Retention

Why you need a customer service feedback loop

December 16, 2021

Question time:

Are your sales reps talking to your marketing manager and/or digital agency?

Are your customer service reps talking to your sales reps?

Are your customer service reps talking to your marketing manager and/or digital agency?

If the answer to one or more of these is ‘no’, then get cracking—you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities!

If you answered ‘yes’, here’s another question: what happens to the information and feedback thrown up in these conversations? Do they provide a starting-point for further debate and problem-solving, or do they gather dust?

Ear to the ground

A wise man (Bill Gates) once observed: ‘Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.’

We all see things from different points of view and we all have biases that we can’t shake. There’s also such a thing as being too close to a project or business—and it can affect our ability to have an objective opinion the way a new customer might.

Keep the conversation going

Thankfully, you have a built-in source of feedback: your customers. They’re already buying your products or services, and willing to share how they feel about their experience. The downside is that, unless you’re running the show, they generally only speak with your customer service team.

Your customer service team often holds the keys to success—whether by alerting you to an error or bug that a customer has encountered on your website, or passing on a question commonly received from customers. Receiving anecdotal feedback is often more valuable than sifting through Google Analytics to find insights or patterns.

The takeaway

‘Customer feedback is the ultimate truth,’ says Julia Hartz, CEO and co-founder of Eventbrite. ‘If you read customer feedback and listen to call centre calls, you will really get grounded.’ Built-in website analytics are great, but don’t rely on them—make sure you have a robust feedback loop in place to make sure all sorts of customer comments, questions and gripes are captured.

Get in touch to learn more about how to set up your business for success from the inside out.