Customers are important to your business–this should be obvious enough. However, it might not be entirely obvious that what your customers say can also have a huge impact on how you operate your business. For example, customer feedback can be received in a number of different ways and it’s easy to set up the systems involved, but do you actually read those comments?
If a customer has an issue with your product and tells you, will you pay attention to them? Some people believe that it’s easier to just ignore the customers and follow your own design decisions and marketing choices. Others believe it’s better to pay attention to your customers so you can appeal to their needs or tastes, and this is usually the better route to go unless you’re an established trendsetter that understands how to make an impact.
To help you out, here are a couple of ways to show your customers that you respect their feedback.
Allowing For Reviews
If you sell products that are shipped to the customer, then it’s a good idea to set up a review system so that your audience can express their thoughts or concerns about something. However, this can get difficult to manage especially if you allow all reviews through. This could be abused by rival companies or spam bots that enter random information or false reviews just to tarnish your reputation.
By using customer review software, it’s possible to make it easier to manage. Reviews are a great source of information that your business can use to improve its services and products. By reading reviews of your own products, you’ll get a sense of what your audience thinks, what they want you to improve and what they dislike or love.
Comment Sections
Much like reviews, comments should be enabled when appropriate. For instance, if you have a blog that accompanies your business, then you can easily open up the commenting section so that you can listen to what your audience is saying. Whether it’s commenting about a new product release that you’re hinting at or expressing concern about a service change that you’re suggesting, make sure you give your audience a place to comment on your products. It’s a crucial way to communicate with your audience and it’s vital that you respond to comments as well. This will show that you actually communicate with your audience and respect their feedback.
Using Social Media
Lastly, let’s not forget how crucial social media is when it comes to connecting with your audience. Social media has the power to completely transform your business image, but only if you use it correctly. If you post too many inappropriate comments, appear too promotional or simply don’t use social media, it could harm your business reputation.
While you might not need to hire a social media manager, you do need to put a heavy emphasis on improving your online reputation by actively engaging in social media activities and responding to mentions and comments.