In business, one thing we all aim to do is satisfy the needs of our customers. But how can you tell if you are doing this effectively? To ensure that you are providing the best customer experience, you need to find out what your customers actually think of your product or service by seeking feedback. Customer feedback is important because the insight it provides serves as a guiding resource for the adaptation, growth, and ultimately success of your business. By utilizing your customers to help you understand what you are getting right and wrong, you are able to adjust your products or services to better suit their needs and solidify a customer-centric reputation for your business.

Why is customer feedback important?

1. Helps to optimize your product or service offering: Customer feedback allows you to see your business through the eyes of your customers. It helps you to gain an insight into what is working well and what changes can be made to make your product or service better serve your customers. You might consider yourself an expert in your industry, but business knowledge is no match for customer feedback when it comes to business performance. Their feedback will tell you if your product is actually doing what it is designed to do, solve a problem, or fulfill the needs of your customers.
   
   
2. Shows that you value your customer’s opinions: Your customers will appreciate you asking for their feedback on your product or service. By doing this you are showing them that you value their input and are dedicated to making the product work better for them to fulfill their needs, not just to get paid. Your customers will feel more attached to your business, and you can create a stronger relationship with them if you take on their input in helping to shape your business.
   
   
3. Helps to improve customer retention: A customer will stay loyal to you if they are satisfied with your product or service. If they are unhappy with your offering, they will eventually turn to a competitior with an alternative that better fits their needs. This is where listening to the feedback from your customers is crucial. This will help you to understand if your customers are truly satisfied with your product or service, or, if a customer expresses that they are dissatisfied, will help you identify areas for improvement to help win that customer back and win over their loyalty.
   
   
4. Helps generate word-of-mouth: Customer feedback is a valued source of information for other customers deciding which business to purchase from. According to a recent study by forbes.com, 90% of people said that they are more likely to trust a business based on a word-of-mouth recommendation (even from a stranger) than the business’s word alone. Customers want proof that your product or service actually works and does what they need it to to meet their needs. Testimonials from other customers provides them this assurance.
   
   
5. Helps business leaders make business decisions: Business decisions are made based on data and insights. Customer feedback is a very valuable and reliable source of tangible data as it will help your business to understand your customers and their needs in more depth. It is important to listen to and consider their suggestions and translate them into actions that your business can take to better your product or service. You might find that what you thought should be the next step for your business, should actually be something completely different.

How can you collect important feedback from your customers?
Here are some simple ways to gather some important feedback metrics from your customers:

• Conduct follow-up calls
• Provide live chat support on your website
• Pay attention to the comments on your social media posts
• Monitor your customer’s activity on social media
• Email feedback surveys or forms
• Create a feedback section on the order confirmation page of your website
• Create online polls
• Offer an incentive in exchange for feedback

If you want to keep up with the times and your competition, taking a customer-centric approach to business and utilizing their feedback as a valuable source of information is a must. They are the ones that are actually using your product or service, so who would know better than them? Whatever you do, make sure that you never ignore what your customers have to say. If you aren’t meeting the needs of your customers and you aren’t listening to how you can do this better, they will turn to a competitor who can. That is the last thing you want!