Main Idea
Why do college basketball teams play so much better at home versus on the road? When you were in school, why did you get a grade on your tests? Why do we routinely fight employee performance reviews?
Expansion of Idea
Obtaining and using feedback is critical to growing your business. The only way we can compete is to continually improve our performance. Asking probing questions to get into the mind of your customer will give you a better idea of the customer’s experience. Satisfied customers may still leave you for a competitor if the price is right. They may not be so quick to leave, however, if they are approached and asked what could be done differently to better serve them.
Feedback should not be viewed to solve one isolated issue. The purpose of valuable feedback is to improve your systems and improve the customer experience. Objectively review a list of some of your lost clients. Why did they leave? What might have been done differently to save the relationship? With every displeased customer, there are probably several more that haven’t spoken up. Perhaps that one unhappy person is a red flag to a faulty process that is creating many unhappy clients. Once you have received feedback, you should follow up and thank the customer. Let them know their issue is being worked on, and when they may expect resolution.
Customers will continue to provide invaluable feedback when they feel that it is going to improve their experience. Don’t wait for your competitor to ask what your client needs are!
Areas to Start:
Send F&F a note on the weekly business ideas.
Identify your feedback systems
Evaluate whether they could be improved.
Learn from your lost customers
Give employees feedback to keep them on the right track