Customer feedback is the single most important type of communication an organization can receive. It is confirmation of the organization’s purpose in life and its ability to deliver on this purpose. Feedback can ultimately determine whether the organization lives or dies. Despite the highly critical nature of customer feedback, organizations often treat customer feedback as an afterthought, something that they might get around to, if time allows. The processes for gathering and using feedback must be moved to the forefront of the organization’ strategy. It’s not optional. Let’s take an inventory of the issues organizations should focus on as they develop and improve their customer feedback process.

Unsolicited customer feedback is a rare gift
Every now and then, a customer will contact you and let you know how they feel. I’ve even done it a time or two, usually when I was really angry or really ecstatic. In other words, I was highly motivated by my customer interaction. That’s the trouble with unsolicited customer feedback—it requires a very motivated customer. Most customers have opinions, but they’re rarely motivated to contact you to tell you their thoughts. They’re too busy, too preoccupied or don’t feel it’s their place to offer feedback. You must reach out to them and ask, “How are we doing?”

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