October 10, 2023 • 19 mins
Ever feel like your customer feedback is being dismissed or ignored? Can negative comments be transformed into something that propels growth and change? In our latest episode, we tackle these questions and more. Discover how creating an effective action plan, gaining support from leaders and teams, and utilizing technology can transform negative feedback into actionable tasks. We examine the power of prioritization in addressing persistent issues and underscore the value of viewing criticism as an opportunity for improvement rather than a personal affront.
But the conversation doesn't end there. We dive deeper into the steps you can take to handle negative feedback in a way that not only provides a solution but also enhances the overall customer experience. We emphasize the importance of respectful acknowledgment, an authentic apology, clear communication about resolution efforts, offering compensation, and demonstrating commitment through follow-up. Learn how negative feedback can be a catalyst for process improvements, employee training, and product enhancements. As we wrap up, we explore the profound impact of a mindset shift, and how establishing the right strategy and tools can lead to an optimum customer experience. Tune in and gain valuable insights to better understand your customers, their experiences, and how to turn criticism into positive change.
Resources Mentioned:
CX Mission Statement Workbook -- bit.ly/cx-mission-workbook
Learn more about CXI® Flight School -- cxiflightschool.com
Experience Investigators Learning Center -- experienceinvestigators.com
Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
MC (00:00):
Experience Action.
Let's stop just talking aboutcustomer experience, employee
experience and the experience ofleaders.
Let's turn ideas into action.
Your host, jeannie Walters, isan award-winning customer
experience expert, internationalkeynote speaker and founder of
Experience Investigators, astrategic consulting firm
(00:20):
helping companies increase salesand customer attention through
elevated customer experiences.
Ready Set action, hey everyone.
Jeannnie Walters (00:31):
It's Jeannie Walters, and I am here with you
as a fellow customer experienceprofessional to create fewer
ruined days for customers.
We have a great question aboutwhen we actually might be
responding to ruining those days.
Let's go ahead and get started.
Listener Question (00:51):
Hi, jeannie.
I am a CX leader in thefinancial industry who is
working on a voice of thecustomer program.
I've been very focused oncollecting feedback, but I keep
running into barriers whentrying to put it into action.
What strategies do you suggestaround turning negative feedback
into a positive experience?
Thank you, Alright.
Jeannnie Walters (01:13):
This, I think, is the crux of so many customer
experience professionalsfrustration.
MC (01:20):
This is so frustrating.
Jeannnie Walters (01:22):
They are tasked with collecting a lot of
feedback.
So we diligently collect thatfeedback, we share it out to the
organization, we share it withour leaders and we say, hey, you
know, there's a complaint herethat we should address.
And everybody kind of looksaround the room and thinks, yeah
, we probably should, butthere's nothing to do with it.
(01:42):
So we hear that complaint againand again and again.
It can be incrediblyfrustrating because obviously
something is not going well forthe customer, which is
supposedly why we're collectingthis feedback.
But if you find yourselfcollecting feedback just to
report out on metrics, be awarethat you might be turning into
(02:02):
what I call a number narrator.
This is where the sole positionof the customer experience role
is really to be there to talkabout the good metrics.
Oh look, our customersatisfaction rate went up.
Our NPS is holding study.
That doesn't actually doanything to move your
organization forward and itactually doesn't do anything to
(02:24):
improve the experience unlessyou have a plan.
So today we're going to discusshow to take action on that
negative customer feedback.
You know the kind of feedbackthat sometimes makes you cringe
or even angry when you read itor hear it from a customer.
But you know negative feedbackis actually not the end of the
(02:47):
world.
It's actually the beginning ofa journey.
It can be a great opportunityto improve your products,
services and internal processesand, frankly, responding and
reacting and acting on negativefeedback shows your customers
that you care and listen.
But you need a plan.
If you gather feedback justbecause people are curious and
(03:11):
this happens all the timeleaders come to us and say will
you add this question to yoursurvey?
