Many companies are striving to become more customer-centric. They have set up numerous ways of listening to their customers at multiple customer journey touchpoints. However, few have built effective response mechanisms into their customer surveys and managed to close the customer feedback loop.
According to PWC, 32% of customers will stop doing business after a single bad experience.
Analysing, reviewing and – crucially – acting on, customer feedback is where the real value and competitive advantage lies. Whereas, failing to do so has high costs. According to PWC, 32% of customers will stop doing business (even with a brand they love) after a single bad experience. Resolving customers’ issues quickly and efficiently has never been more critical.
Successful companies see unhappy customers as an opportunity to improve their service. They act quickly to resolve the complaint, to show the customer they care and that their feedback is important. The result is a satisfied customer, possibly even a loyal brand advocate.
Customer feedback can also highlight wider problems. With a root cause analysis, you can unearth issues, such as poor UX design, service levels or training, and then engage the wider team in finding solutions. Any internal corrective action you take also needs to be measured to gauge the effectiveness and drive continuous improvements.
Enhancing your customers’ loyalty and engagement
Most companies don’t take the time to respond to neutral or positive customer feedback. That’s a bit short-sighted. Even a simple ‘thank you for taking the time to provide a response’ can make customers feel appreciated. Furthermore, this also gives an opportunity to build more engagement and loyalty.
By following up you can strengthen the positive power of happy customers even more. Maybe encourage them to share their opinions on social media or invite them to a ‘valued customers only’ event or programme.
Three essential steps to closing the customer feedback loop effectively:
- Take customer feedback seriously
It’s important to take a systematic approach to feedback and customer surveys; don’t just leave it to chance. An automated workflow platform will trigger notifications based on customer responses and track cases throughout the customer journey. Integrating this real-time data with your CRM system enables you to dig deeper, perform root cause analysis and spot trends in customer feedback.
- Ensure customer inputs trigger action
This starts with always thanking customers for their assessments to show you appreciate them. You’ll also need to share the insights with your wider team and welcome their views. Your team might also need training or empowerment to deliver the new customer experience.
- Loop back to your customers
Let your customers know what you did, what the new experience will be and invite them to try your product or service again. CX is never static; customer expectations are always growing and what works one day may not work the next.
You should always be asking: what do customers think now? Do they consider the issue to be resolved? How well did we improve the experience?
Benefits of closed-loop communication
Well-designed customer surveys that provide actionable feedback make the first step in an effective close-the-loop process. Once the customer responses start pouring in, you’ll need to analyse and make sense of it. Make sure to share the findings with your team early on. It is crucial for everyone to have a common understanding of both positive and negative customer journeys.
Also remember that if customers take time to provide feedback, companies need to act on it. Fix the problem or show appreciation to happy customers. Update them timely about what you’ve done. This is what will drive customer engagement and satisfaction.
The final step is to close the loop by re-measuring the impact of your CX improvements. Mapping the customer journey to further understand customers’ experiences immediately elevates the satisfaction for the individual. It also gives you valuable insights to inform your long-term customer experience strategies.
