With so many amazing tools to gather and evaluate customer feedback, it’s easy to start relying on the automation of these tools to thank happy customers. But what if each day or each week or whenever you could find the time, you could make a few happy customers even happier?
If you have a half-hour and access to customer feedback, here are a few ideas.
1. Call that customer who gave you 5 out of 5 on a survey.
That’s right! Call the person who gave you a high score and thank them for being a customer. Let them know you want to be sure everyone feels like they do, so what was it that led them to provide a great score?
The customer has a chance to tell you about the one service rep who made their day, or why they are loyal, with someone willing to listen. This alone can increase loyalty and give them a reason to say “wow – I never expected someone to call!”
2. Send a video response to a question from a customer.
This is probably easiest to do on social media channels, but you can send this however you’d like.
If a customer asks a question, like “what happens if I want to return this?” Why not use video to tell them a quick story and show them exactly what happens?
You could write a quick script and walk into the warehouse with your mobile phone, introducing them to the woman who accepts returns. “This is Beverly, she wants you to know what happens when we receive returns.”
It doesn’t have to be Oscar-worthy, just personal!
3. Find the response that baffles you, then use it to fuel your detective skills.
I hear a lot about survey responses that contradict themselves. The customer who gives a 2 out of 5 and then uses the open text box to praise a specific employee, for example. This customer obviously felt emotionally connected to the experience and employees, so why the low score?
This can be enough to start looking at patterns. Is there a pattern where this happens enough to raise your curiosity? What is NOT going right with these customers? What does the employee know? What can you learn by asking more questions and investigating a bit? You might find a superstar employee who is saving customers from a frustrating experience.
What can you do to improve what frustrates them? What can you learn from the employee to teach others? It’s fun to dig in and ask “what does this mean?” Find where it leads you.
As we know in this business, there is always something to do.
Don’t let your to-do list intimidate you out of thinking outside the box for your customers. We don’t just gather feedback for feedback’s sake, we do it to improve the experience for our customers.
Once you know that’s your goal, you’ll want to use feedback in the most creative and fruitful ways possible. Look for the hidden treasure instead of just accepting the good and worrying about the bad. You got this!
Jeannie