Will you go ahead and make surewe have a metric around how
people feel about our coat rackat the restaurant and really we
do that because we're curious,because maybe we just are
looking for you know what is theresponse.
But if you don't have an actionplan for what happens, if you
(03:34):
get negative feedback there,then you're wasting your time
and the customer's time.
So do not ask a question, donot gather feedback unless you
know what you're going to do.
So before you add that questionor request even more feedback
from an angry customer, ask whatwill we do next and who needs
(03:56):
to be involved.
I like to approach feedback as astrategy that goes alongside
your customer journey.
Each time we ask for feedback,it's an opportunity for customer
engagement, but we have totreat it that way.
We have to respect it as partof the customer journey, not
something that's separate fromit, and we have to look ahead.
(04:17):
Now some feedback,unfortunately usually the
negative kind.
Everything here sucks, sucks,sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,
sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,
sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,
sucks.
잘 OFFERED PROACTIVELY FROMCUSTOMERS.
They want you to KNOW howdisappointed they are.
So they let you know, don'tthey?
Yeah, by calling customerservice, fill in form online or
(04:39):
cayre it publicly via socialmedia.
These customers can be easy tolabel as quote, unquote,
difficult, but really they aresuper passionate about your
brand.
They are telling you howdisappointed they are because
they felt so dedicated or loyalor just happy, and now they're
(05:01):
not.
They need you to know.
Listen to me.
Listen to me.
Listen to me.
These customers could be thebest kind to win back.
So think of your approach tonegative feedback in both an
organizational and an individualway.
We're gonna tackle both hereTwo for the price of one.
Organizationally, know what youcan do before you collect the
(05:22):
feedback.
Get buy-in from leaders anddifferent teams that are
involved, and understand whoneeds to be involved, what
processes need to be activated.
Have a plan and a process forescalating issues and closing
the loop with the customer,because negative feedback may
not always be easy to hear, butit provides valuable insights
(05:44):
into areas of improvement.
It's essential for everybody tounderstand and adopt a mindset
that views negative feedback asan opportunity for growth rather
than a personal attack.
By actively listening to andacknowledging negative feedback,
our businesses andorganizations can gain a deeper
(06:05):
understanding of our customers'pain points and develop targeted
solutions.
When we, as an organization,are analyzing negative feedback,
we wanna look for patterns andtrends, so we need to categorize
and organize feedback based oncommon themes.
We can identify recurringissues and prioritize efforts to
(06:27):
solve those issues, and thisanalysis can be done manually
based on where you are in yourcustomer experience journey with
your organization, or there areplenty of wonderful customer
feedback analysis tools that useartificial intelligence, for
example, to identify the keythemes, the sentiment, the
emotional state of what peopleare telling you when along their
(06:51):
journey.
Take advantage of those tools.
Now we also wanna leveragetechnology for actionable
insights because we wanna makesure we are transforming what we
hear into activities that we do.
So these tools that areavailable, they can analyze
large volumes of customerfeedback.
So, looking at your surveyresponses, social media comments
(07:13):
or customer serviceinteractions, we want to
identify what are the topics,what are the trends, what is the
sentiment that people arereally sharing with us.
By leveraging this, we can geta more comprehensive
understanding of our customerexperience and again prioritize
where we need to put our efforts.
You know, negative feedbackoften highlights areas where
(07:34):
existing processes and policiesare simply not working or
falling short.
So by analyzing this feedback,we can identify opportunities to
either supplement processesthat aren't working, find some
work arounds sometimes, orimplement new process and
policies that address these painpoints.
For example, if customersconsistently complain about long
(07:59):
wait times for customer support, businesses can streamline
their support processes toreduce response times and
improve how customers feel.
That could include things likeyou know, can we give them more
self-service options on ourdigital channels?
Can we refer them to certainknowledge bases?
(08:20):
Can we actually ask them toleave us a voicemail and get
back to them specifically whenit's important?
