August 14, 2024 • 18 mins
In this episode, we explore the importance of customer feedback for small business owners. Join Lily Richmond as I explain why customer feedback is a powerful tool for refining your products and services, building trust, and driving growth. I share actionable strategies for collecting and using customer feedback effectively, whether it's positive praise, constructive criticism, or dealing with unfair reviews.
Discover strategies for responding constructively to unsatisfactory reviews and handling false claims from competitors with integrity and transparency. Tune in to learn how to turn every piece of customer feedback into a stepping stone toward better relationships with your customers and building a continually improving business so you can stay ahead of your competitors.
Plus, stay tuned for the next episode, where I challenge the age-old adage that "the customer is always right" and propose a more balanced approach based on mutual respect.
So, let's huddle up, dive into this episode, and work together to equip you with the marketing knowledge and confidence you need to make real progress.
Grab links to helpful tools to collect customer feedback, and links to help you report bogus reviews.
View the full episode show notes.
Got a topic you want me to cover? Share your ideas here: https://marketingondemand.co/contact
Like what you hear? Connect with me on social media:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the Small Business Marketing Huddle.
Our show is all about takingaction.
We equip you with the marketingknowledge and confidence you
need to make real progress.
So let's huddle up and listenin to the latest episode with
your host, Lily Richmond.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Hey, this is Lily.
Thank you for being here today.
If you're already subscribed tothe show, thank you so much.
I really appreciate you beinghere and I'm really, really
stoked that you are taking someproactive steps to take control
of your marketing.
And if this is your first timehere, don't forget to hit that
follow or subscribe button inyour favorite podcast player,
(00:52):
because today, like in everyepisode, I'm going to cover a
marketing topic that I thinkyou've really got to learn if
you want to master yourmarketing.
My goal for you today is thatby the end of this episode,
you're going to reallyunderstand the value of customer
feedback and then some reallygreat tips and ideas of how you
can use it to improve yourbusiness and some strategies for
(01:15):
dealing with it when it'snegative feedback or when it's
feedback that is fraudulent.
So let's get straight into theepisode, because I know that you
are a busy business owner whois short on time.
Why is customer feedbackimportant for you as a business
owner?
Well, there's four key reasons,really, that I think that it's
(01:36):
important.
Number one it helps youunderstand what is and what
isn't working with your productsor services and your customer
experience that you offer.
Secondly, it helps you learn ifthere is a disconnect in your
customers' expectations of whatyou deliver.
It might be that you aremarketing that you have a
(01:59):
helpful customer service team,for example, but it takes you
ages to respond to emailinquiries and maybe your
customer service representativeis really rude.
That's where there is adisconnect in the expectation or
perception of the customer andthat is ultimately what feedback
provides you that gap inexpectation.
Thirdly, feedback is a totalgoldmine that's going to help
(02:23):
you talk about your products andservices in a way that your
customers actually connect withand how they would talk about
your product or service you know.
So it's giving you a greatopportunity to learn what is
important to your customers, notwhat you think is important to
them.
And fourthly, it buildscredibility to your business and
helps those potential customersbuild trust and ultimately make
(02:46):
that leap to buy.
So those are just four of thereasons why collecting customer
feedback is so powerful for yourbusiness.
So what are the different waysthat you can collect that
feedback?
Well, one of the mostwell-known ways to do it is
through online reviews, eitherfor your business or your
products.
(03:06):
Think of Facebook or podcastreviews, or Google reviews
product reviews that you set upon your website third-party
tools maybe like Trustpilot, ormaybe there is something locally
in your country like athird-party site that aggregates
reviews from consumers in yourindustry.
Another way that you cancollect customer feedback is via
(03:29):
testimonials, and these aremore proactive.
This is where you know you'regoing to ask your customer to
give either a written, audio ormaybe even some video feedback
on your business.
A third way to collect and usecustomer feedback is via your
customer service interactions.
For example, when customersemail you with feedback or
(03:51):
complaints, they might even sendyou through some improvement
suggestions.
Those interactions are greatways for you to get feedback.
