5 Reasons Why Feedback Is Awesome For Your Business
Establishing the warmth and accessibility of your business is of paramount importance when forming successful consumer-provider relationships. The exchange of information and services can only be facilitated through a comfortable atmosphere and a specific level of trust - and what better way to encourage this than investing in an effective feedback system? Service Central has been looking into the ways that feedback can amplify the success of your business. Of course, feedback can provide a valuable advertisment - especially as the average Australian consumer’s increasing dependence on personal technologies renders them vulnerable to subtle advertising mediums, like social networks, on a daily basis. More importantly, however, feedback promotes trust and promoting trust promotes business. Collecting regular feedback will also enhance how Service Central generates business for you. Here are our top 5 ways that feedback can be truly awesome for your business.
1. You have an online reputation to maintain
Today’s consumers want to know more about your business than ever before. Before they even make contact, before you’re even aware that they’re interest in hiring your business for some work, they are stalking you on the internet to find out all about your online reputation. They might be Googling your business name, looking through a business directory or going through referral systems like Service Central - but what they’re after is always the same, the answer to the ultimate question - “Can you be trusted?”
More than ever, it is integral that businesses maintain a strong online presence to foster an online reputation which represents the business in the best manner possible. What potential customers hope to glean goes beyond reliability and standards of practise - the fact is that the internet has single-handedly given people more and more ways to differentiate between potential purchases and this gives you more and more opportunities to make an specific impression with your online profile. Factors which never before came into play when selecting a service provider are now actively influencing consumer decisions and generating profit for businesses which stand out online. This may mean a number of things - for instance, having a particular strong social media presence, incorporating a sense of humour or personal atmosphere, using only top-quality images - but the bottom line is the same: be the point of difference.2. Trust is the best way to win new customers
When potential customers find your business online, what do they see? What information is there that can help them build up trust in your business? Having a good business profile helps create trust in many ways.
A detailed business descriptionThis tells the consumer that you are open, honest, dedicated and have high self-awareness of the quality outcomes you are pursuing. These descriptions should include information about specialisations and a comprehensive list of services.
High quality photos of you, your business and the work that you have completed
High resolution images indicate that care has been taken in the way you are representing your business to the public. Information about your past experience means consumers feel comfortable selecting your services for the specific outcomes they have in mind.
Links to other information about your business such as your website, Facebook and Twitter pages
These reassure consumers that you have an active and well-rounded online presence.
For some inspiration, some examples of good business profiles are:
Taking the time to construct a good business profile means having a profile that represents your business in the best way possible - and assures consumers of your reliability. It’s a curious thing - although you’d think true trust can only arise out of repeat business, through observed cause-and-effect of upheld promises, you need to be aware that new customers assessing your suitability to their work will judge your reliability on seemingly menial factors. Trustworthiness is a quality which can be reinforced in many subtle ways - such as having impeccable spelling and grammar and using an aesthetic format with varied text size and spacing. Feedback adds to this as well.
3. Feedback can get your business on Service Central's homepage
4. Amazing feedback can get your business featured in popular newsletters
Receiving truly amazing customer feedback may result in your business being featured in a Service Central consumer newsletter. These go out weekly and their readership exceeds 100,000. Featuring businesses which have demonstrated a strong focus on customer service is a pleasure for us and an excellent way for you to gain exposure. Articles provide a little background on your business and the services you offer, as well as trying to highlight the qualities that sets you apart from competition.
5. Feedback can get your business to the top of the directory listings
Want to know more about feedback?
How can feedback improve a business?
Feedback is essentially free market research. It allows you to hone in on exactly what your customers expect, what they want, and what they value. It means you can focus your energy and finances on improving aspects of your business that you know are going to have a noticeable effect on your business success. Feedback can give you a fairly accurate record of each step of the consumer-provider relationship and pinpoint which aspects are likely to be the most memorable for the customer. If accurate, negative or vague feedback is actually most useful for future growth - it tells you quite clearly where resources should be directed in order to reap maximum improvement and reward. Getting feedback from consumers to whom you’ve only provided a quote can also be useful, since it allows you to see whether your advertising and online presence are representing your company well; that is, whether the consumer’s perspective on what you offer is correct.
Why does feedback significantly improve your chances of winning a job?
As mentioned, one of the biggest drivers of trust is genuine feedback that you have received from real customers. If you can walk in the door of a prospective customer and show them a long list of feedback you have gotten in the course of providing quality work, you have a much greater chance of winning that job. On the contrary, if you are not asking for feedback from your customers, you are losing one of your biggest chances to win more.
Getting regular glowing reviews isn’t actually as important as you might think. The very presence of a feedback system in itself drives consumer interest - it’s a firm sign that a business is confident, takes itself seriously and is taking measures to ensure customers are getting the service they require. Even negative feedback can enhance your profile when met with a measured, mature response - their presence also reassures customers that your business does not screen comments. Transparency goes hand in hand with trust.
For examples of companies which have worked hard to build up a great online reputation, with pages and pages of feedback from happy customers, see:How can you get feedback from your customers?
That's the big question! Getting quality feedback from your customers is a two step process.
1. Make sure giving feedback is as easy as possible. Have an easy, accessible and memorable feedback system and you're halfway there - Service Central obviously takes care of this bit for you, but you can also establish different avenues for feedback, such as through Facebook or your website. Providing a wealth of different links to be used at their convenience will encourage customers to contribute. In general, people are psychologically more likely to give feedback when they believe they have received either extremely bad or extremely good service, so it’s important to encourage people to register their contentment!
2. Be actively involved in requesting or reminding customers to review their experience. Within the Service Central system, you can use your portal to remind customers to provide reviews - this can be found under “ratings received” when you log into your site. Alternatively, this can be done through any communication medium like email, SMSing or calling (or a combination of them, though it is important not to overload potential swinging “voters” who may find this an inconvenience). You could also put a footer beneath your details on quotes and invoices - and don’t underestimate the power of a good old face-to-face chat which ends with the words “If you find the time, would you mind..?”
When is the best time to request feedback?
You have two options. A bit of both creates a well-rounded source of information which can be used constructively.
1. When you quote
Getting in there quickly means you get the best snapshot of how your business makes an impression on a potential customer. It allows you to hear and understand any issues before the customer actually makes the decision about which business to ultimately choose - it is the most crucial time in terms of whether you win a job.
2. Once you've completed the work
This choice will obviously get you more comprehensive feedback and comments which relate to your specific workmanship, which can be valuable if you are using feedback soundbites for advertising purposes. The other benefit is that you’ve had the chance to build up a relationship with the customer by this stage and can easily remind those who you know have been very happy with you service! Bear in mind that this method will mean fewer reviews overall - if you’re going for volume, it’s better to ask early on.