There are so many ways that wecreate processes and policies
that don't work for customersand we ignore the feedback
that's telling us that, simplybecause we're dedicated to the
process and not the customerjourney.
It's about customer care.
(08:41):
Really, as a customerexperience professional, our job
is to advocate for customers.
Negative feedback andresponding to it is a great way
we can do that.
When we are looking at, youknow the big picture here.
Don't forget we can use thisinformation also to empower our
employees.
This might shed light, thisnegative feedback.
(09:02):
It might shed light on areaswhere employees may need
additional training or need thatknowledge base at their
fingertips.
So we need to invest in ongoingtraining programs that equip
employees with the rightknowledge and the right learning
and the right skills to reallydeliver customer experiences
that we're proud of.
Listener Question (09:22):
Well, at least I didn't suck at customer
relations.
Jeannnie Walters (09:25):
So, by empowering employees to handle
these challenging situationsthat will come up, we will be
able to provide them with thenecessary tools and we can
ensure that this negativefeedback is addressed
effectively and efficiently.
So, even if we can't solve theproblem, what can we do to
prepare the employees that willhear about it?
(09:45):
What can we do to improve thecommunications that go back to
the customer?
And that leads me to my otherpoint here about we need to make
sure that we are incorporatingfeedback into areas like our
product development cycle, ourcustomer communications, our
marketing all of these areasthat sometimes we silo away from
(10:06):
the customer feedback.
Ok, everyone, let's get to work.
If we can create coalitionswith different teams and share
this feedback directly, thatwill provide really valuable
insights for product development, innovation, making sure that
we are responding to whatbusinesses are facing in the
real world.
If we're in B2B, as the marketshifts all of those things
(10:30):
Businesses can really make surethat our offerings are keeping
up with customer needs andexpectations.
You can supplement thisnegative feedback that you get
by zeroing in on what you wantto improve and then make sure
you have a plan to either testyour improvement or follow up on
that feedback again and see ifyou've made a difference.
(10:52):
So this is where you might wantto incorporate things like user
testing or gathering feedbackon prototypes, or just really
leveraging things like yourcustomer advisory board to
gather that input throughout adevelopment process.
And then we also want to makesure at the organizational level
that we are gauging theeffectiveness of the actions
(11:14):
that we've taken in response tonegative feedback.
This can be done by testingbefore and after the improvement
is made and seeing what changedthere.
Did the scores go up?
Were customers happier?
Did they complain less?
Did they call in less?
All of those things can bemeasured.
And then, at the end of the day, we want to make sure
(11:37):
collecting negative feedback andacting on it is something that
is just part of our culture ofcontinuous improvement.
We need to strive for this.
We need to innovate aroundexperience.
So we need to really encouragepeople to look at feedback as
something that we seek out, wewelcome and we use it to drive
(11:58):
ongoing enhancements.
That type of culture is whatwill foster innovation, being
customer-centric and reallylong-term business success.
So that's organizationally, butindividually, when you get
negative feedback, you have oneperson who is feeling bad about
their relationship with yourbrand.
I don't like it.
(12:19):
Something went wrong.
We didn't live up to thepromise.
We did not live up to thecustomer experience mission.
So what this means is that weneed to shift gears and think
about what do we need to do forthat individual?
Because if we only addressthings at the macro level, we
are missing an opportunity topossibly retain a customer at
(12:40):
the very least have some sort ofclosure over the issue with
them and possibly even turn themaround to a very loyal customer
.
So, individually, think aboutwhat a complaining customer
really wants.
The first thing they need is tofeel heard and acknowledged.
So first, acknowledge thefeedback and thank the customer
(13:02):
for sharing their opinion.
Even if you disagree with whatthey said or think they are
being unfair, you should alwaysshow respect and appreciation.
Remember that when they'recomplaining, that is a gift.
They are letting you knowbecause they are passionate
about their relationship.
Otherwise they would just walkaway.
So remember they are giving youa chance to fix the problem and
(13:27):
win them back.
