We’ve all seen how the expectations of our customers are constantly changing. So many customers have smartphones, which means they’re able to access all kinds of information in a matter of seconds. It also means that if they’re unhappy with the product or service they receive from a business, they can easily locate the nearest competitor. It’s more important than ever to provide your customers with exactly what they want and need in a way that works for them. You might have a general idea about what your customers want and need, but how specific can you get? Do you have documentation with direct customer quotes about what they like and dislike about your business?

If you don’t, you’re missing out.

While sales provide one way to understand if your products and services are meeting customers’ needs, they only tell part of the story. Your sales let you know that something is either working or not working, depending on your numbers, but they won’t tell you WHY or WHAT is working or not working. There’s only one way to get that answer: feedback from your customers.

Why customer feedback is so critical

According to an article from Help Scout, hearing from your customers is critical to business. The average business only hears from 4 percent of its dissatisfied customers — that means you won’t hear anything from 96 percent of dissatisfied customers. And 91 percent of dissatisfied customers never come back. If you made it easy for customers to share their feedback, the information you’d be able to gather and the number of future sales you might be able to save after implementing improvements is limitless. It could result a steady stream of loyal customers, who, according to research, are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase.

When customers have a bad experience, they don’t just walk out your door and keep the bad experience to themselves; stories about bad customer service reach more than twice as many people as praise for good customer service, and it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience.

Wouldn’t you want to resolve that negative experience before more damage is done?

Creating an opportunity for customers to provide feedback — and then going the extra step to show them that you are making changes as a result — tends to result in a growth of customer loyalty.

“People like giving feedback; it makes them feel valued,” said Zach Goldstein, CEO of loyalty and retention marketing company Thanx. “Just the act of asking increases the likelihood of a customer to return by 7 percent, and responding to the feedback increases likelihood to return by 14 percent.”

Thanx tracks and rewards consumer purchase activity without additional hardware or point-of-sale integration, allowing merchants to quickly customize retention marketing for their business.

“One of the challenges with feedback as it’s traditionally done is that it’s separated from purchase history,” Goldstein said. “When you think about Yelp, you can’t validate that the feedback was from an actual customer, and you can’t tell how much they’ve spent or how many times they’ve been there. It’s hard to know how to engage with that customer. Tying it to a rewards program gives so much more information. I know if it was their first visit or if they’re one of my VIPs. Now I can respond and engage personally.”

While Goldstein agrees that providing a great product or service is the most important aspect to your business, he believes that soliciting feedback is a close second. “A challenge you have when you don’t have a system for feedback in place is that you’re operating blind,” Goldstein said. “Real-time feedback lets you know when you have a problem and helps you solve it before it has a long-term effect on revenue. Not having a feedback system in place is going to cost you money.”

Types of customer feedback

There are a number of ways you can obtain feedback from your customers. Two classic methods for gathering customer feedback are having in-person conversations and setting up a box with a stack of notecards and pens. While both systems are better than no system, they have their drawbacks.

In person. Speaking directly to your customers while they are at your location could be as simple as you or a manager asking for feedback, or even something your staff are tasked with doing. This method is more time-consuming than others, however.

Pen and paper. Collecting feedback on paper is slightly less-time consuming than speaking to customers one-by-one. But it’s still tedious: tedious for customers to stand around, filling out a slip of paper, and it’s tedious for you to organize and document all the feedback you receive.

Collecting feedback electronically

Technology has played a large part in changing the way a business collects its feedback.

One option is to create an online feedback form on your website. This is usually very simple for customers to use and also easy for you to compile the information as it is sent directly to you electronically. If you choose to go this route, be sure to advertise the online feedback form within your store — either through signage or a message on your receipt.

Another online option is to use social media. If you already have social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter or Google+, consider posting a question to request feedback from your customers. You can ask them to post their thoughts in direct response to your post, or you can link to your website’s online feedback form.

While the danger in using social media to request feedback is that customers might post negative thoughts or opinions for everyone to see, it is the perfect opportunity for you to respond back to them with a thoughtful and timely response — for everyone to see.

There are also online review sites, such as Yelp, where customers can provide feedback about a business. Many businesses find Yelp to be intimidating, especially after some popular Yelp reviews have gone viral in the past. Another concern about Yelp is that a customer may have had a negative experience at one of your locations that can be damaging to your other locations.

Smartphones

As more people gain access to smartphones, options like text messaging and apps present another opportunity for receiving feedback from customers.

One text-message-based system that’s already being used in some car wash locations around the United States is Quibble. Quibble allows customers to send their feedback via a text message to a special phone number or by scanning a QR code. The feedback shows up on the phones designated to receive notifications, allowing instant access to what’s going right or wrong at your business. You’re able to respond to the customer immediately.

“Quibble creates a new connection,” said Matt Donovan, founder and managing director at Quibble. “It’s a text message, but not with a business owner’s personal information. Yet it’s still real-time, as if it was their personal number — same effectiveness because it immediately comes through.”

Another benefit to the text message, according to Donovan, is that it’s a way for customers to go directly to the business about their concerns, rather than going to a public forum, such as Yelp or other review sites. “Yelp has become a breeding ground for customer dissatisfaction,” he said. “We thought that the text message was a universal method on almost everyone’s phone — no app required. Most consumers are comfortable using text messaging — it’s integrated in how we talk. It’s not intrusive or time-consuming; you can knock out a message in 20 seconds.”

Donovan said Quibble has come in handy for several of their self-serve operators. “Some of our self-serve operators don’t have a connection to the customers at their locations,” Donovan said. “Self-serve operators need a point of connection for soliciting feedback that doesn’t make customers jump through hoops.”

And it doesn’t get much easier than sending a text.

Anthony Franchi, a manager of three self-serve Auto Spa locations in California, one with an in-bay automatic/express wash, has been using Quibble for two years. Before using Quibble, Franchi’s organization had been using Google TalkBin. “We started using TalkBin the moment we heard about it,” Franchi said. “I have always felt that the self-service wash business comes down to two things: the facility should be clean and the equipment must work in a reliable manner.”

When that service was closed, he looked into a few other options. Quibble was the easiest to setup, and also had features that other providers didn’t offer.

“Quibble allowed customers to let me know of any problems,” Franchi said. “It can be frustrating for a customer to lose even a dollar and have no one there to help. This system allows the customers to know they will get feedback fast and, more importantly, refunded for even the smallest of losses.”

Donovan admits that the information businesses receive through Quibble is usually about small stuff, but it’s the information businesses need to hear. “It becomes the areas where a business needs to correct,” he said. “It might be as simple as, ‘bathroom out of paper towels.’ It’s the little things that customers observe all the time and make judgments on all the time. They never had a direct outlet to let business owners know about these small nagging things — quibbles — in the past. Quibble isn’t trying to solve the big problems, it’s trying to address the little things that will eventually become the big problems.”

Donovan said his car wash clients have had success by putting Quibble stickers on different areas of their locations: machinery, vacuum stations and coin-operated vending machines. “We provide the marketing materials and information that business owners can take and customize for themselves,” he said. “Our customers are always finding strategic places to post their materials. And then it’s off to the customer feedback races!”

“I have refunded people when the equipment wasn’t working, and I’ve been notified of things that needed to be fixed,” Franchi said. “We try to be on top of all problems, but sometimes in the 24-hour self-service business, we rely on customers to let us know of some malfunctions. This system allows us to let our customers know we care about their business and want them to have the best experience at our washes.”

What to do with feedback once you have it

If you’ve decided to implement a customer feedback system into your business, you’ll eventually have to figure out what to do with that feedback. Here are a few tips:

Act immediately. Reacting to feedback as quickly as possible shows your customers that you value their opinion and that you’re truly listening to them. Don’t forget to thank the customer for their feedback and let them know what action you plan to take.

Share regularly. When you receive customer feedback, make sure you have a plan in place for how to share that feedback — and the actions you plan to take — with your management team and staff.

Think clearly. Some of the feedback you get from customers might be a fluke issue, or something related to seasonal challenges. While it’s important to consider the feedback, don’t implement sizeable changes without having considered all the variables.

Having a thorough plan in place is something that can come in time. The most important thing is that you’re getting the feedback.

“Business owners have to recognize the value of customer feedback,” Donovan said. “The customer is everything. Connecting with them is critical. We believe that customer feedback could lead to the next great improvement that makes a business thrive. It’s the small things that make a difference.”

Receiving, understanding and responding to your customers’ feedback could be the single biggest step you can make in ensuring your business succeeds. Understanding what makes for a positive and negative customer experience helps you hone your systems, train your staff, and provide your product or service. Customer expectations are ever-changing. Be sure you have a method in place so you’re aware of the changes as they come.