So a good little tip is, whenyou're getting those items of
feedback whether it be acomplaint, a suggestion or a
compliment that you put it intoa folder which is customer
feedback, and then you can referback to it at a later date.
(04:13):
You're not having to dig backthrough all of the emails to
find it.
And finally, there's proactivecustomer experience and
satisfaction surveys, and a bigtip here is, if you're going to
do this and you're going tocollect data, make it easy, be
really, really brutal with whatexact information you need to
(04:33):
know and be very clear on howyou're going to use it.
Don't collect a whole bunch ofdata that you aren't going to
use.
That is wasting your customer'stime.
So if you are interested indoing a customer satisfaction or
a customer service survey, I'lldrop some links in the show
notes to some great tools forcollecting data via surveys.
(04:56):
Okay, we've covered why customerfeedback is really important
for your business and we've justcovered off the different ways
that you can collect it.
What are the types of customerfeedback that you're going to
get Now when you're in business?
It is going to be the good, thebad and the ugly of customer
feedback.
There's no hiding from it.
You are going to have somegreat experiences and you're
(05:17):
going to have some shockers.
So the good is positivefeedback, great reviews and
testimonials.
The bad, or what I would callthe helpful feedback, is the
negative feedback or thecomplaints that provide
opportunities for you to improveyour products and services.
This is a goldmine ofinformation if you use it to
(05:38):
your advantage.
And then the ugly Well, that isunfair or bogus reviews, for
example, or maybe even reallyunreasonable customers.
You are going to get all threeof those types of feedback, and
the thing I'd love for you totake away from this episode
today is that all feedback is agift.
(05:59):
Well, maybe, apart from theugly stuff, you know, in
business we've got to get ourheads around the fact that it's
not personal.
Well, hopefully it isn't, andif you can get yourself into
that mindset that when someonecomplains or gives you that one
star review, it is a hugeopportunity for you to identify
how to get better.
We'll talk about the ugly lateron, as there are some specific
(06:23):
tips I've got around that, sostay tuned until the end.
You know I don't see the uglyfeedback as real feedback anyway
, and I encourage you to view itthat way too.
Don't get hung up on it.
Focus on what you can influence.
Quite frankly, you can'tinfluence a disgruntled nutter
or a fake reviewer.
So after the break, I'm goingto give you five ways that you
(06:47):
can use feedback to improve yourbusiness, and I'm going to give
you some tools for dealing withthat ugly feedback as well.
Okay, so let's start talkingabout how we can make customer
feedback work for you.
If you are using customerfeedback effectively in your
business, you should be seeingit as a continuous loop, where
(07:11):
you are collecting that feedback, you're analyzing it and then
you're identifying ways tocontinually improve your
business.
You're aiming to deliver asuperior service and offering so
that then you get even bettercustomer feedback more happy
customers and then you getbetter and better feedback more
happy customers, and then youget better and better and you
win more business from yourcompetitors.
Now this is called continuousimprovement right, and if you do
(07:34):
it right, customer feedback islike a continuous loop that
spirals upwards, if you canvisualize that.
So what are some of those waysthat you can use customer
feedback and get that feedbackloop going for you?
Here are five.
Number one improve your productsand services to deliver what
customers expect.
Maybe customers are complainingabout how long, let's say, you
(07:59):
take to dispatch orders fromyour online store.
That might be telling you thatcustomers value customer
responsiveness, and maybe yourcompetitors are doing it better
than you.
Sorry, harsh truth sometimes,but that's a gift for you if you
see it that way.
Your customer is telling youexactly how they want you to
(08:19):
improve.
Number two it can really be agoldmine and a wealth of data
points for you to write moreimpactful descriptions for your
products and services, and thatcan help you get more sales.
Let's use an online shop as anexample.
Take a look at the onlinereviews that you've got today on
, say, google or Facebook.
What are consumers saying aboutyour product or service?
(08:43):
What words are they using?
How are they describing it?
What benefits are they bringingout?
