Don’t Eschew the Loop

by Josh Yeager on March 22, 2010

Feedback loops are crucial for any successful relationship; client/vendor, manager/employee, husband/wife….etc. I’ve always maintained that “communication is key,” and with today’s technologies we can have incredibly rich, meaningful conversations with so many people. Listening to people’s thoughts and opinions objectively can provide clear insights into how you can do better in your endeavors.

Let’s face it — no one is perfect. Admitting to yourself (or your organization) that you can do better – accepting feedback, creating an action plan and striving to improve — will empower you with actionable direction, strengthen your relationships and lead to more meaningful and satisfying interactions in the long run.

Granted, there are always those who love to gripe. Their feedback should be considered, but you don’t have to change course radically to accommodate those squeaky wheels. At a minimum, you need to be aware of them, listen to their opinions objectively and make educated decisions as to whether or not their feedback warrants change. For many of our clients we use social monitoring tools to listen to the conversations happening online about their brands. There’s the good, the neutral and sometimes the bad/ugly. All feedback is noteworthy and common themes or trends shakeout from the noise. These threads should drive decision making about what works, what doesn’t and what can/should be changed.

The Japanese concept of Kaizen or continual improvement is an integral part of many successful companies, from Toyota to Dell to Sitewire. At Sitewire we use numerous internal/external feedback tools to continually improve operations, approaches, interactions and — most importantly for us as a service provider – our client relationships. Internally, we’ve implemented feedback loop forums like the Starbucks model (below), employee surveys, 360 peer reviews and one-on-one meetings with management and peers. Additionally, our executive team travels to meet with our top clients several times a year to solicit feedback and see what we can do better. While it may take a strong stomach, a thick skin and a whole lot of humility to listen to the feedback, it is imperative and empowering for us to do so. We grow when we can identify areas of opportunity for improvement and the resulting growth in the client relationships is something I’ve never experienced at any other place of employment.

A few years back, one of America’s darling brands, Starbucks, launched a feedback tool called MyStarbucksIdea.com. The site is a focal point for a very engaged community of Starbucks customers who share, discuss and vote on others’ ideas and see feedback put into motion. Leveraging the wisdom of crowds, Starbucks has taken user-generated feedback and made numerous enhancements to their brand (check out the “Ideas in Action” section). Kudos to Starbucks for transparently putting their brand out there and learning from their user base.

Some businesses don’t want to hear or listen to what their constituents are telling them. Why? How can you improve if you are unwilling to listen to feedback and improve upon what you do? If there’s a problem, why would you not want to fix it? When it comes to doling out dollars, people put their money where their mouth is. That is to say, if your online reputation is less than stellar, and you do nothing about it, don’t expect to grow your business.

I’m always amazed when I read the numerous accounts of doctors suing patients and review websites like Yelp for posting negative reviews. Now, there is a certain amount of onus that lies on the patient or customer to post factual information online…but in my opinion, there are two things here to consider:

Perception is Reality: Your brand is not what you say it is — it’s what others say about you.
A Million Elvis Fans Can’t be Wrong: If a consistent theme emerges from multiple sources (good or bad) – you’ve identified a veritable reality.

When 8 out of 10 shoppers put more trust in brands that offer customer reviews, you really need to get your head outta the sand, listen and start making positive changes based on your customers’ willingness to share with you.

Lastly (and probably most importantly IMHO) consumer reviews are paramount to your success in the search engines. Our friends at Google know that opinions matter and that’s why they continue to place emphasis on providing results that include social media and reviews. Anyone who’s done a search for a local barber, restaurant, florist or service technician can tell you that reviews equal rankings.

Reviews play an important role in Google’s ever-evolving Local Business Center. If you have a brick & mortar location or provide localized service and you haven’t set up your LBC – do it now! It’s free. It’s a crucial element to being found in local search. And for Pete’s sake – encourage your customers to review you! The consumer sentiment and business insights you’ll gain are invaluable and the (free) search traffic to your site is an unparalleled component of every good business persons’ plan.