November 12, 2024 • 13 mins
What if you could turn every customer complaint into a stepping stone for innovation? In this episode, we explore the untapped potential of negative feedback to revolutionize your business. Discover how reframing customer complaints can enhance relationships and uncover opportunities for growth. We'll explore some strategies to categorize and analyze feedback, allowing you to pinpoint root causes and prioritize improvements.
Embracing negative feedback isn't just beneficial; it's transformative. By fostering a culture of open communication, businesses can achieve significant improvements for both employees and customers. Join us as we delve into understanding customer emotions and identifying friction points, ultimately aligning feedback with organizational goals for an enhanced customer experience. This isn't just about damage control; it's about creating a win-win-win scenario for everyone involved.
As Jeannie Walters shares her insights, we're eager to hear how you'll implement these strategies and invite you to continue this journey with us, turning what might seem like setbacks into strategic advantages.
Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators Learning Center -- experienceinvestigators.com
Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube -- youtube.com/@jeanniewalters
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/)
Mark as Played
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, jJeanne Walters, isan award-winning customer
experience expert, internationalkeynote speaker and founder of
Experience Investigators, astrategic consulting firm
(00:20):
helping companies increase salesand customer retention through
elevated customer experiences.
Ready, set action.
One, two, three, four.
Jeannie Walters (00:31):
Negative feedback.
We all get it from customers,but what should we really do?
That's the question today onthe Experience Action Podcast.
Listener Question (00:42):
Hi, Jeannie, I have a question for you.
It is how can you turn negativecustomer feedback into
actionable insights that reallydrive improvement?
Jeannie Walters (00:53):
Thank you so much for asking this question.
I am excited to answer it foryou.
I'm Jeannie Walters, CEO andfounder of Experience
Investigators, and I'm here allthe time to answer your
questions.
So, don't forget, you can leaveme your own voicemail at
askjeannievip.
All right, let's get right toit.
We all have to deal withnegative feedback from customers
(01:14):
, and when I say deal, I shouldreally say something like we all
get the gift of negativefeedback from our customers.
When our customers care enoughto provide that feedback, they
are really telling us that theycare enough to let us know so
that we can fix it for them.
If they didn't care, they wouldjust leave.
(01:35):
They would go to ourcompetitors, and there are
plenty of your customers whowill do that anyway.
So when one or two or manycustomers tell you something is
wrong, take that for what it is.
They are asking you to helpthem with something so that they
can continue to be a customer.
So, first and foremost, let'sshift the perspective on
(01:56):
negative feedback.
Let's make sure that we areletting everybody know that we
shouldn't be scared of it.
We shouldn't run away from it.
We certainly shouldn't getdefensive about it.
What we should do is take adeep breath, look at it for what
it is and figure out what canwe learn from it so that we can
make it better, not just forthat customer, but for other
customers as well.
(02:17):
So let's make sure that we arerespecting the fact that these
customers who complain areinvested in the relationship
that they have with us and ourbrand.
So the second part of this iswhat do we do with this feedback
?
Well, we want to make sure thatwe have the processes, the
tools, the technology and thepeople in place to really make
(02:39):
sure that we can categorize thefeedback, we can analyze it, we
can make sure that we're lookingfor those root causes that
created that feedback to beginwith.
We want to get right to it andmake sure that we're not just
listening and nodding along,that we are acting on it, and
the only way we can act on it isif we know what we're doing and
(02:59):
why we're doing it.
So what do I mean by that?
I mean that if we cancategorize certain feedback
responses, then we'll startseeing what the priorities might
be, based on quantity.
So if we see that many, manycustomers are complaining that
their deliveries are delayed,then we want to look at the root
cause of what is causing thosedelays.
(03:21):
What can we do about it?
How can we update customersmore proactively so they don't
have to call us?
What can we do to make thatspecific touchpoint better for
many customers?
However, sometimes things happenthat maybe don't impact the
quantity of other complaints.
We might not be hearing from alot of customers about it, but
(03:43):
when we see what happened, weknow that's not the quality of
the experience that we want todeliver.
And this is where we get intoreally paying attention to what
our customer is saying, not justabout the how or the what of
their experience, but abouttheir feelings.
What are the words they'reusing?
Are they saying things likefrustrated or disappointed?
(04:07):
Those are strong, emotionalwords that we want to really
zero in on, and one of the wayswe can do that now is by
categorizing around that what iscreating frustration or
friction for our customers.
