How to use customer feedback to enhance your brand

A business’s brand is critical to its success. This is even more important for growing businesses that have a smaller customer base, as one tarnished customer relationship can have a huge impact.

Establishing a business is hard enough, but in this digital age building a reputable company is made even more challenging by the ease and speed at which people can communicate comments on a business. Even companies that do not have a web presence can find themselves being talked about on review sites.

It is therefore essential to engage in customer dialogue to collect feedback. By soliciting opinion and strategically responding, a company can significantly enhance its brand and strengthen customer loyalty.

So, how can a business collate and use customer feedback to build and protect its brand?

• Have a direct line of communication that enables customers to leave questions and comments easily. An email and postal address displayed prominently on your web site and marketing material is sufficient in the first instance.

• Make it easy for customers to communicate their thoughts by using one of the many reputation-management tools available, which can help you track your brand and engage in conversations with customers. Not all tools are online, so even if your business does not have a web site, customer feedback tools can be employed on receipts, invoices, emails and at point of purchase.

• Customers appreciate their opinions being taken into account, so actively seek their feedback. Conduct a survey on existing customers to gauge their opinion of your business or send out an email asking for their feedback rather than waiting for it.

• When customers give you positive feedback, don’t just sit on it. React to positive feedback by promoting it on your web site and marketing materials.

• Customers are increasingly using social media to talk about their opinions of firms and services. There is nothing a business can do to stop this, so monitor social networking sites and engage with your customers.

Feedback can be used in a variety of ways, from substantiating services provided to developing products.

If your business has no web site, consider getting one. At least register a company domain name. This will protect your brand as competitors will be unable to register the name.

Thomas Vollrath is chief executive officer at Webfusion