If you were a brand that madedifferent hoodies and
sweatshirts, say for children,and your customers were leaving
reviews and saying the plushestfabric ever, I love the
detailing and the stitching,keeps my little one warm, you
(09:05):
know, whatever it might be, youcan use all of these words in
your product descriptions.
And why is that valuable?
Well, it's valuable because youare using the language that
your customers use to explain ordescribe your product or
service, so it's a great way toget people to connect with what
it is that you are selling.
Number three is to go a stepbroader still.
(09:27):
Why not use some of the phrasesor the benefits that customers
share in their feedback in yourmarketing communications?
You know, if you start seeingpatterns that customers always
comment on a great benefit ofyour service, then you want to
be harrowing in on that in yourmarketing.
Whether it's a brochure, aFacebook post or an email
campaign.
Drawing that information out isa great way to connect with
(09:50):
your customer.
Number four add yourtestimonials or review ratings
on your website.
Maybe also add them to yourprinted marketing materials.
What if you've got a greatreview score on Facebook?
If you know if it's 4.8 orsomething like that, why not add
that to your email signature?
Put this information into emailcampaigns.
Share it on your social mediaaccounts.
(10:11):
Be proud of your great feedbackand show it off.
Why is that?
Because it builds trust.
Now, one thing I would say hereon this is Do not under any
circumstance, get involved infake reviews or fake
testimonials.
You might not get found out,but what happens if you do?
What is it going to do to yourbusiness long term if you've
(10:32):
been found out as a companythat's lie to its customers?
The stakes are pretty high andthere has been research done
that a five out of five reviewrating for your business overall
is likely for customers to nottrust you.
It's not seen as trustworthybecause people think no one gets
100%.
So please don't get into thegame of fake reviews.
(10:54):
You're doing your business adisservice and you're not
building trust with yourcustomers either.
Number five if a customercomplains, use this as an
opportunity to turn thatcustomer into a fan.
You know, back when I was inuniversity, I worked in a bank
as a bank teller or cashier, andwhen you're in the front line
and you're dealing withcustomers face-to-face, it can
(11:14):
be really challenging,especially if they are unhappy.
And my boss at the time saidsomething to me that has really
stuck with me throughout mycareer, and that is that when
you get a complaint, it'sinevitable, but it's how you
deal with it that, ultimately,is going to make the difference
for the business and for thecustomer.
It's how you take that mindsetof how can I turn this around.
(11:35):
Now, I'm not saying that youbend to a customer who's being
unreasonable, right, but if thatcustomer walks away feeling
good and they got a resolutionand they were treated fairly,
then they're actually morelikely to recommend you.
When something goes wrong andyou put it right, they remember
and they're more likely to tellothers about that too.
We all get things wrong fromtime to time.
(11:56):
Okay, so to quickly recap, thefive things are use that
feedback to improve yourproducts and services the actual
nitty gritty of what youdeliver.
Use it to write more impactfuldescriptions for your products
and services.
Use those phrases or benefitsthat customers talk about in
your marketing communications.
Get your testimonials andreview ratings out there.
(12:17):
Shout about that great news.
It helps build trust and numberfive.
If a customer complains, workout how you're going to put that
right and turn that experiencearound so that they can become
one of your fans, okay.
Lastly, we are going to talkabout how the heck do you deal
with that ugly feedback, thatone-star fake review.
(12:38):
Or someone leaves a reallyhorrible review about your
business and they've nevershopped with you.
Maybe a competitor of yours isspreading malicious gossip about
your business.
I can recommend a fewstrategies here.
Firstly, you can get reviewsremoved from platforms like
Google and Facebook.
I will drop some links to whereyou can do that in the show
notes, but this can take sometime, so you do have to be
(13:01):
patient with fraudulent reviews.
This can take some time, so youdo have to be patient with
fraudulent reviews.
Also, there are some guidelinesaround what constitutes what
sort of review they would remove, so I'll put links to that as
well.
Now, you can't just get a reviewremoved, though, because you
don't like it.
Right, if someone gives you aone-star review, you are much
better to reach out to thempersonally if you can and find
(13:24):
out why Get that feedback.
You might hear some things thatyou don't like.
