Customer feedback is a very important aspect of business intelligence data. This data enables the business management to make calculated and informed decisions and setup the future strategies to obtain higher customer satisfaction and customer happiness. Customers are always the center point of any business’s attention. If your customer are happy you can aim for bigger goals and steady progress and if a business have unhappy or unsatisfied customers, it is not so hard to predict their future too. In Dubai and all around the UAE the customers are very modern and have sound knowledge and understanding of the market trends. Businesses are also very active and keep on impacting those trends by introducing new and innovative solutions and products/services. Which makes the entire market more competitive and it also makes it hard to establish a good brand name under such competitive environment.
When customer have too many options available it is extremely important for a business to improve customer retention by offering them satisfactory services/products and ultimate experience. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE invest a huge chunk of their hard earned revenues and profits into customer satisfaction solutions and customer centric strategies. But the questions remains, after investing huge resources how would a business know if its customers are happy or not? How a business can establish a long term strong relationships with its customers? The answer to both of these questions is a customer feedback system.
A customer feedback system can help businesses to build strong and satisfactory relationships with its customers and it also provides them deep insight and better understanding of their customers’ needs and expectations. Here is how a business or organization can build a long-term customer feedback strategy to ensure higher response and accurate high quality feedback data and its long term implementation:
Step 1. Collect Customer Feedback via a Digital Customer Feedback System
Obviously the customer feedback strategy starts from collecting the customer feedback data. Business all over the world are collecting customer feedback data since many decades now. Here in Dubai and also in other emirates of UAE businesses are also collecting customer data since a long time. However in the UAE the technology and the modernization is wide-spread. Business and the customers too are very adoptive towards technology and new trends. The UAE is known as the most technologically advanced and modernized society in the entire region. The country have proved this many time by introducing innovative solution and by its bold approach towards experimenting latest technology. The customer feedback sector is no exception. Businesses were earlier collecting customer feedback via traditional methods, but now a days, every business is utilizing some kind of digital customer feedback system to collect, process and utilize the customer feedback data.
Due to the usage of technology and digital platforms the businesses can more effectively collect customer feedback data and the customers also like to have a digital interaction as it is more quick and personalized. This ensures highest quality of the customer feedback data. It is extremely important that you provide an appropriate and convenient channel or method to your customers for the feedback. If customers will feel comfortable in conducting surveys and doing feedbacks the response rate will be higher and the quality of the data will also be better. If the customer feedback and survey methods or modes are inconvenient or difficult then the response rate will be very low and the data accuracy will decline, in fact in such scenarios only very unhappy or completely satisfied customers tend to attempt the feedback submission, and all other customers in between will avoid submitting any feedback. So, it is important that a digital customer feedback system is used to offer most convenient and easiest methods of feedback.
Here are some key advantages of using a digital customer feedback system to collect customer feedback:
- High Response Rate
- Pleasant Customer Experience
- High Accuracy of the Feedback Data
- Automation Reduce the Cost of Feedback Collection
- In-built Statistical and Analytical Tools help Preparing Reports
- Notifications and Alerts keep the Management Informed
- Feedback Data Sharing is Easier Across the Internal Departments
- More Accurate Assessment of the Quality of Products and Services
- Accurate Employee KPIs and Other Performance Indicators
- System Integration with Third-Party ToolsMaximize the Effectiveness and Efficiency
- Data Security and Accuracy is Guaranteed by System Automation and Access
- Human Errors can be Completely Eliminated due to Digitalization and Automation
Read More: What are the best devices to be used for Customer Feedback?
