Encourage and value customer feedback

Introduction

Building strong relationships with customers goes beyond simply collecting feedback; it requires showing customers that their voices are heard and valued. When customers see that their input leads to tangible changes, they become more engaged and loyal. In our last article, we discussed surveying key customer moments to capture impactful insights. Now, we’ll focus on how to encourage customers to share feedback and demonstrate its value by sharing the impact of surveys through newsletters and other methods. This final step in our series ensures a robust feedback loop, paving the way for continuous improvement and strategic decision-making.

Why does this matter?

Encouraging customers to share feedback and demonstrating its value is essential for several reasons:

• Increased engagement: When customers see that their feedback leads to tangible changes, they are more likely to stay engaged and continue providing valuable insights.

• Improved trust and loyalty: Transparency about how feedback is used fosters trust and strengthens the relationship between the customer and the company.

• Enhanced customer experience: Regularly updating customers on improvements and acknowledging their contributions leads to a better overall customer experience.

How to get started

To effectively encourage feedback and show its value, follow these steps:

Step 1: Encourage customers to share feedback

1. Acknowledge feedback promptly: Send automated thank-you messages to acknowledge receipt of feedback immediately. This makes customers feel heard and valued.

2. Explain the purpose of surveys: Clearly communicate why their feedback is important and how it will be used to improve their experience.

3. Offer incentives: Provide small rewards or incentives for completing surveys. This can boost participation rates.

4. Personalize survey requests: Tailor your survey requests to individual customers, making them feel special and important.

5. Engage in two-way communication: Encourage open dialogue and show that feedback can lead to direct interactions with the company.

Step 2: Create a feedback loop

1. Regularly update customers: Keep customers informed about what changes have been made based on their feedback. This can be done through newsletters, emails, or in-app notifications.

2. Highlight ongoing improvements: Continuously share updates on improvements and new features that were inspired by customer feedback.

Step 3: Share survey impacts through newsletters

1. Create engaging content: Craft newsletters that highlight the changes made based on customer feedback. Use visuals and success stories to make the content engaging.

2. Include testimonials and success stories: Share stories of how customer feedback led to significant improvements. This shows that feedback is taken seriously and acted upon.

Gainsight features you'll need

• Journey Orchestrator: For automating the distribution of newsletters and feedback updates.

• Surveys: To design and deploy tailored surveys and gather feedback.

• CTAs: To trigger specific follow-up actions based on survey responses.

• Dashboards: To visualize feedback data and track trends over time.

What’s next?

With a robust strategy in place for encouraging feedback and demonstrating its value, you can now focus on integrating these insights into your overall customer success strategy. This will involve creating comprehensive reports and leveraging these insights for continuous improvement and strategic decision-making. Reflect on the journey we've taken through capturing feedback, closing the loop, automating responses, leveraging sentiment, surveying key moments, and now encouraging ongoing feedback. Use this comprehensive approach to drive customer success and business growth.

Further reading and inspiration

• Blog: The Essential Guide to Voice of the Customer