Are you really listening to customers?
The customer owns the conversation and ultimately decides when and how to they want to connect with you. Therefore, to stay competitive in the delivery of products and services organizations must provide every opportunity for customers to engage them, and that means any and every channel.
Are you really listening to customers – on every channel? Organizations need to allow customers to communicate with them through various channels, such as the social web (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.), but also through company feedback portals, online help desk services, and more traditional email methods.
How agile is your customer feedback system? Customers expect your organization to be agile. Agile organizations respond to customers in an effective and time manner, while also conveying a collaborative approach to problem-solving. In addition, organizations should aim to provide flexibility to their customers by enabling them to interaction and initiate communication through various channels or touchpoints through the course of the product development process.
Listening to customers: Reaping the business benefits
The best way to ensure that you are building the right products and services is to collect online feedback from customers throughout the stages of the development process. The benefits of this way of working are numerous. Having customers be participating members of the development process means you will be getting actionable online feedback that increases the success of your products and services in the marketplace. Acceptance levels from customers are higher because the products they helped design meet their needs. Furthermore, when you have the right information throughout the process, costs related to design problems and time delays are reduced or eliminated. Online feedback helps ensure you are getting it right the first time. The direct benefits of a faster more targeted product design process means increased sales and ROI. Ultimately, online feedback creates customer engagement which increases retention and loyalty, both critical elements to business growth.