Step 2. Use Different Customer Feedback Survey Types
It is extremely important that a business keep working on the customer experience to ensure a satisfactory customer journey. The customer satisfaction is a key to customer retention and customer loyalty, which helps businesses to grow and progress. All that demand intensive monitoring and assessment of each and every touch point of the entire customer interaction. For that purpose the customer feedback system offers multiple different types of customer feedbacks and surveys. Businesses can easily set up campaigns for different types of surveys. Each type of survey can provide a deeper understanding of the respective topic. Here are the most popular customer feedback survey types:
- NPS Survey (Net Promoter Score)
- CSAT Score (Customer Satisfaction Survey)
- CES Survey (Customer Effort Score)
- Rating Survey
- Customized Survey
NPS Survey or Net Promoter Score
The NPS Survey or Net Promoter Score is a customer feedback which measures the customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. The survey gained worldwide popularity since 2010 and sooner businesses in Dubai and all over the UAE started embracing the survey type. The survey usually consist of a single question which is asking customers whether they would like to recommend the business or its products/services to their friend, colleague or family. The NPS Survey or Net Promoter Score is an overall measurement of the customer satisfaction. The answer is usually a rating scale or 1 to 10 rating where customers with answers 9 or 10 are considered to be the actual promoters. It is a very effective and precise way to assess the general satisfaction level.
CSAT Score or Customer Satisfaction Survey
The CSAT Score or the Customer Satisfaction Surveys is also a measurement of customer happiness and customer satisfaction, the only difference between the NPS and the CSAT is that the CSAT Survey is always specific and ask customer about only a particular topic, product or service or even a feature. The CSAT Score customer feedback surveys are widely used by the businesses and usually conduct by a digital customer feedback system. The CSAT survey could also have more than one question but that is not so common. Usually marketers prefer to ask only one question for CSAT Score campaigns. The question can be “How Satisfied/Unsatisfied you are with our ABC Service?” or something like that, where business can ask them about a particular topic. Some business also add a follow-up question and some don’t. The answer is usually a 1 to 5 rating score. The CSAT Score customer feedback surveys are a great source of valuable insight on different aspect of customer journey and customer experience.
CES Survey or Customer Effort Score
The CES Survey or Customer Effort Score is a measurement of how easy or difficult it was for a customer to perform a certain action or to avail a certain service. The CES Surveys are used to further pinpoint problems and issues in the customer journey to rectify them. It is a great source of data which provide a deeper insight of customer liking and disliking and the performance and efficiency of various moving parts in the customer journey. The business can ask customer about all touch points one by one, or some business also use two or three questions to accurately identify the actual problem that their customers are facing. For example, a business can ask them “How easy or difficult it was to make the payment from our new online payment interface?” In this question the business is specifically asking them about the payment functionality, furthermore the business can also ask them additional question such as “How easy or difficult it was to add payment method or bank card?” and so on. The answer is usually a 1 to 5 rating scale. The customer effort score surveys are a great tool to optimize the customer journey and to improve various business processes.
Rating Survey
Rating Surveys or Visual Rating is a customer satisfaction feedback with a visual based rating mechanism. The surveys are usually generic and asked umbrella questions to learn general perspective of the customers. For example the business can ask them “How would you rate your today’s experience?” or “Are you happy with the service?” the answer could be a happiness meter with three or five emoticons. Or businesses also use thumbs up/down signs and five star rating method. All are widely used and suitable for almost all types of questions. The rating surveys are a great choice to get a quick customer feedback and usually have high response rate. Furthermore the businesses can utilize other survey types to get more details on the relevant subjects. Usually visual rating scales and surveys are used to gather a large amount of customer feedback data as the data analysis and reports creation is also simpler and easier.
Customized Survey
The customized surveys are used to collect highly detailed data by including multiple questions. Some questions can have follow up questions and some questions can be set as “conditional logic” to take answers of a series of a questions. The customized surveys are also used to measure various KPIs and performance matrices as well. Usually these types of surveys are used to collect a data which can be segregated in three sections on the bases of the intensity or importance of the matter. For example the business can segregate the answers in three distinguished sections, Need Immediate Fix, Should be Fixed in Future, or No Need to Change. The business and marketer will have to be very careful while setting up question and their answers so that when they process the data and analyze it they can easily be able to segregate it in the three categories or in some cases businesses also use more than three categories. The customized surveys can have different types on answers including rating scale, happiness meter, score gage, and even a text area to collect customer’s feedback in textual format.
