Customers are generally very assertive about sharing negative experiences. But, they often shy away when their overall experience is positive. It’s reported that only 6% of customers share reviews about their preferred solutions.
A positive review from a satisfied customer helps you attract new leads. On the other hand, negative feedback paves the way for you to continuous improvement.
It doesn’t matter if your customers’ views about your brand are on the positive or negative end of the spectrum, you should always listen to what they have to say.
Here are a few ways that can help you do that with ease.
1. Email
Email is one of the most effective ways to reach out to your customers. This method allows you to initiate a one-on-one conversation with your customers and gather their valuable feedback.
An optimized email drip can get you an ROI of around 4400%. This makes communication via email one of the efficient ways to interact with your customers. You can either collect feedback from your customers via a single email or ask a series of questions through an email drip to gather the required information.
When using an email service, the cost of communication is quite low compared to other alternatives. This makes email one of the preferred modes of communication for businesses worldwide.
2. Social Media
Around 63% of people expect customer support from businesses via social media. Social media allows customers to connect with businesses in real-time. That’s why many prefer social media platforms to reach out to their favorite brands.
You can gather valuable feedback from your customers and listen to what they have to say leveraging the power of social media. There are two core benefits of using social media platforms to connect with your customers.
First, social media is one of the reliable modes of communication with your customers. Second, interacting with your customers via social media not just gets you the required information but also boosts your engagement.
Social media enables you to collect feedback from customers with ease. Even a single review from one of your customers can entice others to share their experiences as well.
Around 80% of social media users are active on more than 5 platforms. This increases the number of opportunities for you to reach out to your customers. If you are not getting much traction from your audience on one of the platforms, you have many other options to explore.
3. Live Chat
When a customer experiences issues with a product or service, they want those issues to be resolved immediately. So, it’s best that you make it easier for them to reach out to you.
We live in a digital era. Almost every business has an online presence or in other words, an operational website. Yet, many business websites have a clunky live chat feature or don’t have one at all.
Around 63% of customers are likely to prefer business sites that have a live chat feature. Why? Because live chat is one of the easiest ways for customers to reach out to you. It’s the quickest way for them to share their concerns and receive feasible solutions.
So, having a live chat option on your site is highly recommended. It helps you solve the problems your customers are facing and avoid potential negative reviews caused by unresolved issues.
4. Survey
Surveys are one of the oldest yet most effective ways of gathering information from customers. The data gathered through surveys is pure gold as it is thorough and provides you with in-depth customer insights.
Surveys may not be as interactive as other ways of connecting with your customers but are an efficient way to reach out to customers for required information.
Surveys can help you figure out the problems that are disrupting customer experiences. The core objective here is to figure out what’s working and what’s not. This information is of critical importance and fuels your product or service development process.
There are many ways to conduct surveys. You can email them to your customers, post them on your website, or share them on your social media page. It doesn’t matter which method you use to collect information as long as it helps you collect reliable data.
It’s best that you keep your surveys simple and to the point. How can we make your experience with us better? A single open-ended question like this enables you to dive deep into your customers’ preferences and devise solutions accordingly.
5. Customer Service
Customer service is a classic way of interacting with your customers and facilitating them with tailored solutions. Customer service is important for many people. Around 80% of people are reported to take their business elsewhere after a poor customer service experience with a company.
Customer service can be facilitated by different mediums of communication. However, most people often prefer the more traditional way of reaching out to their preferred brand.
That’s why, even today, companies receive countless support calls from their customers on a daily basis. These calls are generally made by customers to get their issues resolved. But, proactive businesses also reach out to their customers and inquire about their experiences.
Customer service is a proven and one of the most effective ways to cater to your customers’ concerns and provide them with fitting solutions. Brands that offer excellent customer service generally acknowledge lasting relationships compared to businesses that don’t bat an eye on what their customers have to say.
It’s a Wrap
There you have it. The 5 ways to listen to what your customers have to say. Customer interaction directly affects your brand’s relatability. The more proactive you are in solving your customers’ concerns, the easier it would be for you to retain your customers.
The ways prescribed in this article are proven methods to connect with your customers. So, try them out and see if they bring favorable results for you.
