Customer feedback might seem like just a “nice-to-have” marketing asset, but it’s one of the most powerful tools B2Bs use in effective customer marketing. It’s not biased; it uses language that resonates with customers; it’s honest.
Feedback offers a clear window into the why of consumer behavior, including:
- Why people do or don’t care about a product or service
- Why one feature or product is better than another
- Why offerings fall short or perform better than expected
For marketing and account managers, customer feedback is the holy grail of data. When feedback links to a particular asset, campaign, or webinar, marketing teams can use customer insights to prove ROI and clarify how—and where—to invest time and money.
Matching customer feedback with analytics sharpens the picture even further, turning estimates and speculation into concrete information that shapes persona-based customer marketing efforts.
However, a customer will often only provide feedback when it’s not time-consuming or inconvenient (unless they’re complaining). Inconsistent response rates mean B2B organizations need innovative methods when collecting customer feedback. Just as you tailor the customer journey to be efficient and effective, make the feedback process simple, and painless for customers to participate.
7 Tips to Maximize the Value of Customer Feedback for Customer Marketing
Customer reviews can help inform your strategy, but true feedback provides constructive advice based on customer thoughts. To inspire customer feedback, be strategic about when and how you solicit responses. For example, sending a short survey via email at the close of every customer service call is timely, keeps the opportunity prevalent, and invites people to share their honest thoughts about an experience.
Here are a few more ways B2B can gather feedback and insights for customer marketing that makes it a seamless part of the buyer’s journey.
1.Take Advantage of Other Assets
Include a simple feedback box on the bottom of a web page or at the close of an article. Big brands like Google have a standing question at the end of their online help materials: “Did you find this helpful?” Include something similar. This type of prompt gives readers a chance to respond immediately and offers clear insight on which pages are popular or not.
Create your version of a feedback box on a main home page or sales page. Feature one question relevant to the page content, or present a short series of different questions that change with a page refresh.
2. Speak to Their Pain Points
Offer polls geared towards customers’ pain points. While every B2B has customer pain points, you may not immediately know which pain points are the most pressing or how customers feel about each point specifically. Providing an opportunity—and incentive—to share feedback through a poll will make it easier to clarify what’s most important. You’ll also learn where customer marketing can expand with content like eBooks, webinars, and more.
3. Live Chat and Messaging Support
Sometimes customers are tired of being on the phone, or they work in an environment that’s not conducive to a phone conversation. Live chat support is a valuable online tool that makes interactions easier. Customers have access to support and answers during the purchase process, even after traditional business hours, which is a pivotal upsell. In addition, you capture customer feedback in real time, and archived chats offer insights on keywords and pain points.
4. Monitor Social Channels
Take note of positive chatter, or create an online forum on your social pages. People like to talk about positive experiences, which means they will share stories about your brand in their social circles. Regular monitoring on your part will reveal the ripple effects of complimentary customer feedback.
Tracking feedback also allows sales to follow up with a customer by sharing a special offer with them or their connections. Online forums are perfect for collecting accurate insights and customer feedback because the community vibe encourages customers to connect with the brand and each other. Just make sure the forum is monitored daily by a qualified point person.
5. Creatively Display Customer Feedback
If you have positive customer feedback, ask for permission to display it on the website, in a video, or in a webinar. Select comments that showcase a variety of features and solutions to pain points.
Add customer logos or images, if allowed to do so. Putting a face or brand to a comment helps future buyers feel more comfortable that the glowing customer feedback is legitimate.
6. Website Form
Offer a form on the company website. Present a blanket feedback form on your website akin to a “How are we doing?” recap. The form can be short and feature a few multiple choice questions, or it can provide space to write full comments. The same concept can work via email if companies want to send it to specific customers once or twice a year.
Either option encourages honest communication and offers a touch point to keep you in a customer’s mind. Add an incentive to fill out the form, such as a discount on a new feature or subscription. Marketing teams can then use details from feedback forms to shape future customer marketing efforts.
7. Cultivate the Human Connection
Call and chat with customers to develop relationships. People buy from brands they like and trust, so if a customer has already purchased from you, they’re more likely to buy from you again. Keep good vibes rolling by checking in on how they enjoy using a new feature or product. Do so especially when the customer is close to a subscription renewal deadline.
Getting up-to-date feedback from active customers demonstrates a high level of customer service—another huge selling point for customers to inspire them to brag about your brand online.
Customers want to share their thoughts, so make it easier to share feedback while the B2B collects valuable customer marketing data. It’s a win-win!
Implement Your Findings
Once you gather feedback from your customers, you’ll have quite a few suggestions to sort through. Determine priority level of each relevant idea and start using them to provide more value to your existing customers. Retention will soar, not to mention you’ll gain advocates through actively listening to customer concerns.
Of course, having all the feedback in the world isn’t worth much if your sales team isn’t regularly bringing in customers to give feedback! Aligning marketing and sales opens the door for higher quality customers. Sound like something your teams could use? Get started with A Marketer’s Guide to Sales Enablement.