Step 3. Utilize Multiple Channels and Mediums
Any customer feedback survey’s success or failure depends upon the channel businesses are using to conduct the customer surveys. If businesses are using channels that are difficult and unpopular among their audience, then the response rate will be lower, and the quality of the feedback data will also be poor. Here are some most commonly used customer feedback collection channels and mediums:
- On-site Interactive Kiosks
- On-site Table Top Displays/Tablets
- Customer Portals
- Business Website
- Social Media Platforms
- Emails and SMS
The modern day customer feedback systems can provide facility to transmit a survey through multiple channels and mediums. All these channels are used for different purposes and to achieve different objectives. For example, the NPS is always better to conduct immediately after the interaction. In certain cases a business can also conduct NPS Survey after a day or two. Whereas the customized surveys can be occasional as well as regular or after certain intervals such as weekly, monthly or quarterly, etc. and so on. That is why businesses use different channels and mediums for different customer surveys.
Read More: What to Collect and When with a Customer Feedback System?
Step 4. Analyze Data and Compile Reports
Analyzing data and compiling actionable reports is always the most important part of a customer feedback collection campaign. No matter which type of the survey you are using or which medium or channel you have chosen, if the customer feedback data is not analyzed properly and reports are not generated all will be wasted. A good customer feedback system must have an in-built data analytical engine and processing tools. The modern day customer feedback systems also offer various tools to customize the reports and download them in different formats to be cater to the different levels of the management. For example the C-Level Management would be majorly interested in overall summary or performance reports. The department heads or branch managers would like to see the trend reports. However the customer support or communication department would require detailed reports so that they can track down each and every negative or positive feedback and the customer if they want to. That is why it is crucial that the customer feedback system either provide all the analytical tools or the business/manager should have a mechanism to compile required reporting formats from the raw data extracted from the system.
Step 5. Take Action and Update Strategies
Once the data is analyzed and processed in the form of reports. Now the business must have to act upon those reports and business intelligence that is being gathered through the customer feedback collection campaigns. A business must have to understand that all the feedbacks and suggestion they will be getting from their customers would require them to take certain actions or make certain policy changes. Some of them would be realistic and doesn’t require much of the resources and some would be either very difficult or expensive. A business must have to think critically while taking actions and all the possible outcomes and impact of policy shifts should be analyzed with extreme care. If changes are made which could result in unpredictable consequences than don’t do them. Start making small changes and keep taking customer’s feedback. After each action or change or new strategy analyze its impact on the customers and then take next action. It is also important to consider what your competitors are doing. It is very important for a business to hold a unique brand identity, which should also reflect in each and everything they are doing. These distinguishing features could be the bigger appeal for your customers. Do not overlook the customers who are not giving any positive or negative review, there must be always a huge number of customers who will never share their opinion. So, any big policy shift or business process change could have both positive and negative impact on all of your customers.
Although the customer feedback collection strategy is already discussed in five major steps, however there is one more step that could help businesses in strengthening their relationship with their customer and that is ‘closing the loop’. By closing the loop I mean here is to notify and update your customers about the actions that have been taken due to the feedback or suggestion given by them. Some businesses only use automatic responses to tell customers that their feedback is received and we will take action to improve their next experience. However, that is not enough. It is always better to provide exact information about the changes that are being made and the actions that are being taken in result of the feedback or suggestion submitted by a customer.
Read More: Why Customer Feedback Loop is Important?
Conclusion
The customer feedback is a very important part of business intelligence. It provides a direct measure and assessment of the efforts that are being taken to improve customer journey and customer happiness. Whether it is a business process, a feature of a product or a service, staff performance or even the infrastructure, whatever can impact the customer experience should be evaluated. The customer feedback data can provide a very accurate and direct evaluation of everything. In this blog we have discussed various steps to build a customer feedback collection strategy. If a business follows it, it can easily built a great strategy to collect effectively customer feedback and then they can make improvements. Which will carve the way for future progress and steady growth. Customer satisfaction drives the customer loyalty. The customer loyalty provides a strong foundation for progress and growth. It is almost nine to twelve time more expensive to acquire a new customer comparing to selling to an existing customer. That can have tremendous impact on the business growth and its profitability.
RSI Concepts is a leading customer feedback system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you need any help with your customer feedback strategy or want to acquire a digital customer feedback system, feel free to reach us out through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.
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