Expert Opinion – Do You Ever Ask Your Customers for Feedback? How Do You Deal with Criticism?

Customer feedback is the opinion given by the clients about the products and services offered by the company and whether if they’re meeting the clients’ expectations or not. This not only helps the companies improve their services but also makes their customers feel valued.

We, at Ace Cloud, believe that customer feedback, whether positive or negative, is essential. We reached out to some experts to see if they ask for feedback and how they deal with the criticism.

1. Chip Bell – Senior Partner and Keynote Speaker at Chip Bell Group

Dr. Chip R. Bell is a customer service keynote speaker and a world-renowned authority on customer loyalty and service innovation. His highly popular keynotes reveal the best practices from successful organizations, leading the customer loyalty charge, giving audiences powerful, cutting-edge ideas and unique strategies they can put into practice the minute they leave.

For the sixth year in a row, Chip has been ranked in the top three keynote speakers globally on customer service by Global Gurus 2020. Learn more about Chip’s popular and provocative keynotes at www.chipbell.com.

Follow him on social media: LinkedIn and Twitter

“Can you imagine driving a car without a dashboard?  Not only would I likely get a ticket for speeding, I’d run out of gas. Running any operation without feedback works the same way. It is not just critique; it is guidance.

Smart organizations look for countless ways to get customer feedback. The best is the report of the frontline who seeks improvement feedback (“How can we improve?” not just “How are we doing?”) And, when a customer levels a criticism, consider it a great gift. Most customers abandon you without saying a word, leaving you clueless regarding why they left.”

2. Krista Roberts – Enterprise Customer Success Manager at IntelliShift

Krista is an extremely organized, dedicated, and determined professional with 17 years of experience in customer success, account management, sales, training, and project management.

Having a strategic, customer-focused orientation allows her to solve complex business challenges while delivering desired results. Success in navigating complex organizations and working with internal champions enables her to align solutions with the company’s top-level mission, vision, and goals.

Being a proactive and team-oriented leader, she works hard to foster a culture of quality and excellence while providing clear, focused, and strategic directions towards achieving corporate goals.

Follow her on LinkedIn.

“Soliciting feedback from customers is a key part of the Customer Journey and should be a focus of any organization. When asking for feedback, I always tell customers that I want the good, bad, and the ugly. We can’t fix what we do not know is broken, so their feedback is vital to both their success and our success as a business.

When we get that feedback, we also need to be sure to close the loop, meaning circle back with the customer on a resolution to an issue or thanking them for giving us good/positive feedback.

Without doing this, the feedback is really useless as the customer will not feel engaged in the process.”

3. Jeannie Walters – CEO & Chief Customer Experience Investigator at Experience Investigator

For more than 20 years, Jeannie Walters has been dedicated to creating meaningful moments and real results. As the Founder of Experience Investigators, Jeannie has helped organizations – from small businesses to Fortune 500s – create fewer ruined days for customers.

She is a TEDx speaker, founding member of CXPA, co-host of the Crack the Customer Code podcast, and four-time LinkedIn Learning instructor.

Follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter

“Of course! Feedback of any kind is a gift. Customers want to let us know how we can serve them better, which leads to higher retention and increased loyalty.

Criticism from a customer means they care enough to tell you how to improve. If you aren’t hearing criticism, you probably aren’t asking for feedback often enough. Feedback is a way to prioritize the next actions that matter most to customers.

Without feedback, business priorities are often just guessed by leaders. Feedback tells you what is truly important!”

Takeaway

We are not one of those organizations that keep customers’ feedback at the bottom of the pile. We care about what they have to say because they’re important to us. They are the ones who are helping us improve every day.

Do you ask your customers for feedback? Let us know in the comments section below.