How to Use Customer Feedback to Grow Your Business

Small businesses usually make one huge mistake- underestimating the importance of customer feedback. And Australian small business owners are no exception.

According to the State of Customer Service In Australia Report, over 70% of customers believe Australian businesses are not giving customer feedback the attention it deserves. This mistake is costing businesses thousands of dollars. Why?

Forbes Magazine reports that:

Over 80% of businesses that value customer feedback see an increase in revenue,
Over 90% of customers admit that great customer experience is an important factor when deciding to be loyal to a brand or business,
Businesses that take customer feedback seriously beat their competitors by close to 80%,
90% of customers read reviews before making purchases, and
Over 50% of customers say how a brand responds to customer feedback or concern greatly impacts their perspectives on the business.

So if you have not been paying attention to your customer’s feedback, it’s time to act now before it’s too late. It could be the key to unlocking the full potential of your small business in Australia. Wondering where to start? Read on.

Know Where To Find It

The first step in leveraging customer feedback begins with knowing where to find it. And here, we’re not talking about biased or manufactured feedback, but actual responses from real customers.

Generally, small businesses can easily and affordably get this feedback:

Unsolicited: From social media, reviews and customer support tickets
Requested: Via pop-up responses, emails and asking people and customers to rate your product or service
Observed: Here, you get feedback by monitoring what people say about your brand on social media or by word of mouth.

As you can see, the requested feedback may need some work. You may have to create forms for collecting feedback or set up email templates. Not that difficult, right?

Now that you know where to find customer feedback, let’s look at how to use it to grow your business.

Monitor Your Business Performance

Collecting customer feedback is one of the surest ways to assess your performance. This will help you make informed decisions on time. And this shouldn’t cost your business an arm and a leg.

For example, a simple customer satisfaction score can help show how much your clients are enjoying your products and services. It’s a simple survey asking your customers to rate your products or services on a scale of 1 to 10.

What’s even great is that you can incorporate them on your website using apps like HubSpot customer feedback software. If that’s complicated, consider using Google Forms in your newsletters.

Re-evaluate Your Content Marketing Strategy

Customer feedback can provide useful insights beyond products and services. It can help you curate your marketing content.

All customers are not the same. They have different preferences in terms of products and how they consume content.

Based on their feedback, you can easily identify and segment customers depending on their preferences, and then provide customised products or content. This, for instance, will help you leverage the power of targeted email marketing.

Build Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty drives businesses worldwide. And every small business owner in Australia should strive to build loyal customers.

The Australian Loyalty Association reports that 42% of customers prefer doing business with brands they have previously bought from. And allowing for feedback is a great way to build brand loyalty since customers know their concerns are being heard.

For example, if a potential customer wants to abandon carts online or unsubscribe from your newsletter, you can know why through customer feedback. This can help you turn the experience by offering solutions like discounts. These are remarkable ways to attract and retain customers.

Final Thoughts

Customer feedback is necessary for small businesses in Australia to survive today. Without it, you will be flying blind. Businesses that do so are less likely to grow and realise their full potential.

For more tips and insights on how to grow your business, please contact us. We are happy and proud to see you grow.