What are they telling us ispreventing them from taking that
next step on their journey withus?
So there are different wayswhen we talk about categorizing
(04:30):
feedback, to really think aboutthat.
Don't fall into the idea thatit's just about how many
customers are complaining.
Look for those bigger conceptsaround emotions and around
points of challenge, obstacle orfriction that is preventing
someone from taking that nextstep through the customer
journey with us, because,remember, we have to tie
(04:53):
everything back to ourorganizational goals.
Most organizations wantcustomers to go through the
journey and convert, and so ifthere's anything preventing
conversion, we really want tomake that a priority as well.
Once we have categorized andreally understood why we have
those categories, we want to goahead and look to analysis.
(05:15):
What can we learn here?
Well, this is where tools likeAI and your customer
relationship manager, yourfrontline workers, can have a
lot to say here, but we want tomake sure that we're looking at
the specific insights that we'regathering.
If we don't do this part, thisis where it's easy to become
what I call a number narrator,where you are reporting out
(05:38):
numbers, you are reporting outmetrics and customer feedback
measurements like net promoterscore or customer satisfaction
rate, but you aren't taking thatnext step and saying what are
we learning from the feedbackthat we're gathering because of
that?
So this is where we really wantto get into the insights that
we've learned and make sure thatwe identify what are those root
(06:00):
causes, what would happen if wefixed it, and how should we go
ahead and fix it?
Now I'm talking in somewhatsimple terms, in kind of a find
and fix mentality.
This is where a lot oforganizations kind of live with
customer experience efforts.
Now, remember, I'm all aboutbeing intentional and proactive.
(06:23):
So, while I want you to reactto these complaints, I also want
you to think bigger about whatis it we're learning that could
have an impact on how weinnovate for the future.
This is about fixing thechallenges that you identify,
but you always want to look onestep beyond that and think about
what is the experience of thefuture?
(06:45):
What are the insights that wecan learn there?
So if people are saying thingslike I wish I didn't have to X,
I wish I didn't have to call you, I wish I didn't have to go
through filling out this formagain, I wish that I didn't have
to reorder every time, that Icould just make it automatic
renewal.
They are telling you in thosecomplaints very clearly what
(07:08):
they want for the future.
And then I want you to takethat one step further and think
about okay, what if we not onlydidn't have you fill out the
form the second or third time,what if we didn't have the form
at all?
What if we could remove thebarrier that you're even
speaking of initially?
So this is where beingproactive about customer
(07:29):
experience can become such awinning strategy.
If we are only finding andfixing, then we are missing
opportunity to really deliverbottom line results for our
organization.
But in any case, negativefeedback points you to where to
actually fix things that arebroken.
It's also telling you what ourcustomer's looking for in the
(07:52):
future.
But you have to make sure youhave your radar up and that you
are categorizing in thesemultiple different ways.
So once you have analyzed this,you've come up with insights.
Then you want to turn theinsights into actionable efforts
that are tied to goals.
So if you want to make surethat you are getting more
conversions, then you want todefine what are the efforts that
(08:17):
you'll put in to fix somethingor innovate around that
touchpoint or challenge to getmore conversions.
So remember, we always want topull that thread all the way.
We can't stop talking until weget to the goal for the
organization.
So, as you're reviewing thenegative feedback, as you're
(08:37):
coming up with your plans, asyou're finding those insights,
everything comes back tomeasurable goals around your
organization.
How are you delivering on thebottom line results?
That means how are you gettingmore revenue?
How are you decreasing expenses?
How are you delivering on themission of your organization?
We want to get to there.
(08:58):
Now, will every single find andfix result in something like
that?
Maybe not, but that's how youprioritize.
What are the business resultsthat you are aiming for that
will help you get people throughthat journey so that they buy
more, they stay longer, theyrefer others all of those
wonderful things that happenwith a proactive, positive
experience.
(09:19):
So you can't do this alone.
CX is a team sport, we like tosay.
Customer experience iseveryone's business and the only
way you can really improve theexperience for your customers is
by getting others involved.
Let's take the example Ibrought up before.
You know that you're getting alot of complaints around delays
(09:40):
in delivery, so you want to goto where you will have an impact
there.
Ask your delivery people, askyour product people.
What's happening here?
Why are we having these delays?
