In the current digital climate of publicly visible online reviews and viral social media posts, the feedback your brand generates has never been such a crucial factor for the success of your business. If you’re just starting or you’re already running a small business, you’ll likely be aware of just how influential customer feedback can be – while bad reviews can have a catastrophic effect on the good name of your business and negatively affect your bottom line, positive reviews can help to give your brand the promotion it needs. Whether you’re dealing with constructive criticism, common complaints, or gushing compliments, you must take the feedback of customers on board – but why is gathering client feedback so important?
Your Customers Know Best
Always remember that your customers know best – customers themselves will often provide the most accurate and honest assessment of your business. By regularly asking for feedback from your clients, you’ll get an authentic representation of the customer’s voice and a better understanding of the customer journey as related to your business. You’ll also be able to identify and tackle any minor issues before they snowball and do further damage. By taking constructive feedback on board, you’ll be able to tailor your services to suit customer needs and provide higher levels of satisfaction and retention in the future.
Customers Should Feel Valued
With many small business owners and freelancers living in fear of negative online reviews, it’s obvious that customer feedback can make or break a business, especially in the context of social media. To avoid negative reviews and keep your customers satisfied, it’s essential that you make your clients feel welcome, involved, and valued. The easiest way to achieve this is by taking customer insight and feedback on board, especially when it comes to product development and assessing existing processes. Customers who feel valued and involved in decision-making are far more likely to return, spend more and recommend your services to friends and family.
Helps Build Your Brand
While word-of-mouth advocacy has always been an integral aspect in generating sales and attracting new customers, the growth of social media has amplified the importance of this kind of brand promotion. Both positive and negative feedback can be seen by potentially millions of potential customers online, whether that be in the form of Google reviews, Instagram stories, or other social media posts. Try to generate positive feedback for your brand wherever possible and make this as visible as possible across review platforms. Use reviews to identify trends in customer behaviour, likes, and dislikes – this data can be utilised to improve the quality of your services and reduce the chances of getting a poor review in the future.
