Customer feedback mechanisms have always faced the challenge of the “Open Loop.” The Open Loop refers to the gap between the customer’s mouth and the executive’s ear. Survey results are often misinterpreted or underutilized due to the time lapse between when the customer provides feedback and when company leadership sees that feedback. Moreover, the gap in the loop prevents companies from addressing individual customers’ concerns. However, today’s web 2.0 technology allows customer feedback to be tracked in real time, thereby closing the loop. This article will briefly explore the history behind the challenge of closing the loop, and introduce PeopleMetrics’ advanced system for responding to customer feedback in real time. Through groundbreaking Closed Loop customer research approaches, companies can finally manage customer feedback as it is gathered, and thereby enjoy skyrocketing Customer Engagement.
Modern market research has humble roots. The man who is often cited as the father of market research, Charles Coolidge Parlin, took long road trips to personally interview customers across the country. One of his studies might take three or four months to finish, and then there were weeks of analysis to do back at the home office. Talk about a time gap! As printing technologies improved, market research companies sent snail-mail surveys to customers, and waited weeks or even months to receive back mountains of completed questionnaires. Again, weeks of compilation and careful study were required to actually figure out what drove sales. The loop was wide open—there was no way to individually address each respondent’s complaints, and the time gap meant management couldn’t be sure the survey results reflected customers’ current opinions.
Later on, as telephone technology improved, researchers began calling customers at home (usually during dinner). Responses were typed into computers, compiled into data tables immediately, and translated for clients within only a day or two. The loop narrowed, as the customer experience could be more quickly related to company leadership. However, there was still no way to respond to each customer’s compliments and complaints.
Nowadays, companies can receive almost immediate feedback. Once the internet came along, email surveys became possible. Today’s web 2.0 technology allows companies to immediately see results. Only now can companies actually see survey results in real-time, as the consumer completes the questionnaire. This new development in technology has great potential for changing the way companies conduct business, yet few firms actually allow clients to see customer feedback instantly.
PeopleMetrics’ Customer Engagement Management (CEM) solution includes an online dashboard that gives our clients the power to see and respond to survey results in real time. This allows leaders to continuously track Customer Engagement levels and steer company development accordingly. Even better, our CEM solution sends alerts of various customer comments. For instance, a Grow Alert is sent when a customer indicates the need for a new product or service. On the flip side, a Recover Alert is sent when a customer reports a problem with the brand. Executives can grant various access levels to different employees, while top leadership has access to every alert. Because alerts are sent immediately, our clients enjoy unique opportunities to grow current accounts and recover wavering customers. Our closed-loop feedback program empowers organizations to engage in a conversation with the customer while measuring Customer Engagement and improving business outcomes.
Photo: Alan Cleaver