Oh, some of this is out of ourcontrol, because of weather or
strikes or whatever.
So what can we do?
Well, can we communicate?
(10:00):
Can I get more visibility intothis so that I can proactively
tell customers when theirdelivery will be delayed?
That's the type of conversationwe have to have in order to
actually make improvements.
Otherwise, we're basicallytalking in metrics and we're
talking to leaders who don'treally have skin in the game.
(10:21):
If they don't see anything, ifthey don't see these complaints,
if they don't really understandthe impact that it's having on
the customer experience, thenhow can we expect them to care
enough to change it?
That's where customerexperience leaders can have the
most influence and impact bytalking to others, making sure
that the leaders understand whatthey can do and putting all
(10:45):
that together, creating thatcross-functional support and
getting that leadership buy-into get the right resources,
investments, and putting theright efforts in place around
the right priorities.
And then, of course, when wehave negative complaints, they
come from a real person.
So we need to close the loop.
Whatever we're about to do,whatever we learn, we want to
(11:05):
make sure we have a process toclose the loop with that
customer, to reach out and saywe heard you, this is what we're
doing about it, or we heard you, we've never heard this before.
We want to learn more from youabout your experience so that we
can make sure this neverhappens again.
Sometimes customers want justto be heard, so don't
(11:25):
underestimate the power ofsaying we heard you, we're
really sorry that happened andwe want to make sure this
doesn't happen again.
That can go a long way withbuilding empathy and trust with
our customers, so make sure thatis part of your process as well
.
And then, as you go throughthis, you're going to have
(11:46):
successes.
I want you to celebrate those, Iwant you to socialize those.
I want you to communicate thatfar and wide throughout your
organization, because what thatwill do is create a culture
where, instead of being afraidof negative feedback or running
away from it, people willunderstand we're here to embrace
it, to own it, to change thingsfor the better.
(12:07):
And if you get to that culture,everything else becomes a
little easier for both you andyour customers.
So I cannot wait to hear howyou will turn negative feedback
into insights that driveactionable results.
That's what this is all about,folks.
We are designing and developingand implementing strategies and
(12:32):
designs that will improve ourbusiness, the experience of our
customers and the experience ofour employees.
That's the win-win-win ofcustomer experience strategy.
Thank you so much for thisquestion.
I cannot wait to hear what'snext and I hope that you will
join us as we explore anotherquestion on the Experience
(12:54):
Action Podcast.
Thanks for all you do, customerexperience leaders.
I'll talk to you soon.
To learn more about ourstrategic approach to
experience, check out freeresources at
experienceinvestigatorscom.
Where you can sign up for ournewsletter, our Year of CX
program, and more.
And please follow me, JeannieWalters, 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, jJeanne Walters, isan award-winning customer
experience expert, internationalkeynote speaker and founder of
Experience Investigators, astrategic consulting firm
(00:20):
helping companies increase salesand customer retention through
elevated customer experiences.
Ready, set action.
One, two, three, four.
Jeannie Walters (00:31):
Negative feedback.
We all get it from customers,but what should we really do?
That's the question today onthe Experience Action Podcast.
Listener Question (00:42):
Hi, Jeannie, I have a question for you.
It is how can you turn negativecustomer feedback into
actionable insights that reallydrive improvement?
Jeannie Walters (00:53):
Thank you so much for asking this question.
I am excited to answer it foryou.
I'm Jeannie Walters, CEO andfounder of Experience
Investigators, and I'm here allthe time to answer your
questions.
So, don't forget, you can leaveme your own voicemail at
askjeannievip.
All right, let's get right toit.
We all have to deal withnegative feedback from customers
(01:14):
, and when I say deal, I shouldreally say something like we all
get the gift of negativefeedback from our customers.
When our customers care enoughto provide that feedback, they
are really telling us that theycare enough to let us know so
that we can fix it for them.
If they didn't care, they wouldjust leave.
(01:35):
They would go to ourcompetitors, and there are
plenty of your customers whowill do that anyway.
So when one or two or manycustomers tell you something is
wrong, take that for what it is.
They are asking you to helpthem with something so that they
can continue to be a customer.
So, first and foremost, let'sshift the perspective on
(01:56):
negative feedback.
Let's make sure that we areletting everybody know that we
shouldn't be scared of it.
We shouldn't run away from it.
We certainly shouldn't getdefensive about it.
