It’s not always easy but keeping customers happy and doing your best to exceed their expectations goes a long way to building business loyalty in the long run. Customer feedback plays a big part in this, and it is a subject that has been a key point of discussion in recent events we’ve held. Surprisingly, our latest Contact Centre Whitepaper indicated that around 40% of Contact Centres in New Zealand don’t have a viable means of receiving feedback from their customers. As a result, I thought it would be a good time to discuss the importance of customer feedback in a Contact Centre environment.

During my own experience working in a Contact Centre for three years, I answered anywhere between 40-50 calls per day in a Claims Approval team, approving various medical treatments and surgeries. Due to the sensitive nature of the work, it was vital that we were both empathetic and professional when dealing with customers, while also adhering to the relevant scripts and policy guidelines.

In this role, I gained a practical understanding about the importance of feedback, its role in ensuring a business delivers the best possible service, and why the ability to accept feedback is an essential trait to look for in Contact Centre recruitment.

Why Feedback is so Important?

The lack of feedback channels is normally the result of one of three things: the failure to recognise a need for feedback, no budget to implement the necessary tech and smaller teams not classifying themselves as being a Contact Centre.

Nevertheless, customer feedback is essential for driving engagement from within the team as well as from the customers themselves. It helps to motivate Consultants by letting them know what they are doing well and where they can do better. Remember that most of the time, feedback is never wholly negative – it’s constructive criticism that makes room from growth and improvement. At the same time, customers can feel that their opinions matter, particularly when they can see a direct impact on the service in future.

In the digital age, customers are free to leave feedback whether it is solicited or not, for example by leaving a review on the business via Google or Facebook. Rather than remaining passive recipients, it is a much better strategy for Contact Centres to request feedback directly, creating the opportunity to deal with any objections and attempt to tackle issues for the customer before it impacts the reputation of the business.

Proactively addressing concerns brought up by customers’ feedback is key – if they don’t think they are being listened to or that their views matter, it is likely they will choose to move somewhere else. On the other hand, when customers can see that changes are being made, it helps the business to retain them, and perhaps even generate new recommendations or referrals as a result.

Implementing and Addressing Feedback

There are a variety of ways to collect customer feedback, some of the most common of which are the normal channels of email, phone and text message. Whichever method a business chooses, the most important thing is that it is easy to use, as customers are much more likely to engage when the feedback system is simple and convenient. During my own experience at a contact centre, we would ask for feedback over the phone at the end of each call.

Efficient customer feedback systems can be difficult to implement without technology, but for companies that lack the budget for automated systems, a good option would be to introduce a KPI where consultants ask for customer feedback and log it down on the customer file.Another key point to consider is that some customers may feel intimidated when asked for feedback in person and would be more likely to give an honest answer when they can do so anonymously.

It’s not just about having a system in place but addressing the feedback too. If you are responding to feedback and making improvements where you can, it will help with customer retention and make them more confident in continuing with you. For team leaders, this may mean contacting the customers back to thank them for their responses and advising them of any changes that have been implemented as a result.

In cases where changes cannot be made, it’s still important to get in touch with the customer and explain to them the reasons why. This helps to outline that there is no way around certain processes or policies, reduce the severity of an escalation by ensuring the customer has better knowledge of where the restrictions are and, crucially, still makes them feel like they’ve been listened to.

Summary

Customer feedback is essential – not just from an organisation’s point of view, but for consultants, so they know where they are doing well and what areas that need to be worked on. By implementing a system for obtaining feedback, Contact Centres can help to increase customer retention, identify ways to improve their services, and ensure consultants know their hard work is recognised.

For more advice on Contact Centre recruitment, or to request a copy of our latest Contact Centre Whitepaper, get in touch with me.