Second, apologize for anyinconvenience or dissatisfaction
they experienced.
We cannot make excuses or blameothers.
We just want to express empathyand potentially, regret If you
look at what they're complainingabout and think that shouldn't
have happened.
(13:47):
Go ahead and say that.
Try to use words like I'm sorry, I understand and I apologize.
If we say things like we'resorry, we understand and we
apologize, that makes it alittle less personal.
And then, third, we want toexplain what we're going to do
to address the issue and preventit from happening again.
(14:09):
Be specific and realistic aboutthe actions you are taking and
the timeline you are following.
Please don't promise things youcan't deliver, or overpromise
and underdeliver, just to makethe problem worse.
When appropriate, offer somecompensation or incentive to
make up for their negativeexperience, like a discount, a
(14:30):
freebie or a refund.
Now, this doesn't have to bedone every time, and if this
becomes the knee-jerk reactionof your customer support agents,
then something's going wrongand you need to figure out what
the root cause is that'screating all of those refunds or
discounts.
And be careful here.
This is especially true forsmall business.
(14:51):
Be careful of meaningless gifts, like swag with your company
name on it when they're unhappywith the company.
Or I've also had this happenwhere you get like the CEO's
book.
If you are unhappy with theorganization and the brand, then
sending something like thatjust puts salt in the wound.
(15:13):
Why would they want a coffeemug with a brand that they don't
like right now?
So be careful about what you dofor that retribution.
Don't make it worse.
And then the most importantpossibly thing is to follow up
with the customer and updatethem on the progress and outcome
of your actions.
Please don't leave them hangingor forget about them.
(15:36):
Show them that you arecommitted to resolving the issue
and improving how they feel.
Ask them for their feedbackagain and see if they are happy
with the results, and if not, weneed to keep going and closing
that loop.
Negative feedback is a valuableresource for businesses to drive
improvements and deliverexceptional customer experiences
(15:58):
.
By actively listening to andanalyzing negative feedback and
leveraging the technology thathelps us do that at the macro
level, we can implement processchanges, train employees, close
the loop with customers andincorporate feedback into the
product and process developmentcycle.
And when we do this, we want tomake sure that we're measuring
(16:20):
the impact of that and fosteringa culture of continuous
improvement.
But we cannot forget about theindividual customer when we're
doing all of that work at thehigher level.
We have to remember that eachperson who reaches out with a
complaint is feeling bad, we'redoing something that might be
(16:41):
ruining their day.
We've all had these experiencesas customers where we've had to
call back again and again andagain because we feel forgotten,
we feel neglected, we feel likewe don't matter.
So I really encourage you toremember all the time, and
sometimes we need to writeourselves notes, we need to give
(17:03):
ourselves affirmations,whatever it is, because it can
be hard to hear this stuff, butwe need to embrace negative
feedback as an opportunity forgrowth and really a catalyst for
success.
And when we do this well, wecan ask ourselves is this
negative feedback telling us away that we are not living up to
(17:24):
our customer experience mission?
What can we do about that?
It becomes a really powerfulquestion and it becomes another
way to build those coalitionswithin your organization so that
you can make the real changesthat customers are asking for.
This was a fantastic questionand I'm so pleased that we had a
(17:47):
chance to really go into whatit takes to respond to negative
feedback.
I know it's not always easy tohear, but it's so important.
Now for anybody listening whois one of those leaders who
maybe doesn't have the supportthat you're looking for.
You're looking for how to getmore buy-in, how to put more
structure around your customerexperience program.
(18:09):
I encourage you to check outour CXI Flight School program
now.
This is part classwork, partgroup coaching, part
workshopping individually withyou, and it's to set you up for
success.
So our applications are opennow.
Check them out atcxiflightschool.
com.
(18:30):
I would love to have you join usbecause we are getting some
wonderful feedback from ourfounding flyers the first group
that is going through this andit's all about shifting mindsets
, making sure you have the rightstrategy and then setting you
up with the tools and bestpractices you need to deliver on
a business discipline aroundcustomer experience.
