Customer feedback is intrinsically linked to service/product improvements. When companies actively address feedback, they can make informed decisions that lead to better products, services. This continuous loop of obtaining and implementing feedback welcomes a customer-centric culture. In this blog, we discuss the 8 steps to design a customer feedback program.

What is Customer Feedback?

Customer feedback is the insights and opinions shared by respondents regarding a company’s products and services. It includes both numeric metrics like ratings and scale values and non-numeric metrics such as opinions and conversations. Customer feedback can either be positive, negative or neutral. CX professionals can collect customer feedback via satisfaction surveys, reviews on third party sides/ Google maps or on social media platforms.   

Design A Good Customer Feedback Program

Step 1: Set clear objectives

To set meaningful objectives, detect areas that need improvement within your business. For instance, if customer satisfaction scores are below expectations, increasing these scores could be an objective. Use specific, quantifiable metrics that you can track continually. For example, rather than a vague goal of “improving customer service,” aim for “reducing average response time in customer service by 30%.”

Examples of Clear Objectives

• Increasing Customer Satisfaction Scores: Aim to increase customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores by 20% within the next 12 months. This involves gauging current satisfaction levels, implementing improvement strategies, and continually monitoring progress.

• Reducing customer churn by 15%: Focus on identifying the reasons behind customer attrition. Develop targeted initiatives to address those issues andreduce churn by a specified percentage within a set timeframe.

Step 2:  Choose the right survey channels

A successful customer feedback program relies on selecting appropriate channels to collect a high number of responses. New age channels include:

• Surveys: These can be WhatsApp surveys, dynamic email surveys, or in-app surveys. They are a versatile tool for gathering structured feedback.

• Social media feedback: Customers often express their opinions on social media platforms. Tracking these comments can provide real-time insights.

• Customer service interactions: Direct interactions with customer service representatives are a goldmine for feedback, capturing concerns, and suggestions firsthand.

• In-app feedback: For businesses with mobile applications, in-app feedback mechanisms can be very effective for real-time input during the usage experience.

In many cases, adopting a multi-channel approach can cover a broader spectrum of feedback. Use Merren CX platform to explore channels of WhatsApp, Facebook messenger and dynamic chatbots.

Step 3:  Design effective feedback surveys

Survey Design Principles

Designing effective feedback surveys is pivotal to a functional customer feedback program. The principles of survey design include:

• Conciseness and clarity: Surveys should be brief and to the point to encourage higher completion rates. Questions should be clear and avoid ambiguity.
• Closed-ended vs. open-ended questions: Use closed-ended questions for quantifiable data and open-ended questions to gather qualitative insights. A balanced approach ensures all-round feedback.
• Balanced questioning: Avoid leading or loaded questions that may bias responses. Maintain neutrality to gather unbiased feedback.

Drivers of Effective Surveys

Effective surveys are driven by:

• Right question types: Use multiple question types (e.g., multiple-choice, Likert scale, open-ended) to capture varying degrees of feedback.
• Logical flow and structure: Arrange questions in a logical order to ensure a natural flow, making it easier for respondents to provide accurate answers.
• Personalization: Tailor questions to specific customer segments. Personalized surveys resonate more with respondents and can yield more relevant insights.
  

Step 4: Encourage high participation rates

Strategies to increase respondents

• Simplify the process: Make the feedback process straightforward and easy for customers. Shorter, intuitive surveys with clear instructions have a higher completion rate.
• Offer survey rewards: Offer incentives, such as discounts or entry into a prize draw, to increase the survey participation rate.
• Communicate the value of feedback: Clearly communicate to customers how their feedback will be used. When customers understand the impact of their input, they are more inclined to participate.

Examples of effective methods

Several methods have proven effective in encouraging high participation rates:

• Clear calls to action: Use compelling calls to action (CTAs) that highlight the simplicity and benefits of providing feedback.
• Periodic reminders and follow-ups: Send reminder emails or notifications to customers who haven’t completed the survey. Emphasize the importance of their feedback.
• Use a multi channel approach: Distribute surveys across various platforms (e.g., WhatsApp forms, chatbots, social media, in-app) to reach a broader audience and increase participation.

Handling non-responsive customers

Non-responsive customers can pose a challenge, but there are strategies to address this:

• Re-engagement Plan: Develop a plan to re-engage non-responsive customers. This could include personalized outreach that reiterates the importance of their feedback.
• Segmented Follow-ups: Tailor follow-up communications based on customer segments. Personalized messages are more likely to capture the attention of different customer groups.

Step 5: Analyze every response

Steps for effective analysis

To derive meaningful insights from customer feedback, follow these steps for effective analysis:

• Data cleaning and preparation: Before analyzing feedback, ensure the data is clean and well-organized. This involves removing duplicate responses, correcting errors, and categorizing open-ended responses.
• Identifying key metrics and indicators: Focus on specific metrics that are aligned with your objectives. These could include customer satisfaction scores, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and response time metrics.

Merren offers an AI analytics tool to segregate responses in a few clicks. This avoids cognitive pressure on CX professionals. You can obtain clear insights and get a speech to text translation as well.

Step 6: Act on customer feedback

Develop actionable plans

To effectively act on customer feedback:

• Prioritize key issues: Analyze feedback to identify the most critical issues that need addressing. Prioritizing ensures that the most impactful changes are implemented first.
• Allocate resources: Ensure you have the necessary resources, including manpower and budget, to make the required changes. Proper resource allocation is essential for successful implementation.
• Set timelines: Establish clear timelines for implementing changes. Communicate these timelines internally to ensure accountability and externally to manage customer expectations.

Step 7: Share changes with customers

Inform customers about the changes in your company, policies, products or services. This will make people happy that brands take feedback seriously. Additionally, people will be more inclined to offer feedback for every survey. This will build trust and establish a positive feedback loop, encouraging ongoing customer engagement.

Effective communication techniques

There are several effective techniques for communicating changes to customers:

• Email updates: Send targeted email campaigns to inform customers about specific actions taken.
• In-app notifications: In-app notifications can provide real-time updates about improvements and new features.
• Social media announcements: Use social media platforms to reach a broader audience and publicly acknowledge customer contributions.

Conclusion 

Building a successful customer feedback program requires several critical components. Setting clear objectives, choosing the right feedback channels and designing effective surveys. Design effective surveys, and encourage high participation rates. Analyze every response and take data-backed actions. Communicate changes to customers to make them feel a valuable part of the brand community. Ready to take your customer feedback program to the next level? Sign up for a 14 day free trial with Merren.