What we should do is take adeep breath, look at it for what
it is and figure out what canwe learn from it so that we can
make it better, not just forthat customer, but for other
customers as well.
(02:17):
So let's make sure that we arerespecting the fact that these
customers who complain areinvested in the relationship
that they have with us and ourbrand.
So the second part of this iswhat do we do with this feedback
?
Well, we want to make sure thatwe have the processes, the
tools, the technology and thepeople in place to really make
(02:39):
sure that we can categorize thefeedback, we can analyze it, we
can make sure that we're lookingfor those root causes that
created that feedback to beginwith.
We want to get right to it andmake sure that we're not just
listening and nodding along,that we are acting on it, and
the only way we can act on it isif we know what we're doing and
(02:59):
why we're doing it.
So what do I mean by that?
I mean that if we cancategorize certain feedback
responses, then we'll startseeing what the priorities might
be, based on quantity.
So if we see that many, manycustomers are complaining that
their deliveries are delayed,then we want to look at the root
cause of what is causing thosedelays.
(03:21):
What can we do about it?
How can we update customersmore proactively so they don't
have to call us?
What can we do to make thatspecific touchpoint better for
many customers?
However, sometimes things happenthat maybe don't impact the
quantity of other complaints.
We might not be hearing from alot of customers about it, but
(03:43):
when we see what happened, weknow that's not the quality of
the experience that we want todeliver.
And this is where we get intoreally paying attention to what
our customer is saying, not justabout the how or the what of
their experience, but abouttheir feelings.
What are the words they'reusing?
Are they saying things likefrustrated or disappointed?
(04:07):
Those are strong, emotionalwords that we want to really
zero in on, and one of the wayswe can do that now is by
categorizing around that what iscreating frustration or
friction for our customers.
What are they telling us ispreventing them from taking that
next step on their journey withus?
So there are different wayswhen we talk about categorizing
(04:30):
feedback, to really think aboutthat.
Don't fall into the idea thatit's just about how many
customers are complaining.
Look for those bigger conceptsaround emotions and around
points of challenge, obstacle orfriction that is preventing
someone from taking that nextstep through the customer
journey with us, because,remember, we have to tie
(04:53):
everything back to ourorganizational goals.
Most organizations wantcustomers to go through the
journey and convert, and so ifthere's anything preventing
conversion, we really want tomake that a priority as well.
Once we have categorized andreally understood why we have
those categories, we want to goahead and look to analysis.
(05:15):
What can we learn here?
Well, this is where tools likeAI and your customer
relationship manager, yourfrontline workers, can have a
lot to say here, but we want tomake sure that we're looking at
the specific insights that we'regathering.
If we don't do this part, thisis where it's easy to become
what I call a number narrator,where you are reporting out
(05:38):
numbers, you are reporting outmetrics and customer feedback
measurements like net promoterscore or customer satisfaction
rate, but you aren't taking thatnext step and saying what are
we learning from the feedbackthat we're gathering because of
that?
So this is where we really wantto get into the insights that
we've learned and make sure thatwe identify what are those root
(06:00):
causes, what would happen if wefixed it, and how should we go
ahead and fix it?
Now I'm talking in somewhatsimple terms, in kind of a find
and fix mentality.
This is where a lot oforganizations kind of live with
customer experience efforts.
Now, remember, I'm all aboutbeing intentional and proactive.
(06:23):
So, while I want you to reactto these complaints, I also want
you to think bigger about whatis it we're learning that could
have an impact on how weinnovate for the future.
This is about fixing thechallenges that you identify,
but you always want to look onestep beyond that and think about
what is the experience of thefuture?
(06:45):
What are the insights that wecan learn there?
So if people are saying thingslike I wish I didn't have to X,
I wish I didn't have to call you, I wish I didn't have to go
through filling out this formagain, I wish that I didn't have
to reorder every time, that Icould just make it automatic
renewal.
They are telling you in thosecomplaints very clearly what
(07:08):
they want for the future.
And then I want you to takethat one step further and think
about okay, what if we not onlydidn't have you fill out the
form the second or third time,what if we didn't have the form
at all?
What if we could remove thebarrier that you're even
speaking of initially?
So this is where beingproactive about customer
(07:29):
experience can become such awinning strategy.
If we are only finding andfixing, then we are missing
opportunity to really deliverbottom line results for our
organization.