(18:52):
So, again, cxiflightschool.
com, and if you have anyquestions, you can always find
us at experienceinvestigators.
com or ask your own question tome here for the podcast at
speakpipecom/ Action experienceaction.
Thank you so much for all thatyou do and keep fighting the
(19:13):
good fight for your customers.
I will talk to you next week.
To learn more about ourstrategic approach to experience
.
Check out free resourcesexperienceinvestigators.
com atexperienceinvestigatorscom,
where you can sign up for ournewsletter, our year of CX
program, and more.
And please follow Jeannie,jeannie Walters, on LinkedIn.
Experience Action.
Let's stop just talking aboutcustomer experience, employee
experience and the experience ofleaders.
Let's turn ideas into action.
Your host, jeannie Walters, isan award-winning customer
experience expert, internationalkeynote speaker and founder of
Experience Investigators, astrategic consulting firm
(00:20):
helping companies increase salesand customer attention through
elevated customer experiences.
Ready Set action, hey everyone.
Jeannnie Walters (00:31):
It's Jeannie Walters, and I am here with you
as a fellow customer experienceprofessional to create fewer
ruined days for customers.
We have a great question aboutwhen we actually might be
responding to ruining those days.
Let's go ahead and get started.
Listener Question (00:51):
Hi, jeannie.
I am a CX leader in thefinancial industry who is
working on a voice of thecustomer program.
I've been very focused oncollecting feedback, but I keep
running into barriers whentrying to put it into action.
What strategies do you suggestaround turning negative feedback
into a positive experience?
Thank you, Alright.
Jeannnie Walters (01:13):
This, I think, is the crux of so many customer
experience professionalsfrustration.
MC (01:20):
This is so frustrating.
Jeannnie Walters (01:22):
They are tasked with collecting a lot of
feedback.
So we diligently collect thatfeedback, we share it out to the
organization, we share it withour leaders and we say, hey, you
know, there's a complaint herethat we should address.
And everybody kind of looksaround the room and thinks, yeah
, we probably should, butthere's nothing to do with it.
(01:42):
So we hear that complaint againand again and again.
It can be incrediblyfrustrating because obviously
something is not going well forthe customer, which is
supposedly why we're collectingthis feedback.
But if you find yourselfcollecting feedback just to
report out on metrics, be awarethat you might be turning into
(02:02):
what I call a number narrator.
This is where the sole positionof the customer experience role
is really to be there to talkabout the good metrics.
Oh look, our customersatisfaction rate went up.
Our NPS is holding study.
That doesn't actually doanything to move your
organization forward and itactually doesn't do anything to
(02:24):
improve the experience unlessyou have a plan.
So today we're going to discusshow to take action on that
negative customer feedback.
You know the kind of feedbackthat sometimes makes you cringe
or even angry when you read itor hear it from a customer.
But you know negative feedbackis actually not the end of the
(02:47):
world.
It's actually the beginning ofa journey.
It can be a great opportunityto improve your products,
services and internal processesand, frankly, responding and
reacting and acting on negativefeedback shows your customers
that you care and listen.
But you need a plan.
If you gather feedback justbecause people are curious and
(03:11):
this happens all the timeleaders come to us and say will
you add this question to yoursurvey?
Will you go ahead and make surewe have a metric around how
people feel about our coat rackat the restaurant and really we
do that because we're curious,because maybe we just are
looking for you know what is theresponse.
But if you don't have an actionplan for what happens, if you
(03:34):
get negative feedback there,then you're wasting your time
and the customer's time.
So do not ask a question, donot gather feedback unless you
know what you're going to do.
So before you add that questionor request even more feedback
from an angry customer, ask whatwill we do next and who needs
(03:56):
to be involved.
I like to approach feedback as astrategy that goes alongside
your customer journey.
Each time we ask for feedback,it's an opportunity for customer
engagement, but we have totreat it that way.
