Are you listening to your customers? I mean, actually listening?
Using customer feedback in marketing can give you a huge edge on competitors. And if you’re like most businesses, you probably already think about capturing customer feedback daily. But just “seeing” it doesn’t do much – if you’re not putting that customer feedback to work in your marketing, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Incorporating customer feedback into your marketing strategy can level up your marketing efforts and help you drive even more growth for your business.
What is Customer Feedback?
Customer feedback is what your customers are telling you about your product, services, or just general brand identity. While that seems obvious, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking customer feedback is just a measurable score or hearing accolades in the comment section of social media. Let’s discuss some easy and viable ways for your marketing team to punch up on your social listening.
1. Create content addressing customer questions or possible questions
Reviewing your customer feedback will help you understand the kinds of questions your customers are asking. Your marketing team can then create content to help answer these questions at scale – and to save effort down the line. Not to mention, this is a great way to build up your SEO and we talk about this in other blogs on our site.
If you actively support ongoing dialogue with your customers, creating content to address customer questions is also a great way to close the customer feedback loop, which results in customers feeling appreciated. And an appreciated customer is a customer much more likely to stay with your brand.
2. Share positive reviews on your website and social
Similar to the above point, sharing positive reviews on your website and social media is a great way to amplify your customers’ voices and make them feel appreciated. Also – it shows that you care about what they think! A product that is considered by both consumers and executives is positioned much better for success.
Did you know – Survey results have shown that consumers read an average of 10 reviews before deciding they can trust a business.
3. Better understand your customers and prospects
As you analyze customer feedback, you’ll start to notice trends and patterns. These patterns can help you understand your target audience’s preferences. Ask questions like:
- What channels do they use for reviews and research?
- What social media do they use?
- What are their greatest concerns with your service or product?
It’s easy to make assumptions about your customers. Using customer feedback to answer these questions prevents you from assuming the wrong things and missing the mark with your marketing. Also, it can provide you with nuggets of information for organic searching to see how your customers interact with others online.
4. Better understand your competitors
No one likes negative feedback, but it is one of the most critical aspects to positive iteration.
For example, let’s say someone left a two-star review on a platform like Yelp. The best route of action is to engage with them and thank them for their feedback because they did not have to do that! Of course, counter any points that are unfair or untrue, and ask them how you can make it right. If it’s not possible, chock it up to an opportunity to improve. It’s never fun to hear you lost a customer—and maybe this isn’t a review you want to share on your social feed—but any opportunity to learn what’s perfect for a customer or what they loved about your competitor should be seen as a gold mine of information.
You’re going to get customer feedback. There’s no way around it. Rather than letting it pass you by, taking it by the reins and using it as a critical source of input for your business is a free and impactful way to scale. Don’t make the mistake of sitting on a gold mine of customer feedback and never doing anything with it. Put it to work improving your product, your processes, and yes, your marketing efforts. If you are considering ways to grow your online presence to get more customers, or are feeling a bit lost on how to survey them, My Social Biz can provide your team with a killer launching point. Reach out today for your free assessment!