You asked. I answered. Did you hear me?

Recently I received an email from a business asking me to rate a visit. While that visit was very positive, I used this survey as an opportunity to share a different and very negative experience that happened a couple months before that. This is a healthcare organization and the situation involved life and death decisions.

At the end of the survey, I had the option to share my contact information. I decided to share, wondering if anyone would reach out to me to find out more or see what they could do to improve the situation.

And then I waited.

It’s been about three months and I still haven’t heard from anyone about the horrific experience I had.

So what was the purpose of this survey? Has your organization been guilty of this?

Quality assurance and improvement is a priority for any brand that wishes to retain current customers and obtain new ones. Customer satisfaction surveys are one tool to gauge how you’re doing. But taking the measure should not be the last step. It’s just the beginning of how you continue to make your business better.

4 actions that should follow your satisfaction survey

1. Thank customers for participating.
2. Share results with your leadership team or your whole team, depending upon the size of your business.
3. Identify issues and address them. Whether it involves people or processes, feedback helps your business get stronger.
4. If you get negative feedback and you know who provided it, contact them and offer a way to make things right.

Of these 4 steps, the last is most critical. Some things to keep in mind:

• Customers who have had a negative experience are 2-3 times more likely to leave a review on a product or business than customers who had a positive experience.
• Dissatisfied customers typically tell 9-15 people about their experiences. The compounding nature that negative stories produce can be devastating to your brand.
• 88% of people trust online reviews as much as their best friends’ recommendations.
• It takes 12 positive reviews to counteract the bad effects of 1 negative review.

Keep on asking questions. Gather that data. But do not neglect closing the circle of feedback with the customers who share their opinions with you. Treat them with care and respect, and keep earning their business and trust in you.

 If you need help auditing and evaluating your brand promise, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Martha to schedule time to talk.