • Bridges the Experience Gap. Customer feedback coupled with business responses bridge the experience gap. The experience gap is how companies think they’re doing versus how their customers feel. Feedback answers questions from both perspectives.
  • Makes Content Marketing More Effective. Feedback lets you truly understand your customers’ pain points, needs, and the like. You can then use your content to speak to customers at their level and give them what they need.

Why Business Owners May Avoid Feedback

Yep, it’s true. Some of you avoid feedback, and we know why, even if you don’t. Knowledge is power and allows you to face your fears head-on. So, let’s talk about it.

Business owners may avoid feedback because:

  • You don’t have time to gather it.
  • You don’t know how to solicit feedback.
  • You’re afraid it will be negative. 

Content Journey can help you with the first two. We’re pros at gathering feedback through things like email campaigns. But you have to learn how to get comfortable with negative feedback. Our advice? View negative feedback as a chance to learn and grow. It’s an opportunity, not a death sentence. And remember that how you respond to negative feedback is critical. You can’t control how people think or say, but you can control how you respond. Learn to respond in a way that’s beneficial to your business.

What Can You Do When a Customer Leaves Negative Feedback?

Negative feedback stings because you consistently work so hard on your business. Getting comfortable with negative feedback is not a skill that can be taught. You have to practice and change your mindset. You won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s OK! You’ll also make mistakes, and that’s OK too. You’re human, and people make errors. Your reaction to negative feedback is what matters.

Responding to negative feedback:

  • Take Any Constructive Information. Use constructive information to your advantage instead of letting it discourage you. Take anything helpful and use it to make changes.
  • Ask Clarifying Questions. To fix your mistakes or improve your business in some way, you may need specifics. Ask questions when you receive negative feedback and need more information. Let customers know you’re listening and plan to make changes.
  • Be Objective. It’s easy to immediately defend your brand, products, employees, etc. When responding to negative feedback, remain neutral and do your best to solve the problem. Defense mode isn’t helpful in these situations.
  • Listen to Understand. Stay calm, even if a disgruntled customer lets their emotions take over. Chances are, your demeanor will calm them as well. Either way, understanding is key to improving your business.
  • Apologize. Humility is essential when you’ve let somebody down. Apologize, even if it’s complicated. You want to maintain a level of professionalism and tact.
  • Resolve any Issues Quickly. Don’t ignore negative feedback or wait to take action. Respond quickly, but not out of anger. Take time to think about what you’d like to say or do. Be willing to revise your response or have a team member review it.  
  • Follow Up Again. Check-in with your unsatisfied customers even after you’ve resolved their issues. Following up will show that you value their feedback and truly care about the experiences they have with your company. Your response may even make them a customer again. 

Onward and Upward

Accepting feedback is difficult, especially if you’re a new business owner. You put time, effort, emotion, and tons of talent into your company. Those of us at Content Journey understand how nerve-wracking it can be. We want to make the feedback portion of your business a lot less challenging. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you collect reviews and other feedback from customers.

Similar Posts