But hey, if you aren'tmeasuring up, you need to be
honest with yourself and try andfix it.
Always respond with how you'regoing to fix it.
But what if you can't fix it?
What if it is just someone isdissatisfied and maybe they
weren't right in the first place?
(13:45):
Well, if you can't fix it, justappropriately respond to the
person with why you can't.
You know, maybe that person isbeing unreasonable.
And I think about my ownexperience as a consumer and
have a think about what you'relike when you look at Google
reviews, for example.
If someone leaves a one or atwo starstar review, I do like
to read them, but then I alsolike to read the comments from
(14:07):
the company in question, and ifthat company deals with it well,
then I'm still likely to usethem.
And often you know you can lookat reviews and you can tell if
that customer was beingunreasonable.
Again, when someone's leavingthat feedback, it is an
opportunity for you to turn thatsituation around and actually
demonstrate that you're fair,you're trustworthy and you take
notice when your customers sharetheir feedback.
(14:29):
Now we're going to take aslightly different tack when it
comes to things like maliciousgossip from competitors or
people who are bad-mouthing yourbusiness.
Usually, yeah, unfortunatelythis happens on social media,
right, and I'm in a number ofdifferent Facebook groups for
business owners and it comes upan awful lot.
I always say that you are bestto rise above it, as hard as
(14:52):
that might sound, don't engagewith them, because you know what
you run the risk of gettinginto an online fight and if
someone is going around alreadyspreading falsehoods about your
business, they are likely to notbe that rational anyway.
You can't control what they say, unless you take legal action,
of course, and sometimes legalaction is needed, but that is
(15:15):
the nuclear option and it's forreally serious stuff.
All you can do is you cancontrol what your business does.
So if someone is saying thingsthat are untrue about your
products, for example, you don'tneed to directly address those
people and you don't need toaddress it completely, but you
could put your own marketing outthat disproves the point that
(15:36):
they are making.
Okay, let's use that exampleagain of the business that makes
children's sweatshirts andhoodies.
And let's say it's my businessand it's here in New Zealand and
those garments are made locallyhere where I live in NZ, and a
competitor is going aroundsaying that I'm just importing
them from China and I'm changingthe tags.
I'm really dishonest.
(15:57):
So what could I do about thatif I'm not going to go head to
head into a war with them?
Well, firstly, I could send outan email to my subscribers
which has a theme all aroundlove New Zealand made, and it
could show a photo of thegarments being made in our local
factory.
(16:17):
Or it could also tell the storyabout why we're proud to
manufacture in New Zealand andwe could offer a discount
promotion for anyone purchasinga New Zealand made product.
For the next couple of weeks.
I could also write a blog postall about our journey with New
Zealand made and promote that onsocial media.
I could also do a whole seriesof social media activities and
(16:37):
posts for a month that highlightthe different aspects of our
New Zealand made ethos, why it'simportant to us, how we do the
manufacturing, all of our values.
If you notice now, none of thisis literally responding to that
business, spreading untruths.
I'm countering it, but I'mfocusing on my business and my
customers and adding value tothem and giving them reasons to
(17:01):
shop with me.
Customers, ultimately, arepretty savvy.
They work the stuff out andthey're likely to see through
deception.
And then, ultimately, what doesit say about that other
business that's going arounddoing the bad mouthing?
They're going to lose in thelong run.
You've got to play the longgame, keep your head held high
and stick to your guns.
Okay, so that is the end of thisepisode on customer feedback,
(17:26):
and I do hope you've got somegreat nuggets to take away and
apply in your business and thatnow you're not maybe frightened
or scared off by customerfeedback, even the negative
stuff.
Now don't forget to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast player, because nexttime we are going to stick with
the customer feedback theme andI'm going to share with you why
(17:47):
the customer is always right isa terrible ethos and I don't
advocate for you taking thatapproach in your business.
Yeah, it's a bit controversial,I must admit.
Listen in and I'll share how Ithink you should approach it
instead.
And one last thing, since weare on the subject of feedback,
(18:08):
I would really love yours, so ifyou could take the time to
leave me a review for the smallbusiness marketing huddle, you
can do it directly on whateverplatform you listen on.