We have to respect it as partof the customer journey, not
something that's separate fromit, and we have to look ahead.
(04:17):
Now some feedback,unfortunately usually the
negative kind.
Everything here sucks, sucks,sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,
sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,
sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks,
sucks.
잘 OFFERED PROACTIVELY FROMCUSTOMERS.
They want you to KNOW howdisappointed they are.
So they let you know, don'tthey?
Yeah, by calling customerservice, fill in form online or
(04:39):
cayre it publicly via socialmedia.
These customers can be easy tolabel as quote, unquote,
difficult, but really they aresuper passionate about your
brand.
They are telling you howdisappointed they are because
they felt so dedicated or loyalor just happy, and now they're
(05:01):
not.
They need you to know.
Listen to me.
Listen to me.
Listen to me.
These customers could be thebest kind to win back.
So think of your approach tonegative feedback in both an
organizational and an individualway.
We're gonna tackle both hereTwo for the price of one.
Organizationally, know what youcan do before you collect the
(05:22):
feedback.
Get buy-in from leaders anddifferent teams that are
involved, and understand whoneeds to be involved, what
processes need to be activated.
Have a plan and a process forescalating issues and closing
the loop with the customer,because negative feedback may
not always be easy to hear, butit provides valuable insights
(05:44):
into areas of improvement.
It's essential for everybody tounderstand and adopt a mindset
that views negative feedback asan opportunity for growth rather
than a personal attack.
By actively listening to andacknowledging negative feedback,
our businesses andorganizations can gain a deeper
(06:05):
understanding of our customers'pain points and develop targeted
solutions.
When we, as an organization,are analyzing negative feedback,
we wanna look for patterns andtrends, so we need to categorize
and organize feedback based oncommon themes.
We can identify recurringissues and prioritize efforts to
(06:27):
solve those issues, and thisanalysis can be done manually
based on where you are in yourcustomer experience journey with
your organization, or there areplenty of wonderful customer
feedback analysis tools that useartificial intelligence, for
example, to identify the keythemes, the sentiment, the
emotional state of what peopleare telling you when along their
(06:51):
journey.
Take advantage of those tools.
Now we also wanna leveragetechnology for actionable
insights because we wanna makesure we are transforming what we
hear into activities that we do.
So these tools that areavailable, they can analyze
large volumes of customerfeedback.
So, looking at your surveyresponses, social media comments
(07:13):
or customer serviceinteractions, we want to
identify what are the topics,what are the trends, what is the
sentiment that people arereally sharing with us.
By leveraging this, we can geta more comprehensive
understanding of our customerexperience and again prioritize
where we need to put our efforts.
You know, negative feedbackoften highlights areas where
(07:34):
existing processes and policiesare simply not working or
falling short.
So by analyzing this feedback,we can identify opportunities to
either supplement processesthat aren't working, find some
work arounds sometimes, orimplement new process and
policies that address these painpoints.
For example, if customersconsistently complain about long
(07:59):
wait times for customer support, businesses can streamline
their support processes toreduce response times and
improve how customers feel.
That could include things likeyou know, can we give them more
self-service options on ourdigital channels?
Can we refer them to certainknowledge bases?
(08:20):
Can we actually ask them toleave us a voicemail and get
back to them specifically whenit's important?
There are so many ways that wecreate processes and policies
that don't work for customersand we ignore the feedback
that's telling us that, simplybecause we're dedicated to the
process and not the customerjourney.
It's about customer care.
(08:41):
Really, as a customerexperience professional, our job
is to advocate for customers.
Negative feedback andresponding to it is a great way
we can do that.
When we are looking at, youknow the big picture here.
Don't forget we can use thisinformation also to empower our
employees.
This might shed light, thisnegative feedback.
(09:02):
It might shed light on areaswhere employees may need
additional training or need thatknowledge base at their
fingertips.
So we need to invest in ongoingtraining programs that equip
employees with the rightknowledge and the right learning
and the right skills to reallydeliver customer experiences
that we're proud of.
