Member Article

How to Respond to Feedback and Improve Your Business

Dealing with feedback is part and parcel of running a successful business. At least, it should be.

Some business owners and managers treat comments, complaints and even compliments as annoying interferences to the smooth running of a company.

In truth, they’re exactly the opposite; offering a golden opportunity to improve your business. Dealing with feedback promptly and effectively can help make your business stronger with a better image.

Responding to feedback

Most businesses will receive feedback from customers, and although its nature may vary according to sector, certain types of feedback is fairly consistent.

The customer service skills that are essential to a business’s success does not end with the closing of a transaction or the dispatch of a product. In some ways, that’s the simple part.

Supplying a high level of service when it comes to dealing with feedback is as important as supplying high quality products and can have a huge impact on your company’s standing.

The public face of your company is crucial to maintaining its position as a trusted brand. Loss of reputation can be highly damaging, requiring considerable investment of time and money to recover from.

In today’s world feedback can be delivered through multiple channels, ranging from traditional mail, face-to-face feedback or social media and review websites. Whatever the forum, it’s important to remain professional and focused on relevant issues, and to treat customers as you would like to be treated yourself.

Dealing with positive feedback

It’s always pleasant to receive praise. However, it’s best to resist the temptation to simply bask in the warm glow of satisfaction that these comments tend to bring.

Businesses that rest on their laurels make themselves vulnerable to being overtaken by competitors in their sector. Instead, take note of the things that customers are praising you for, and try to understand why those aspects of your business are perceived as successful.

This will allow you to apply similar approaches in other areas.

What customers don’t praise is also important. If you run a mail-order company and customers consistently thank you for responsiveness but not product quality, ask yourself why.

Drill down into your feedback to see whether this is an area where practices can be tightened up.

Also, make sure you thank customers for their feedback and make them feel welcome to return as repeat customers. If you impress them, they will tell others, and word-of-mouth recommendations can be extremely valuable.

Addressing negative feedback

Nobody enjoys receiving bad news, but it’s vital to treat all complaints fairly. Criticising a customer for complaining, or becoming defensive, has the potential to prove disastrous - especially if the issue reaches the media.

The temptation to do nothing must also be resisted, as people dislike feeling that companies aren’t listening.

A customer who gets no response to a complaint may become more upset at the lack of communication than they were with the issue which prompted the complaint in the first place.

As with other aspects of good business practice, it’s best to stay calm and treat complaints in a simple, neutral manner; this can be tricky in fast-moving environments such as social media but is nevertheless necessary.

Never give the impression that you consider an issue trivial. Thanking people for sending feedback - even when it’s negative - is important; this too should be done calmly and non-judgementally.

Showing that you are open to criticism and willing to consider ways to improve customer service can reap large rewards.

Whatever the type of feedback, treat it as an opportunity, not a threat.

Customers often look at a business differently from managers and employees, so their perspectives can be valuable in understanding what works and what doesn’t.

Firms that are responsive, cool, agile and professional are usually the ones which thrive in the marketplace.

Dealing with feedback, whether positive or not, is both an excellent way to engage with your customers on a personal level and a chance to discover ways to improve your business.

By Paulyne Karahassan, Digital Content Manager. Paulyne has produced regular videos and editorial for many years with small businesses, franchises and industry professionals for all titles in the Dynamis Stable including BusinessesForSale.com, PropertySales.com and FranchiseSales.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by BusinessesForSale .