SIB Podcast
Donna: Welcome to the final episode in this mini series. Now, if you haven't already, make sure you go back and check out parts one and two of this mini series, because they all work together to fast-track your business and provide you with the key elements to really skyrocket your customer service because without customers, there's really no money coming through the doors, and very soon you'll end up closing the doors, which obviously we don't want. Now, if you've made it through all three parts of this series and you're thinking...well, what's next? I don't want this to end! I want more! (which I really hope that you do) We'll be dropping a new episode each week. So tune in every Tuesday and I'll be right here.
Some episodes will be solo where I'll share some of the lessons that I've learned in business, family or selfcare. And sometimes I'll be joined by a guest. So the purpose of this podcast is really to provide you with as much value as possible. In really bite-sized short pieces. I want to inspire and empower you to transform from what I call being the overwhelmed entrepreneur to the thriving entrepreneur. And if you want that too, well, I am so glad that our paths have crossed!
Now in this three-part series, it's all been about customers. Now, you can do all the things that I've outlined in the previous episode of this series. But if you don't do this last part, you won't know if it's working. Knowing your products and services are meeting the needs and going above the expectations of your customers is essential feedback that every business should seek.
Conducting customer surveys as part of regular feedback, as a program within your business, really ensures that potential problems are identified and then ultimately avoided. It also validates for you that your products and services are meeting the expectations of your customers. So that, you know what matters to them and is worthwhile continuing.
So I'm going to go through five reasons why feedback is so important!
And the first one is that customers' expectations are higher than ever. Customers have higher expectations than ever of brand experiences. And this translates to significant implications for those who cannot deliver against those expectations of their customers.
And the best judge of your customer experience is your customer. So regular customer surveying enables you to identify any problems that are emerging, that could compromise the experience you deliver and therefore the success of your business. And it also fills in the gaps of your understanding of how customers purchase and how they use your products and services.
The second reason why it's so important is because customer tastes are changing faster than ever. The pace of change is speeding up products, services, platforms, and technologies they're popular one month and they may be waning the next month. Surveying your customers or your clients enables organizations to keep their finger on the pulse. To keep up with what the customers need and to understand what different groups want and beyond this, understand what needs to be given and what's going to excite people so that you can maintain your edge, your competitive edge against other businesses in your industry.
Number three is that the human touch element is so often missing from the customer experience.
The purchasing process can now be really impersonal, particularly in the online age and especially during pandemics when there's almost no human contact with the buyer at all. Customer surveys can provide this human touch so it can help to nurture a more intimate relationship if you do it really well, that don't forget, this is a two way engagement. It opens up dialogue of communication between you and your customers, and hopefully your loyal customer base. So it can be a really rewarding experience for you to reach out to those customers and just ask them ‘Hey, just touching base. I noticed that you purchased whatever it was. How is that going for you? Have you found that it's been what you expected it to be?’
And that's a really rewarding experience on both sides, if you do it right. Not only for you in reaching out and having that human touch, but also for them to have the opportunity to speak and talk to the business owner or a member of staff about how it's been going for them.
The fourth one is brand loyalty. Now customers are not as loyal as they once were. And the concerning thing is that this trend is tipped to be more prominent amongst younger generations, suggesting that it's only going to become more difficult in the future when it comes to customer loyalty. Customers are now faced with more choices than ever, and listening and responding to customers can be a really important part of building business loyalty and customer loyalty.
Number five, and my final point for today's episode is that customers will share their opinions, whether you like it or not. If a customer has a bad experience, then they're going to want to share it. Reaching out to customers to learn about their experiences is a really good service, but it also serves as an exercise in damage limitation and damage control if they've had a problem with your product or service, because potentially they're less likely to vent in public either on the public arena of social media or within their direct circle of influence (like their families and friends) if they've had the opportunity to speak about it with you first. And in that opportunity, you can listen to them. Understand what didn't work for them and then provide them with a solution. And by listening and understanding what their gripes are, you can also take that opportunity to reassure them that you will resolve that problem going forward. This will help reduce their frustrations and it can even help you to keep their business in the future.
It can be really scary at first to hold up that mirror to your business and to yourself by seeking customer feedback. But you should be making continuous improvements to your business all the time, because you want to become the go-to place for whatever it is that your business does. And you want to continue to be known for what you do. You don't want to be the business that becomes stagnant. You want your business to evolve and continue to meet the needs of your customers. And seeking feedback is one way to do that.
Now I know that there is a fear of judgment. If you get negative feedback, try not to let people steal your sparkle. When negative feedback comes your way, see it as an opportunity to grow from it, rather than focus on how you failed.
Some people can be plain nasty when they give feedback. And unfortunately, if you're a business in business for the long game, this is likely to happen to you at some point. What I want you to do is take what's helpful from that feedback, the parts that you can grow from and let the rest of it go.
Some people give feedback that's just not helpful and just plain nasty. So choose what you're listening to and what you give power to and choose what you won't listen to and give power to. The reason you were made for more is to let your sparkle shine. So go out there and give your gift to the world, power up through that negativity. And don't let people steal your shine and your sparkle.
With that being said, be brave, put on those big girl pants and go out there and seek that valuable feedback and then go about making the changes to make your customer's experience the best that it can possibly be.
Thanks for listening and make sure that you tune in every Tuesday to catch the latest episode in the She's In Business Podcast. I hope you've really enjoyed this three part series.
I hope this podcast inspires you to be courageous and take action in carving out your very own business by design, where you can avoid burnout and shine. Like the universe is yours.
© Copyright Donna Hann™ She’s in Business™ P/L 2020. All rights reserved