Listener Question (09:22):
Well, at least I didn't suck at customer
relations.
Jeannnie Walters (09:25):
So, by empowering employees to handle
these challenging situationsthat will come up, we will be
able to provide them with thenecessary tools and we can
ensure that this negativefeedback is addressed
effectively and efficiently.
So, even if we can't solve theproblem, what can we do to
prepare the employees that willhear about it?
(09:45):
What can we do to improve thecommunications that go back to
the customer?
And that leads me to my otherpoint here about we need to make
sure that we are incorporatingfeedback into areas like our
product development cycle, ourcustomer communications, our
marketing all of these areasthat sometimes we silo away from
(10:06):
the customer feedback.
Ok, everyone, let's get to work.
If we can create coalitionswith different teams and share
this feedback directly, thatwill provide really valuable
insights for product development, innovation, making sure that
we are responding to whatbusinesses are facing in the
real world.
If we're in B2B, as the marketshifts all of those things
(10:30):
Businesses can really make surethat our offerings are keeping
up with customer needs andexpectations.
You can supplement thisnegative feedback that you get
by zeroing in on what you wantto improve and then make sure
you have a plan to either testyour improvement or follow up on
that feedback again and see ifyou've made a difference.
(10:52):
So this is where you might wantto incorporate things like user
testing or gathering feedbackon prototypes, or just really
leveraging things like yourcustomer advisory board to
gather that input throughout adevelopment process.
And then we also want to makesure at the organizational level
that we are gauging theeffectiveness of the actions
(11:14):
that we've taken in response tonegative feedback.
This can be done by testingbefore and after the improvement
is made and seeing what changedthere.
Did the scores go up?
Were customers happier?
Did they complain less?
Did they call in less?
All of those things can bemeasured.
And then, at the end of the day, we want to make sure
(11:37):
collecting negative feedback andacting on it is something that
is just part of our culture ofcontinuous improvement.
We need to strive for this.
We need to innovate aroundexperience.
So we need to really encouragepeople to look at feedback as
something that we seek out, wewelcome and we use it to drive
(11:58):
ongoing enhancements.
That type of culture is whatwill foster innovation, being
customer-centric and reallylong-term business success.
So that's organizationally, butindividually, when you get
negative feedback, you have oneperson who is feeling bad about
their relationship with yourbrand.
I don't like it.
(12:19):
Something went wrong.
We didn't live up to thepromise.
We did not live up to thecustomer experience mission.
So what this means is that weneed to shift gears and think
about what do we need to do forthat individual?
Because if we only addressthings at the macro level, we
are missing an opportunity topossibly retain a customer at
(12:40):
the very least have some sort ofclosure over the issue with
them and possibly even turn themaround to a very loyal customer
.
So, individually, think aboutwhat a complaining customer
really wants.
The first thing they need is tofeel heard and acknowledged.
So first, acknowledge thefeedback and thank the customer
(13:02):
for sharing their opinion.
Even if you disagree with whatthey said or think they are
being unfair, you should alwaysshow respect and appreciation.
Remember that when they'recomplaining, that is a gift.
They are letting you knowbecause they are passionate
about their relationship.
Otherwise they would just walkaway.
So remember they are giving youa chance to fix the problem and
(13:27):
win them back.
Second, apologize for anyinconvenience or dissatisfaction
they experienced.
We cannot make excuses or blameothers.
We just want to express empathyand potentially, regret If you
look at what they're complainingabout and think that shouldn't
have happened.
(13:47):
Go ahead and say that.
Try to use words like I'm sorry, I understand and I apologize.
If we say things like we'resorry, we understand and we
apologize, that makes it alittle less personal.
And then, third, we want toexplain what we're going to do
to address the issue and preventit from happening again.
(14:09):
Be specific and realistic aboutthe actions you are taking and
the timeline you are following.
Please don't promise things youcan't deliver, or overpromise
and underdeliver, just to makethe problem worse.
