Feel the Fear and Get Feedback Anyway

For many new business owners, getting feedback from their customers can be scary. I had talked to a friend of mine recently, and she said that one of the things that concerned her the most was potential negative feedback. I told her that it is better to receive negative feedback than to be unaware of it. This way, you can take action to improve the situation.

Keep from burying your head in the sand

After all, how can you fix something if you didn’t know it was broken? Without feedback, especially the negative kind, it is very difficult to become better, because you will always be a little subjective.

To make this area less scary and less personal, ask yourself the following two questions:

1. Why am I asking for feedback?

Is it to improve certain product or service features, customer service, or product or service quality? Be clear about why you want the feedback. This will allow you to view the whole thing more objectively. It will also help you form the right questions to ask.

2. Am I going to take action?

Asking for feedback is one thing. Doing something with the information is another. If you just collect the information and don’t do anything with it, then asking for feedback in the first place will just be a huge waste of time.

Be sure to gather enough data to represent your customer base, unless you are looking to get feedback that is specific to each customer. After you have taken action, you can contact those who have provided the feedback.

Don’t expect to receive all positive comments all the time and don’t take any negative ones personally. This can be hard at first, especially if you offer a service. But keep in mind that you’re doing this for a definite purpose and no business is perfect.

Think about it this way. If you don’t ask for feedback, you can miss out on a lot of really great opportunities. You’ll never know if you never ask. It also gets easier and less scary as you go along. By the fifth time you ask for feedback, you’ll be a pro!