Customer Service: Start Receiving Your Gifts

Your business is all about giving.  You’re constantly giving, from the goods you offer to the customer service you provide, every day to every customer.  And that’s a good thing because that’s why customers are coming to you.  But don’t discount the value that your customers can give to you.  Look forward to receiving “gifts” from your customers in the form of data and feedback.

Your customers are your best eyes and ears in evaluating your company.  Just like having a friend read and critique your latest manuscript or resume, it occasionally takes an outside observer to spot the flaws that your team may have overlooked for any number of reasons.  You have people in your corner already.  You customers!  You wouldn’t be a successful business without them.  Tap into their experiences and learn what they have to offer your business.

Your customers may not be experts in your field, but they are likely experts in shopping or doing business in your field.  As a company, your ability to see what the competition is doing is very limited, and you must rely mostly on your own homework and industry buzz.  But your customers may have done business with every single one of your competitors, and will have picked up on the traits that make a company, or break it.  In terms of experience, your customers may very well be the experts in the industry.  Failing to tap into their thoughts could be a death sentence for your business.

Be graceful and receptive of the “gifts” of customer feedback.  Your customers likely put much thought into the answers they give you.  There must an outward initiative that shows your attentiveness to their input.  Simply evaluating their thoughts isn’t enough.  You must act on the feedback to improve your business and keep your customers happy.

At NBRI, we recommend using customer surveys to receive the gift of feedback from your customers.  Use customer insight to build a plan to deliver a better customer experience, which will result in improved returns for your company.  Then, resurvey periodically to evaluate the effectiveness of your improvement initiatives. Contact us today to start listening.  You can also visit the section of our website dedicated to white papers covering customer service.