Remember when you were in grade school and your teachers always told you to listen up? Perhaps, that was one of the most important lessons that we were being taught. After all, not listening meant you weren’t receiving the information you may have needed to score highly on your tests. Today, you are still being tested. It just happens to be your customers who are the ones who are testing you. But, have you listened enough that you are passing their tests?
As a business owner, one of the best resources you can get is the feedback provided to you by your customers. Arguably, there is no better way to learn how to better your business than to adhere to the various tips and pointers doled out by those who have interacted with your company. Listening to customer feedback, therefore, is an essential part of being a successful business owner.
Of course, it’s not just the listening that’s important. It’s taking from the feedback and implementing change that truly makes the difference. When your customers take the time to tell you what they both like and dislike about your brand, it should be received as incredibly valuable information. When customers notice changes that you have made based on their feedback, it goes a very long way in securing customer satisfaction.
Here are four reasons accepting customer feedback is so important:
1. It informs you of where you stand in your industry. Attentive listening allows you to better understand how customers feel about your products and services versus your competition’s products and services. One of the ways that many companies attain such crucial information is through conducting focus groups. First-hand knowledge of what makes customers tick is integral to the beating out of your competitors.
2. It lets you know what changes you can make to grow your brand. Truly listening to customer feedback entails that you are looking for constructive criticism, and not just praise. Positive feedback is great. It definitely helps you to know that you’re on the right track. Not to mention, it’s a great ego boost! But knowing what you can do to change for the better is a key component to the growth of any company.
3. It clarifies the true value of your products. Is what you have to sell really all that great? There’s no one better to answer that question that the people who have purchased your products. Customer feedback lets you know just how well your products are working. It also lets you know what other products your customers may find useful. Listening to the needs of your customers will help you to better the products and services you have to offer.
4. It helps you to improve customer service. Don’t be surprised to find that most customer feedback has to do with customer service. If you’re truly listening to your customers, you will learn a lot about the relationships they have with your employees. You’ll be able to determine which employees are correctly following your company’s mandate and which ones may require a little brushing up on their training.
At MeloTel, we’re always eager to hear feedback from our customers. And we’re most certainly committed to listening to that feedback so that we can implement changes where necessary. If you haven’t yet, please take the time to fill out our Customer Satisfaction Survey. Doing so will enter you into this month’s draw for our monthly $100.00 giveaway! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-888-MELOTEL!