Though feedback is a crucial aspect of product development, asking for someone's evaluation or opinion of you or your services is not an easy task. When you ask feedback from your customers, you may not always get the positive answers. However, your request could trigger a round of applause or a "fantastic job or product!" moment. Learning about the perception of customers as regards your business is essential to striving to provide the best experience for customers. In other words, when you collect and implement feedbacks from customers properly, it can help you to improve the services that support your products.
More often, when the feedback is negative, your boss may rattle off critiques, and you feel defeated and embarrassed. You then go back to 'restrategize' and consider non-request for feedbacks as an option.
Or how else do you want to be sure that your final product or service satisfies your customers? And how else do you want to improve your services? The other option - which is the best - is to know how to request for feedbacks, without hurting your confidence and company's reputation. Though it might not be painless, however, with the appropriate preparation and the right questions, requesting for feedback can be a streamless process for you.
Feedback entails praising good performance while also offering corrective suggestions. It has some dos and donts which have to be considered before asking for it.
Dos
Be precise, concise, and clear; focus on a particular behavior. Also, make your feedback measurable and actionable.
Be balanced and always take observable behavior and performance into consideration. Also, any cultural factors at play should be borne in mind.
While immediate feedback is of great benefit, however, there may be some occasions whereby feedback gets delayed. Nonetheless, always give your clients ample time to respond to your feedback.
Learn to listen. The basic truth is that you don't have to accept every feedback you get; however, it is essential to keep an open mind to every bit of it while also focusing on the future. You can ask questions for clarity.
For future reference, document every single aspect of your conversation and ensure you do an appropriate follow-up. Also, for accuracy verification, get feedback from more than a source, if possible. This could be your blind spot that has prevented you from seeing fairly and accurately.
Before ending the conversation, ensure you ask for specific advice on what to do and how to do things differently for service improvement.
Don'ts
Don't Defend! Many businesses always defend their service. This is not appropriate when asking for feedback. You won't get positive feedbacks all the time; so, get prepared for the negative ones as well. They can help you prevent making costly mistakes. Always accept feedback. You can then later analyze and rationalize it. You can always ask follow-up questions to understand better the situation and how it can be better handled. Anything you disagree with can either be discarded or kept for a revisit along the line. Remember you are the one seeking feedback.
Don't sound harsh or personal! Also, don't whitewash or soft-pedal. Asking for feedback shouldn't be a period for argument or debate. You don't have to put your clients through it if you aren't open to the idea that there are areas of your services that you need to improve. In other words, fight your urge to protest when asking for feedback.
Don't rely heavily on the Oreo cookie feedback. It is a form of feedback which has the correctives sandwiched between positive observations. When you get such feedback, you feel your services have no flaws, and there is, therefore, no need for any improvement. Though it is good to start and end a feedback session on a positive note, it is important to ensure you understand the correctives clearly.
Don't end a feedback session or conversation without a clear identification of opportunities for improvement. Positive feedback helps you to feel you are on the right track, meeting your goals or expectations. Nevertheless, it is not enough reason to seek opportunities to improve even further.
The more you ask for feedback, the more comfortable you will get with it. Many people never like the idea of discussing things that are likely to make someone feel either unpleasant or uncomfortable. Therefore, if your clients are willing to expend their energy and time in giving you a feedback irrespective of its positivity or negativity, always respect that it isn't an easy task for them by forgoing the debate. Sometimes, the giver of feedback may lack the basic training in giving feedback; therefore, they might not care how it is perceived or received. Nevertheless, the more honest feedback you get from your clients, the more opportunities you have to grow.
Do you know you can get your feedback process simplified by engaging both clients and team members to work on your projects? Visit Winio for more details.
