From Feedback to Action: Improving Customer Service in Your Business

BY QDegreesPUBLISHED
May. 10, 2024

Navigating with a brand may not be something every single customer can do on their own. At some point, many customers need help regarding the product they bought, a service they opted for, or anything else related to the brand. That's why customer service is important and more important than it should be great.

It is a structure in itself that helps the customers of a brand with pretty much everything. That's why it's a crucial part of any business. Moreover, when it's done the right way, it significantly helps businesses to grow better. But the question is how?

Customer service, apart from being a structure to help customers, also motivates them to buy from you. It helps you convey how much you care about them even before the purchase. Additionally, it is also a factor that helps you earn better, as 35% of customers agree to pay extra for great treatment. Not only this, but it also positively impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

In totality, customer experience is one of the things that shapes the brand's perception of the customer. That's why today, we are going to explore how you can assess your customers' views on your customer service, as ultimately, they are the ones who interact with it and know how good or bad it is. So, without further ado, let's get started.

How Do Feedback Surveys Measure Customer Service Quality?

Feedback Surveys provide valuable insights into customer experiences, preferences, and areas of improvement for products, services, or any other brand operation. So it also covers customer service. There are many ways in which it not only contributes to the assessment of how good or bad your service is but also helps you improve it.

One of the primary ways that feedback surveys contribute to assessing and improving customer treatment is by measuring customer satisfaction. Metrics like Net Promoter Score and CSAT are very helpful metrics that directly gauge customer satisfaction right after their transaction with the brand. Moreover, these metrics also inform you about aspects like responsiveness, friendliness of staff, and resolution of the issues.

It is important because resolving the issue isn't the only thing that makes customer service great. Staff's behavior and speed of resolution are also among the factors that matter. So, getting feedback for specific pain points from the customers allows you to improve it more quickly and precisely.

For example, if you are getting a low NPS score from your surveys, then it means that there's something wrong. But with TNPS and CSAT, you can particularly know which parts of the service have the problem.

10 Key Feedback Survey Questions to Ask Your Customers

Let's now discuss a few customer experience questions that you should add to your surveys. These questions are designed to assess customers' views on your customer service. The best part is that they assess everything from individual aspects to overall customer satisfaction.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with the responsiveness of our customer support team?
Did our customer care representative resolve your issue to your satisfaction? - Yes/No
How would you rate the professionalism of our customer care representative? - Poor/Fair/Good/Excellent
Were you greeted promptly upon contacting our customer support? - Yes/No
How likely are you to recommend our company based on the service you received? - Very unlikely/Unlikely/Neutral/Likely/Very Likely
Did our customer care representative understand your issue clearly? - Yes/No
On a scale of 1 to 5, how knowledgeable was our customer care representative about our products/services?
How would you rate the friendliness of our customer care representative? - Poor/Fair/Good/Excellent
Did our customer care representative apologize for any inconvenience caused? - Yes/No
How satisfied are you overall with the service provided by our customer service team? - Very dissatisfied/Dissatisfied/Neutral/Satisfied/Very Satisfied

These are the questions that you can ask your customers to get an understanding of how your customer support really is. The data and insights that you collect from these feedback surveys are not only to know where you stand in terms of customer service, but they also help you improve it, as we discussed earlier. So, let's now see how to utilize the survey data to improve customer treatment.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using Feedback Survey Data to Improve Customer Service

Collect Feedback

As the first step, you must gather customer feedback to act on it. You can do it by sending out surveys after customers have interacted with your company. For example, if a customer gets done with a customer support executive, you can place a survey right after that. It will give you data about the efficiency of your customer support. Moreover, similarly, you need to gather data for other channels through email, website, or through social media.

Analyze the Data

Once you have collected feedback, it's time to look at the responses. Here, you should pay attention to what customers are saying. Are there common complaints or suggestions? Look for patterns in the data. It is important because you can't make changes based on individual feedback. The changes must affect a large number of customers.

Identify Areas for Improvement

Based on the patterns, identify areas where your customer service can be better. For example, if many customers say they had to wait too long to get help, then improving response time might be a priority. Similarly, if customers have complaints about not getting resolutions, then the solution will be different.

Set Goals

Now it's time to decide what you want to achieve. As you'll be done with the analysis you will be able to understand what problems are there. So the solution for them must have a KPI. For instance, you can set reducing customer wait times by 20% as a success indicator. Similarly take other indicators like an increase in satisfaction, loyalty, etc. which you can again measure with Net Promoter Score and Customer Satisfaction Score. This specific goal setting helps you stay focused.

Develop an Action Plan

Now, come up with a plan to address the issues you identified. It may involve training your staff, improving your website, or making changes to your products or services. Whatever changes you need to implement, make sure that they address the problem. Once you are sure of your plan, turn it into action. Based on your action plan, make the necessary changes to your customer service.

Monitor Progress

Keep an eye on how your changes are working. Are you seeing improvements in customer satisfaction? Are you meeting your goals? If not, you may need to adjust your approach. Moreover, you will soon be able to see the progress you have made.

Bottom Line

To sum up, no matter what product or service you offer to your customers, customer service plays an important role in keeping them retained in your business. It ensures that even if the customer finds an issue while in a transaction with you, you can still pull them back with your excellent customer service. Ultimately, it influences those aspects of your business that are important to your long-term success, like customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty.