Feedback, Whats the point

James Stuart

Over the past two weeks, we have looked at different aspects of feedback from various feedback metrics to who is responsible for actioning feedback.

This week we are looking at the Feedback loop. For me, this is really important when gathering feedback from our Customers as it follows a defined structure which means that each customer should receive the same approach and service

Now there are many different Feedback loops such as the positive feedback loop and the negative loop but I prefer to use the A.C.A.F tool.

The reason for this is because

· You can gather a wide range of data as the question can be open

· You are being proactive

· You can complete a full data analysis piece to identify trends.

· It can work alongside various feedback metrics such as CSAT and NPS

As discussed previously a feedback strategy is vital in any organisation as it shows you are listening to the voice of the customer and that the customer has input on your products and services which can improve relationships and increase the chances of renewal.

I would love to hear people's thoughts

There is a great diagram outlining the A.C.A.F model on Hubspot as well as a fantastic article by Scott Tousley regarding a customer feedback strategy.


Customer Feedback Strategy: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need

@Anita Toth @Steve Bernstein

Hubspot		remove preview
Customer Feedback Strategy: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need Do we need to understand overall trends in our customer satisfaction over time? Do we need to identify customer service issues that frustrate customers? Do we need to uncover product issues to improve our product? In the following sections, we'll uncover best practices for all scenarios. View this on Hubspot >

Thanks
James

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James Stuart
Stockport
07824628032
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Anita Toth

At the university research institute I worked at we were bound by the ethics committee to close the loop with all participants from whom we'd gathered data. They were given the opportunity to view the final report and see what came out of the project.

Businesses aren't tied to an ethics committee like we were in academia. But smart businesses know that following up with the respondents of a survey or interview (called closing the loop) will increase loyalty to the brand AND make customers more likely to participate in future surveys and interviews when they see that their voice made a difference.

Everyone wants to be acknowledged for their contribution. Closing the loop and reaching out to survey and interview participants is a small gesture that has big payoffs.

James Stuart

@Anita Toth You can take a lot of values from research ethics and implement them within CS such as openness, credibility and confidentiality. You can also look at the scientific research project and take inspiration to create processes that are repeatable and generates the same outcome.

Carl Hoffmann

Thanks for sharing this, @James Stuart.  I like its versatility that you can use it with various metrics, including CES.  In fact, I think it also allows for adding multiple points of the Follow-up step.  For instance, if Support or a CSM wanted to follow up on an individual NPS score for further detail (ex. vague comments, seemingly irrelevant criticism, conflicting scores), you could move that step further up in the loop (like 1a, perhaps).  The result would likely be to contiunue with the same action path, but may also create additional action for previously undiscovered feedback.  Regardless, any loops-within-a-loop would all get back to the same post-action Follow-up step, so your process can stay on track.

On a different thought, I also think having the right category data is critical.  Asking the right questions will help strategically with being able to track the desired feedback.  And operationally, making sure customer/contact data points are up to date will ensure the right products and influencers are being identified.

James Stuart

Thanks for your input @Carl Hoffmann. I strongly agree with your points. Due to the flexible nature of the metrics, you can conduct a variety of investigations to determine a whole magnitude of useful insights. What I like about these metrics is that you don't have to change the process in order for different functions within the business to gain insight. 

I also like that it can give you a very high overview which is useful for senior leadership to understand the health of the business from a customers point of view but you can also go very granular which is vital for a team who runs the day to day operations as they can use the data to make changes to products, processes ect