I'll Be Back: Repeat Customer Feedback Is Vital for Growth

By Jodi Beuder

This article originally appeared on LinkedIn 

When Arnold Schwarzenegger first uttered, “I’ll be back”, in the 1984 film The Terminator, he wasn’t joking. Five sequels later, Arnold, and audiences have continued to come back again and again. The now infamous line has appeared in dozens of other films, landing this quote a spot, on the American Film Institute’s (AFI) 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could count on our customers returning this often? I think most company executives would leap for joy if their customers repeated, “I’ll be back” and meant it. There are a number of steps a company can take, to wow customers into returning again and again.

First step:  Understand your customers needs! Before you can begin to dazzle your customers, the first step is to truly understand the needs, desires and expectations of your customer.

The surest way to understand more about your customer is through customer feedback. All too often, I’ve seen companies make assumptions about who their customer is, without asking the customer directly.

Sometimes, companies get lucky and their assumptions match their customer demographic. But, in today’s hyper-competitive market place, this is shaky ground to stand on. There’s a saying you may have heard; when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. When it comes customers, don’t assume you know them. Spend the time getting to know them.

Technology has made customer feedback options simple and easy. There are email/contact forms that can pop up at the end of a transaction for customers to fill out, surveys that can be completed at the close of a transaction, social media listening and monitoring, comment boxes, and of course, paying attention to data analytics, to help paint a picture of your customer demographics. There are plenty of other ways to capture customer feedback, so really, there is no excuse!

When companies spend time getting to know their customers they can confidently create products that are in demand and in alignment with what their customers want and need. Generating a product or service that has demand, will allow you and your company to rest easy. Trust me, there is no sweeter sound to an executive’s ear than to hear a customer say, “I’ll be back.”

Jodi Beuder is a marketing strategy expert, with a digital marketing twist, and a passion for the customer experience. She is keen to creating and following through, from canvas to fruition and back. This includes targeted social media campaigns, content and internet marketing, and product and branding campaigns.

Connect with Jodi: LinkedIn | Twitter