I do really appreciate yoursupport and, of course, your
feedback, and feel free to emailme at any time if you've got an
idea of a topic that you wouldlove me to cover.
(18:28):
Thank you so much for listeningin and I will catch you in the
next episode.
Now for the legal jargon.
This podcast is for informationand education purposes only.
We make no business performanceclaims or guarantees in the
(18:49):
information shared.
The podcast content is generalin nature and does not
constitute advice for yourunique business situation.
Welcome to the Small Business Marketing Huddle.
Our show is all about takingaction.
We equip you with the marketingknowledge and confidence you
need to make real progress.
So let's huddle up and listenin to the latest episode with
your host, Lily Richmond.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Hey, this is Lily.
Thank you for being here today.
If you're already subscribed tothe show, thank you so much.
I really appreciate you beinghere and I'm really, really
stoked that you are taking someproactive steps to take control
of your marketing.
And if this is your first timehere, don't forget to hit that
follow or subscribe button inyour favorite podcast player,
(00:52):
because today, like in everyepisode, I'm going to cover a
marketing topic that I thinkyou've really got to learn if
you want to master yourmarketing.
My goal for you today is thatby the end of this episode,
you're going to reallyunderstand the value of customer
feedback and then some reallygreat tips and ideas of how you
can use it to improve yourbusiness and some strategies for
(01:15):
dealing with it when it'snegative feedback or when it's
feedback that is fraudulent.
So let's get straight into theepisode, because I know that you
are a busy business owner whois short on time.
Why is customer feedbackimportant for you as a business
owner?
Well, there's four key reasons,really, that I think that it's
(01:36):
important.
Number one it helps youunderstand what is and what
isn't working with your productsor services and your customer
experience that you offer.
Secondly, it helps you learn ifthere is a disconnect in your
customers' expectations of whatyou deliver.
It might be that you aremarketing that you have a
(01:59):
helpful customer service team,for example, but it takes you
ages to respond to emailinquiries and maybe your
customer service representativeis really rude.
That's where there is adisconnect in the expectation or
perception of the customer andthat is ultimately what feedback
provides you that gap inexpectation.
Thirdly, feedback is a totalgoldmine that's going to help
(02:23):
you talk about your products andservices in a way that your
customers actually connect withand how they would talk about
your product or service you know.
So it's giving you a greatopportunity to learn what is
important to your customers, notwhat you think is important to
them.
And fourthly, it buildscredibility to your business and
helps those potential customersbuild trust and ultimately make
(02:46):
that leap to buy.
So those are just four of thereasons why collecting customer
feedback is so powerful for yourbusiness.
So what are the different waysthat you can collect that
feedback?
Well, one of the mostwell-known ways to do it is
through online reviews, eitherfor your business or your
products.
(03:06):
Think of Facebook or podcastreviews, or Google reviews
product reviews that you set upon your website third-party
tools maybe like Trustpilot, ormaybe there is something locally
in your country like athird-party site that aggregates
reviews from consumers in yourindustry.
Another way that you cancollect customer feedback is via
(03:29):
testimonials, and these aremore proactive.
This is where you know you'regoing to ask your customer to
give either a written, audio ormaybe even some video feedback
on your business.
A third way to collect and usecustomer feedback is via your
customer service interactions.
For example, when customersemail you with feedback or
(03:51):
complaints, they might even sendyou through some improvement
suggestions.
Those interactions are greatways for you to get feedback.
So a good little tip is, whenyou're getting those items of
feedback whether it be acomplaint, a suggestion or a
compliment that you put it intoa folder which is customer
feedback, and then you can referback to it at a later date.
(04:13):
You're not having to dig backthrough all of the emails to
find it.
And finally, there's proactivecustomer experience and
satisfaction surveys, and a bigtip here is, if you're going to
do this and you're going tocollect data, make it easy, be
really, really brutal with whatexact information you need to
(04:33):
know and be very clear on howyou're going to use it.
Don't collect a whole bunch ofdata that you aren't going to
use.