When appropriate, offer somecompensation or incentive to
make up for their negativeexperience, like a discount, a
(14:30):
freebie or a refund.
Now, this doesn't have to bedone every time, and if this
becomes the knee-jerk reactionof your customer support agents,
then something's going wrongand you need to figure out what
the root cause is that'screating all of those refunds or
discounts.
And be careful here.
This is especially true forsmall business.
(14:51):
Be careful of meaningless gifts, like swag with your company
name on it when they're unhappywith the company.
Or I've also had this happenwhere you get like the CEO's
book.
If you are unhappy with theorganization and the brand, then
sending something like thatjust puts salt in the wound.
(15:13):
Why would they want a coffeemug with a brand that they don't
like right now?
So be careful about what you dofor that retribution.
Don't make it worse.
And then the most importantpossibly thing is to follow up
with the customer and updatethem on the progress and outcome
of your actions.
Please don't leave them hangingor forget about them.
(15:36):
Show them that you arecommitted to resolving the issue
and improving how they feel.
Ask them for their feedbackagain and see if they are happy
with the results, and if not, weneed to keep going and closing
that loop.
Negative feedback is a valuableresource for businesses to drive
improvements and deliverexceptional customer experiences
(15:58):
.
By actively listening to andanalyzing negative feedback and
leveraging the technology thathelps us do that at the macro
level, we can implement processchanges, train employees, close
the loop with customers andincorporate feedback into the
product and process developmentcycle.
And when we do this, we want tomake sure that we're measuring
(16:20):
the impact of that and fosteringa culture of continuous
improvement.
But we cannot forget about theindividual customer when we're
doing all of that work at thehigher level.
We have to remember that eachperson who reaches out with a
complaint is feeling bad, we'redoing something that might be
(16:41):
ruining their day.
We've all had these experiencesas customers where we've had to
call back again and again andagain because we feel forgotten,
we feel neglected, we feel likewe don't matter.
So I really encourage you toremember all the time, and
sometimes we need to writeourselves notes, we need to give
(17:03):
ourselves affirmations,whatever it is, because it can
be hard to hear this stuff, butwe need to embrace negative
feedback as an opportunity forgrowth and really a catalyst for
success.
And when we do this well, wecan ask ourselves is this
negative feedback telling us away that we are not living up to
(17:24):
our customer experience mission?
What can we do about that?
It becomes a really powerfulquestion and it becomes another
way to build those coalitionswithin your organization so that
you can make the real changesthat customers are asking for.
This was a fantastic questionand I'm so pleased that we had a
(17:47):
chance to really go into whatit takes to respond to negative
feedback.
I know it's not always easy tohear, but it's so important.
Now for anybody listening whois one of those leaders who
maybe doesn't have the supportthat you're looking for.
You're looking for how to getmore buy-in, how to put more
structure around your customerexperience program.
(18:09):
I encourage you to check outour CXI Flight School program
now.
This is part classwork, partgroup coaching, part
workshopping individually withyou, and it's to set you up for
success.
So our applications are opennow.
Check them out atcxiflightschool.
com.
(18:30):
I would love to have you join usbecause we are getting some
wonderful feedback from ourfounding flyers the first group
that is going through this andit's all about shifting mindsets
, making sure you have the rightstrategy and then setting you
up with the tools and bestpractices you need to deliver on
a business discipline aroundcustomer experience.
(18:52):
So, again, cxiflightschool.
com, and if you have anyquestions, you can always find
us at experienceinvestigators.
com or ask your own question tome here for the podcast at
speakpipecom/ Action experienceaction.
Thank you so much for all thatyou do and keep fighting the
(19:13):
good fight for your customers.
I will talk to you next week.
To learn more about ourstrategic approach to experience
.
Check out free resourcesexperienceinvestigators.
com atexperienceinvestigatorscom,
where you can sign up for ournewsletter, our year of CX
program, and more.
And please follow Jeannie,jeannie Walters, on LinkedIn.
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