How to Turn Customer Feedback into Your Competitive Advantage

Today’s consumers lean on their peers for buying advice, often taking online reviews, feedback and other contributions very seriously when shopping around. This gives small businesses a leg up in a world where giant companies can’t always address every review or comment posted about them online. 

“Customer feedback is where small businesses can not only compete but also destroy larger businesses,” Business2Community points out. “While businesses of all sizes get customer feedback — whether they want it or not — a small business can actually act on it in a timely manner.”

This is especially true for the small company that knows its target audience and that can easily ferret out the feedback that customer relate to, contribute and/or turn to for guidance. Then, it can act on the feedback in a way that makes the customer feel heard and valued. “A customer who feels valued is a customer for life,” Business2Community adds.

5 Ways to Turn Customer Feedback into an Advantage

Many companies choose to ignore both positive and negative customer comments at their own peril. Here are five ways small businesses can turn that customer feedback into a competitive advantage:

1. Respond promptly to customer reviews. Review social media sites, your own company’s website and any other platforms to see what customers are saying about your small business and its products and/or services. Show your customers that you care about them and that you’re listening to what they have to say. If someone has left a positive review, be sure to thank them for it. If the feedback is negative, apologize for the issue and offer to take the problem offline for further discussion and resolution. “Taking the time to reply to customers shows them you are working to improve and apply the negative feedback loop,” Indeed recommends. “This means you are applying constructive criticism to become a better company.”
2. Always offers to make things right. Once you’ve identified an unhappy customer, you should work to resolve and/or address the issue as quickly as possible. After all, word literally spreads like wildfire online and we’ve all heard the statistics about people who are more apt to share negative news than positive news online. So, if issuing an apology publicly online in response to the complaint, be sure to tell them about any improvements or changes made based on their feedback. And, if you’re going to be making future changes, tell the customer about them too. “You can also offer up any additional communication options and ask for a second chance,” Indeed says. “This will help your company win points with any new customers that might read the review.”
3. Let your customers build social proof and enhance your business. Use live chat, email or phone surveys to get a gauge on your customers and their like and dislikes. Develop a short list of questions to ask customers about their experiences. Then, use the feedback to build social proof with testimonial pages. “When consumers mention your brand, comment on your posts, or send you a message, they are providing valuable feedback that you can use to build social proof or enhance your business,” Business.com points out. “Part of understanding your target audience is seeing how they view your brand and products.”
4. Don’t leave them hanging. Not all customers expect an individual response to their complaints, but they do want their concerns to be acknowledged and addressed. The most recent spate of pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, for example, may find your customers waiting longer than usual for their orders. Rather than waiting for the complaint calls to start coming in, get out in front of the issue and notify customers about the delay, tell them how you’re dealing with it and let them know when it will be resolved. “If your social media feeds are bombarded with complaints about a single issue,” The Ascent advises, “you can let everyone know you’ve heard them and are working on improving the issue with a single message.”
5. Use social media as a two-way communication tool. Your customers are using social media to broadcast feedback about their interactions with your company, and you can use this free, far-reaching tool to your advantage as well. Social media lets small businesses stay on top of customer feedback and get their messages out to a larger audience without much heavy lifting. If a customer uses Twitter to give you kudos about a problem that was resolved quickly, be sure to respond accordingly. This once again shows that you’re listening and responding, and helps to build lifetime customer value.

By putting these tips to work in your own company, you can get a leg up on competitors that may be ignoring their own customers’ feedback, position your company as an organization that truly cares about its reputation, and gain more customers for life.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion on any issue. It should not be regarded as comprehensive or a substitute for professional advice.