That is wasting your customer'stime.
So if you are interested indoing a customer satisfaction or
a customer service survey, I'lldrop some links in the show
notes to some great tools forcollecting data via surveys.
(04:56):
Okay, we've covered why customerfeedback is really important
for your business and we've justcovered off the different ways
that you can collect it.
What are the types of customerfeedback that you're going to
get Now when you're in business?
It is going to be the good, thebad and the ugly of customer
feedback.
There's no hiding from it.
You are going to have somegreat experiences and you're
(05:17):
going to have some shockers.
So the good is positivefeedback, great reviews and
testimonials.
The bad, or what I would callthe helpful feedback, is the
negative feedback or thecomplaints that provide
opportunities for you to improveyour products and services.
This is a goldmine ofinformation if you use it to
(05:38):
your advantage.
And then the ugly Well, that isunfair or bogus reviews, for
example, or maybe even reallyunreasonable customers.
You are going to get all threeof those types of feedback, and
the thing I'd love for you totake away from this episode
today is that all feedback is agift.
(05:59):
Well, maybe, apart from theugly stuff, you know, in
business we've got to get ourheads around the fact that it's
not personal.
Well, hopefully it isn't, andif you can get yourself into
that mindset that when someonecomplains or gives you that one
star review, it is a hugeopportunity for you to identify
how to get better.
We'll talk about the ugly lateron, as there are some specific
(06:23):
tips I've got around that, sostay tuned until the end.
You know I don't see the uglyfeedback as real feedback anyway
, and I encourage you to view itthat way too.
Don't get hung up on it.
Focus on what you can influence.
Quite frankly, you can'tinfluence a disgruntled nutter
or a fake reviewer.
So after the break, I'm goingto give you five ways that you
(06:47):
can use feedback to improve yourbusiness, and I'm going to give
you some tools for dealing withthat ugly feedback as well.
Okay, so let's start talkingabout how we can make customer
feedback work for you.
If you are using customerfeedback effectively in your
business, you should be seeingit as a continuous loop, where
(07:11):
you are collecting that feedback, you're analyzing it and then
you're identifying ways tocontinually improve your
business.
You're aiming to deliver asuperior service and offering so
that then you get even bettercustomer feedback more happy
customers and then you getbetter and better feedback more
happy customers, and then youget better and better and you
win more business from yourcompetitors.
Now this is called continuousimprovement right, and if you do
(07:34):
it right, customer feedback islike a continuous loop that
spirals upwards, if you canvisualize that.
So what are some of those waysthat you can use customer
feedback and get that feedbackloop going for you?
Here are five.
Number one improve your productsand services to deliver what
customers expect.
Maybe customers are complainingabout how long, let's say, you
(07:59):
take to dispatch orders fromyour online store.
That might be telling you thatcustomers value customer
responsiveness, and maybe yourcompetitors are doing it better
than you.
Sorry, harsh truth sometimes,but that's a gift for you if you
see it that way.
Your customer is telling youexactly how they want you to
(08:19):
improve.
Number two it can really be agoldmine and a wealth of data
points for you to write moreimpactful descriptions for your
products and services, and thatcan help you get more sales.
Let's use an online shop as anexample.
Take a look at the onlinereviews that you've got today on
, say, google or Facebook.
What are consumers saying aboutyour product or service?
(08:43):
What words are they using?
How are they describing it?
What benefits are they bringingout?
If you were a brand that madedifferent hoodies and
sweatshirts, say for children,and your customers were leaving
reviews and saying the plushestfabric ever, I love the
detailing and the stitching,keeps my little one warm, you
(09:05):
know, whatever it might be, youcan use all of these words in
your product descriptions.
And why is that valuable?
Well, it's valuable because youare using the language that
your customers use to explain ordescribe your product or
service, so it's a great way toget people to connect with what
it is that you are selling.
Number three is to go a stepbroader still.
(09:27):
Why not use some of the phrasesor the benefits that customers
share in their feedback in yourmarketing communications?
You know, if you start seeingpatterns that customers always
comment on a great benefit ofyour service, then you want to
be harrowing in on that in yourmarketing.
