One of the first things we all learn when starting our own business is that the customer is not always right. Sometimes being over sensitive to feedback can distract you from your goals and lead you to make bad decisions. Although you should not always act on customer feedback, ultimately your customers are the people who have the answers; making them happy and improving their lives is what your business is about.
Without your customers you’d be moving back into your parents basement (which Macklemore assures us is “not dope”) or updating your CV. The more you listen to them the more you can improve your business so that it best suits the market. So, here are the 9 instances when you SHOULD act on customer feedback (and how best to do it).
- When It’s Feedback That You’ve Sought
Asking for customer feedback is one of the best ways to get actionable data and make smart, targeted changes to your website.
When you ask for feedback with the right questions, the responses from your customers will be specific and useful.
- When It’s From Your Typical Customer
One of the key facets of your sales and marketing strategy should be a customer persona of the type of person to whom your product or service is targeted. Feedback from these people is very useful because it can help you make your product and your message an even better fit for your target market.
- When It Helps You Fix a Problem
No product or service is perfect. It’s painful when you’ve spent hours, months and even years polishing and tweaking your dream program only to have bugs pointed out by disgruntled outsiders, but by listening to their feedback you can make your product better. If it’s broke, fix it.
- When it Helps You Break The “Curse of Knowledge”
You are the expert on your product or service. No one outside your team knows it as well as you do; certainly not your customers. Because you’ve been an expert for a long time, it can be hard to walk in the shoes of an amateur and see your product from the perspective of a layperson.
This is called the curse of knowledge. Customer feedback can help you break the curse, understand your product from an outside perspective and make relevant changes to your message.
- When You Hear it Again and Again
If the same issue or suggestion is cropping up again and again then hey, it’s time to act. Feedback that you’re hearing consistently should carry a lot of weight because there’s no chance it reflects the specific whims of just one obscure customer; it’s something that is relevant to a lot of people. Fix this and your customers will thank you.
Pro tip: Keep a document of customer feedback to see if the same themes keep recurring over time.
- When It Helps You Add Value
If you’re consistently hearing about a feature or improvement that would benefit a lot of your customers without distracting them from the core purpose of your product or goals of your company, then this could be a great opportunity to stand out from the competition and over-deliver to your customers.
- When It Helps You Make More Money
Related to the above, if there’s a new feature that would be popular to your customers but may not fit in with your current product, you could consider adding this is an upgrade or cross sell. For example, if you’re selling lawnmowers and your customers are complaining that your product can’t trim hedges, you could offer your customers a hedge trimmer as a special one time offer. It doesn’t change your core product, but can help you make more sales.
Pro tip: Consider partnering with other companies that are not your direct competition but offer related services to the same target market.
- When It Helps You Grow Your Business
Positive feedback from satisfied customers is great, not only because it shows you that you are doing a good job, but also because it gives you an opportunity to grow your business. These customer advocates can become hugely valuable. Build relationships with these people and make it easy for them to share your service with their followers. Ask them for testimonials you can publish on your website to boost your credibility.
- When it Comes From Analytics
Not all feedback is deliberate. Sometimes it’s what your customers aren’t saying but doing that is most insightful. With good usability testing you can see what your customers are actually doing when they’re on your website and using your software. This will give you concrete data about what’s working and how well it’s working which you can act on to make targeted improvements to deliver a better user experience.
Bottom Line: Don’t Act on Everything
Not every piece of feedback you get will be worth acting on, but if you’re hearing something consistently that is in line with the goals of your business and can help you
-> Fix bugs
-> Add more value
-> Find opportunities for growth
-> Communicate better and
-> Mobilize your fans
… then this is actionable feedback which you should take seriously. Actively seek out feedback and build strong relationships with your business. The more you understand your customers the better your business will be.
“Seek first to understand, then be understood”
Stephen R. Covey
Written by: Sezgin Hergul
Sezgin Hergül is the marketing manager at UsabilityTools. He specializes in content marketing and website growth. Besides his love for marketing, he enjoys good design and music.
Photo Credits:
Top Photo: Business Lounge Amsterdam via photopin (license)
Lawn Mower: Mowing Grass via photopin (license)
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