But in any case, negativefeedback points you to where to
actually fix things that arebroken.
It's also telling you what ourcustomer's looking for in the
(07:52):
future.
But you have to make sure youhave your radar up and that you
are categorizing in thesemultiple different ways.
So once you have analyzed this,you've come up with insights.
Then you want to turn theinsights into actionable efforts
that are tied to goals.
So if you want to make surethat you are getting more
conversions, then you want todefine what are the efforts that
(08:17):
you'll put in to fix somethingor innovate around that
touchpoint or challenge to getmore conversions.
So remember, we always want topull that thread all the way.
We can't stop talking until weget to the goal for the
organization.
So, as you're reviewing thenegative feedback, as you're
(08:37):
coming up with your plans, asyou're finding those insights,
everything comes back tomeasurable goals around your
organization.
How are you delivering on thebottom line results?
That means how are you gettingmore revenue?
How are you decreasing expenses?
How are you delivering on themission of your organization?
We want to get to there.
(08:58):
Now, will every single find andfix result in something like
that?
Maybe not, but that's how youprioritize.
What are the business resultsthat you are aiming for that
will help you get people throughthat journey so that they buy
more, they stay longer, theyrefer others all of those
wonderful things that happenwith a proactive, positive
experience.
(09:19):
So you can't do this alone.
CX is a team sport, we like tosay.
Customer experience iseveryone's business and the only
way you can really improve theexperience for your customers is
by getting others involved.
Let's take the example Ibrought up before.
You know that you're getting alot of complaints around delays
(09:40):
in delivery, so you want to goto where you will have an impact
there.
Ask your delivery people, askyour product people.
What's happening here?
Why are we having these delays?
Oh, some of this is out of ourcontrol, because of weather or
strikes or whatever.
So what can we do?
Well, can we communicate?
(10:00):
Can I get more visibility intothis so that I can proactively
tell customers when theirdelivery will be delayed?
That's the type of conversationwe have to have in order to
actually make improvements.
Otherwise, we're basicallytalking in metrics and we're
talking to leaders who don'treally have skin in the game.
(10:21):
If they don't see anything, ifthey don't see these complaints,
if they don't really understandthe impact that it's having on
the customer experience, thenhow can we expect them to care
enough to change it?
That's where customerexperience leaders can have the
most influence and impact bytalking to others, making sure
that the leaders understand whatthey can do and putting all
(10:45):
that together, creating thatcross-functional support and
getting that leadership buy-into get the right resources,
investments, and putting theright efforts in place around
the right priorities.
And then, of course, when wehave negative complaints, they
come from a real person.
So we need to close the loop.
Whatever we're about to do,whatever we learn, we want to
(11:05):
make sure we have a process toclose the loop with that
customer, to reach out and saywe heard you, this is what we're
doing about it, or we heard you, we've never heard this before.
We want to learn more from youabout your experience so that we
can make sure this neverhappens again.
Sometimes customers want justto be heard, so don't
(11:25):
underestimate the power ofsaying we heard you, we're
really sorry that happened andwe want to make sure this
doesn't happen again.
That can go a long way withbuilding empathy and trust with
our customers, so make sure thatis part of your process as well
.
And then, as you go throughthis, you're going to have
(11:46):
successes.
I want you to celebrate those, Iwant you to socialize those.
I want you to communicate thatfar and wide throughout your
organization, because what thatwill do is create a culture
where, instead of being afraidof negative feedback or running
away from it, people willunderstand we're here to embrace
it, to own it, to change thingsfor the better.
(12:07):
And if you get to that culture,everything else becomes a
little easier for both you andyour customers.
So I cannot wait to hear howyou will turn negative feedback
into insights that driveactionable results.
That's what this is all about,folks.
We are designing and developingand implementing strategies and
(12:32):
designs that will improve ourbusiness, the experience of our
customers and the experience ofour employees.
That's the win-win-win ofcustomer experience strategy.
Thank you so much for thisquestion.
I cannot wait to hear what'snext and I hope that you will
join us as we explore anotherquestion on the Experience
(12:54):
Action Podcast.
Thanks for all you do, customerexperience leaders.
I'll talk to you soon.
To learn more about ourstrategic approach to
experience, check out freeresources at
experienceinvestigatorscom.
Where you can sign up for ournewsletter, our Year of CX
program, and more.
And please follow me, JeannieWalters, on LinkedIn.
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