Whether it's a brochure, aFacebook post or an email
campaign.
Drawing that information out isa great way to connect with
(09:50):
your customer.
Number four add yourtestimonials or review ratings
on your website.
Maybe also add them to yourprinted marketing materials.
What if you've got a greatreview score on Facebook?
If you know if it's 4.8 orsomething like that, why not add
that to your email signature?
Put this information into emailcampaigns.
Share it on your social mediaaccounts.
(10:11):
Be proud of your great feedbackand show it off.
Why is that?
Because it builds trust.
Now, one thing I would say hereon this is Do not under any
circumstance, get involved infake reviews or fake
testimonials.
You might not get found out,but what happens if you do?
What is it going to do to yourbusiness long term if you've
(10:32):
been found out as a companythat's lie to its customers?
The stakes are pretty high andthere has been research done
that a five out of five reviewrating for your business overall
is likely for customers to nottrust you.
It's not seen as trustworthybecause people think no one gets
100%.
So please don't get into thegame of fake reviews.
(10:54):
You're doing your business adisservice and you're not
building trust with yourcustomers either.
Number five if a customercomplains, use this as an
opportunity to turn thatcustomer into a fan.
You know, back when I was inuniversity, I worked in a bank
as a bank teller or cashier, andwhen you're in the front line
and you're dealing withcustomers face-to-face, it can
(11:14):
be really challenging,especially if they are unhappy.
And my boss at the time saidsomething to me that has really
stuck with me throughout mycareer, and that is that when
you get a complaint, it'sinevitable, but it's how you
deal with it that, ultimately,is going to make the difference
for the business and for thecustomer.
It's how you take that mindsetof how can I turn this around.
(11:35):
Now, I'm not saying that youbend to a customer who's being
unreasonable, right, but if thatcustomer walks away feeling
good and they got a resolutionand they were treated fairly,
then they're actually morelikely to recommend you.
When something goes wrong andyou put it right, they remember
and they're more likely to tellothers about that too.
We all get things wrong fromtime to time.
(11:56):
Okay, so to quickly recap, thefive things are use that
feedback to improve yourproducts and services the actual
nitty gritty of what youdeliver.
Use it to write more impactfuldescriptions for your products
and services.
Use those phrases or benefitsthat customers talk about in
your marketing communications.
Get your testimonials andreview ratings out there.
(12:17):
Shout about that great news.
It helps build trust and numberfive.
If a customer complains, workout how you're going to put that
right and turn that experiencearound so that they can become
one of your fans, okay.
Lastly, we are going to talkabout how the heck do you deal
with that ugly feedback, thatone-star fake review.
(12:38):
Or someone leaves a reallyhorrible review about your
business and they've nevershopped with you.
Maybe a competitor of yours isspreading malicious gossip about
your business.
I can recommend a fewstrategies here.
Firstly, you can get reviewsremoved from platforms like
Google and Facebook.
I will drop some links to whereyou can do that in the show
notes, but this can take sometime, so you do have to be
(13:01):
patient with fraudulent reviews.
This can take some time, so youdo have to be patient with
fraudulent reviews.
Also, there are some guidelinesaround what constitutes what
sort of review they would remove, so I'll put links to that as
well.
Now, you can't just get a reviewremoved, though, because you
don't like it.
Right, if someone gives you aone-star review, you are much
better to reach out to thempersonally if you can and find
(13:24):
out why Get that feedback.
You might hear some things thatyou don't like.
But hey, if you aren'tmeasuring up, you need to be
honest with yourself and try andfix it.
Always respond with how you'regoing to fix it.
But what if you can't fix it?
What if it is just someone isdissatisfied and maybe they
weren't right in the first place?
(13:45):
Well, if you can't fix it, justappropriately respond to the
person with why you can't.
You know, maybe that person isbeing unreasonable.
And I think about my ownexperience as a consumer and
have a think about what you'relike when you look at Google
reviews, for example.
If someone leaves a one or atwo starstar review, I do like
to read them, but then I alsolike to read the comments from
(14:07):
the company in question, and ifthat company deals with it well,
then I'm still likely to usethem.
