Good Feedback, Bad Feedback

The objective of getting feedbacks on your business activities and services is to assess the overall situation. Similarly, if it’s a personal one, then it is to review the opinions that reflects on you.

As you know, online reviews are either good or bad. Some can even be damaging because many of them can be false reviews, especially if it is from a malicious competitor. On such cases, if it did affect your business, you may need to take further actions, possibly with some legal recourse too.

I have many times read online reviews of restaurants that are really brutal and unforgiving. Being someone adventurous, I take the gamble to visit any restaurant that comes to my interest from an online search and judge for myself. I did notice my decision to not go to a restaurant are sometimes inclined towards published photos, not always but sometimes. If it looks unhygienic, I opt out. I want to enjoy my food, not to come home sick.

What businesses fails to see is the assumption,
that they are providing premium services.
Maximus @ MaximusPrimo.com

What are the influencing factors that a business can do to make their product or services attractive? How can they show that they are genuinely interested in the customer’s welfare? Provide clear and concise information about your services. An authentic picture is worth a thousand words. If you are a restaurant, take good pictures of all locations, post attractive menus and happy customer faces, if possible. In my personal experience, a clean and well-kept washroom at a restaurant, indicates that they care for their customers well-being.

What about office-based business? Are you going to upload your company’s photos too? It depends. For example, if you are operating a service industry, car service center or service laboratory, professional photography will enhance confidence in your services.

Good customer service and care is always essential. When everything seems to look like it is running smoothly, no complaints from your clients, friends or family, do stop for a moment and reset. Start asking the proper question, for example:

Don’t ask, ” Is everything ok? “. You will be given an answer, saying ” Yes, it is. Why are you asking? “.
Rephrase it and ask, ” Did you notice that something is wrong here? Can you let me know what we are missing at this moment? “.

A check and balance act should always to be done at a specific periodically of time. Do it once a month. Effective periodical reviews within your organization will help you isolate repeat errors and issues that possibly been highlighted by your customers. Do not be complacent that everything is running very smoothly. It sometimes can be a pressure pot waiting to just pop up.

A well running business is when you are able to be accountable at every level. That is when, the professionalism of your services can be well sighted and in return rewarded by your customers. An example of check and balance is when you contact your customers with questionnaire at a designated period of time. For example:

It’s been three months since you are using our product. From 1 to 10, what is your current rating?
What can we do to improve on the products or services rendered?
Have you been promptly contacted by our Support Team on your feedback before? From 1 to 10, how will you rate them?
What is the one main suggestion that you thing we should be doing?
What will provide you continuous confidence on our products or services?
Will you be happy to recommend our company to another potential client, family, friends or associates?

When feedbacks are given by any clients, make a personal reply. If your email system is setup with an automated messaging system, a reply should be as follows, ” Thank you very much for getting in touch with us. Kindly allow us to review your comments. We will be replying to you within three working days. A corrective procedure and course of action taken will be notified to your good self. Your feedback is very valuable to us, just as you are. Thank you again and have a great week ahead “.

Please make sure that a reply is done within three working days. If you are delayed for any reason, be professional and give them a call. It will make a world difference indeed. Get to the root of the problem quickly. This will reflect how efficient is your systems-in-place within your organization. If the issue seems more serious where customer satisfaction is not at its best, then make an appointment to meet the customer or your client.

Let me clarify something here. A customer is someone who purchases your products or services. A client is someone who wishes to engage your professional services or support. Whomever they are, show your sincerity. If a product shows any defects, for example, replace it with a temporary unit for them to use whilst you get their unit back for repair and service assessments. Providing your client with sufficient backup plans will really be beneficial in your business reputation.

Be empathetical with your customers or clients. It is a valuable skill indeed. It is not just about Good Feedback or Bad Feedback, it is your top-down management commitments within your organization. If you got that right for a start, the rest will follow through.