And often you know you can lookat reviews and you can tell if
that customer was beingunreasonable.
Again, when someone's leavingthat feedback, it is an
opportunity for you to turn thatsituation around and actually
demonstrate that you're fair,you're trustworthy and you take
notice when your customers sharetheir feedback.
(14:29):
Now we're going to take aslightly different tack when it
comes to things like maliciousgossip from competitors or
people who are bad-mouthing yourbusiness.
Usually, yeah, unfortunatelythis happens on social media,
right, and I'm in a number ofdifferent Facebook groups for
business owners and it comes upan awful lot.
I always say that you are bestto rise above it, as hard as
(14:52):
that might sound, don't engagewith them, because you know what
you run the risk of gettinginto an online fight and if
someone is going around alreadyspreading falsehoods about your
business, they are likely to notbe that rational anyway.
You can't control what they say, unless you take legal action,
of course, and sometimes legalaction is needed, but that is
(15:15):
the nuclear option and it's forreally serious stuff.
All you can do is you cancontrol what your business does.
So if someone is saying thingsthat are untrue about your
products, for example, you don'tneed to directly address those
people and you don't need toaddress it completely, but you
could put your own marketing outthat disproves the point that
(15:36):
they are making.
Okay, let's use that exampleagain of the business that makes
children's sweatshirts andhoodies.
And let's say it's my businessand it's here in New Zealand and
those garments are made locallyhere where I live in NZ, and a
competitor is going aroundsaying that I'm just importing
them from China and I'm changingthe tags.
I'm really dishonest.
(15:57):
So what could I do about thatif I'm not going to go head to
head into a war with them?
Well, firstly, I could send outan email to my subscribers
which has a theme all aroundlove New Zealand made, and it
could show a photo of thegarments being made in our local
factory.
(16:17):
Or it could also tell the storyabout why we're proud to
manufacture in New Zealand andwe could offer a discount
promotion for anyone purchasinga New Zealand made product.
For the next couple of weeks.
I could also write a blog postall about our journey with New
Zealand made and promote that onsocial media.
I could also do a whole seriesof social media activities and
(16:37):
posts for a month that highlightthe different aspects of our
New Zealand made ethos, why it'simportant to us, how we do the
manufacturing, all of our values.
If you notice now, none of thisis literally responding to that
business, spreading untruths.
I'm countering it, but I'mfocusing on my business and my
customers and adding value tothem and giving them reasons to
(17:01):
shop with me.
Customers, ultimately, arepretty savvy.
They work the stuff out andthey're likely to see through
deception.
And then, ultimately, what doesit say about that other
business that's going arounddoing the bad mouthing?
They're going to lose in thelong run.
You've got to play the longgame, keep your head held high
and stick to your guns.
Okay, so that is the end of thisepisode on customer feedback,
(17:26):
and I do hope you've got somegreat nuggets to take away and
apply in your business and thatnow you're not maybe frightened
or scared off by customerfeedback, even the negative
stuff.
Now don't forget to hitsubscribe on your favorite
podcast player, because nexttime we are going to stick with
the customer feedback theme andI'm going to share with you why
(17:47):
the customer is always right isa terrible ethos and I don't
advocate for you taking thatapproach in your business.
Yeah, it's a bit controversial,I must admit.
Listen in and I'll share how Ithink you should approach it
instead.
And one last thing, since weare on the subject of feedback,
(18:08):
I would really love yours, so ifyou could take the time to
leave me a review for the smallbusiness marketing huddle, you
can do it directly on whateverplatform you listen on.
I do really appreciate yoursupport and, of course, your
feedback, and feel free to emailme at any time if you've got an
idea of a topic that you wouldlove me to cover.
(18:28):
Thank you so much for listeningin and I will catch you in the
next episode.
Now for the legal jargon.
This podcast is for informationand education purposes only.
We make no business performanceclaims or guarantees in the
(18:49):
information shared.
The podcast content is generalin nature and does not
constitute advice for yourunique business situation.
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