You’re not alone.

Running a business requires a continuous and consistent marketing strategy, but sometimes it’s easy to fall into the trap of repeating yourself or feeling like you have nothing new to say. And because you’re not sharing new content, your sales might have plateaued, and then your motivation levels dip, or – even worse – the dreaded imposter syndrome raises its head.

Many entrepreneurs and business owners feel like this.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. There’s a quick and easy way to turn this around.

Client feedback matters

Getting impressive and meaningful feedback from your clients can do wonders to boost your morale and to quieten those doubting voices in your mind. And it can also do so much more: it gives you powerful content that you can use to refresh and revitalise your messaging, it empowers you to take your business to new audiences and in new directions, and it gives you the confidence that your clients are getting the best from you.

Not only that, but with evidence of the impact that you create for the people you support, you can do amazing things – pitch to new clients, apply for awards, create impressive PR, secure funding… the possibilities are endless!

So, you probably already know that it’s good practice to ask your clients for feedback.

And you might get it in a few different ways… informally as you chat with them, more formally when they review the products you deliver for them, or systematically when you send them a feedback form at the end of a project or when you ask for a testimonial to use for your marketing.

But, is the feedback you’re getting any good?

Why is it so hard to get decent feedback?

Sadly, it’s not as easy as we’d like to get feedback that actually tells you something – feedback that allows you to reflect, learn and improve the service you provide.

And that could be for one of many reasons:

• People tell you what they think you want to hear and give you bland pleasantries that don’t tell the whole story
• They are time poor and completing a feedback form is the straw that breaks the camel’s back… it’s the task they just don’t have time for
• Your clients don’t prioritise it: they don’t know why it matters to you to get their feedback
• They don’t want to offend you so they leave out the things they think might upset you (but that means you can’t fix your mistakes or your oversights because you never hear about them)
• They find writing about their experience uncomfortable or too pressured, so rather than feel awkward, they don’t write anything at all
• They don’t think anything will change even if they do leave honest feedback, so they don’t bother
• And there’s the Trip Advisor effect: you either hear from those who are evangelical about you or those who are completely disgruntled, and the large majority in the middle go unheard, meaning you miss out on so much potential marketing content!

Or it could be down to you…

• You don’t ask the right questions – maybe because you don’t know what to ask, or because you don’t want to hear any bad news!
• You don’t have time either: creating the feedback form, sending it out, chasing people up…it can feel like a lot of work
• You might not know what good feedback looks like, so you don’t know what you’re missing
• You might be asking for feedback, but not doing anything with it. This is a huge missed opportunity!

So, what if you COULD get quality feedback?

There is so much potential out there if you do get the feedback process right.

Honest, detailed, meaningful feedback gives you insights that you can’t get anywhere else. It allows you to truly understand what working with you is like from your clients’ perspective.

You will have a constant stream of powerful content that you can use in so many ways in your marketing.

So, how can you improve the feedback you’re getting?

Five tips to get you started…

Here are five simple actionable steps you can take to improve your chances of getting high quality feedback to boost your marketing.

FIRST: Make sure you don’t ask too many questions. Remember, people are time-poor and often reluctant to spend hours writing essays about you, however brilliant you might be! Choose a few pertinent, insightful questions rather than tens of bland ones.

SECOND: Make most of your questions multiple choice - for example picking a single option from a simple scale or selecting their three preferred answers from a longer list - this will give you quantitative data you can easily start to track over time to see how your clients’ experiences evolve.

THIRD: Include one or two open (prose) questions that allow your clients to say as much (or as little) as they’re comfortable with, that ask for their genuine opinions. But make sure you word these questions carefully, so they give you the information you need. For instance, ask them how they would describe the results you achieve if they were talking about you to their peers. Or, perhaps ask your clients what changed for them as a result of the work you did for them. Questions like this will elicit a much more powerful response than something blander!

FOURTH: Make sure you listen to the feedback you receive. Be prepared to find out things you didn’t expect (both good and bad!). Look for trends in the data you get: one client’s bad experience won’t necessarily represent a wider issue, but it does warrant closer investigation. Celebrate the wins and learn from the mistakes.

FIFTH: If you really want independent, reliable feedback – consider asking a professional to get it for you. Using a third party has plenty of benefits, such as offering a buffer between you and your client, giving them the space they may need to reflect and to express their views openly and honestly. You will often be surprised to hear how much more complimentary your clients are when they talk about  you, rather than to you!

Over to you!

Improving the quality of the feedback you receive can be truly transformational. So, end that painful process of scraping around for something new to say in your marketing, and go and get powerful proof of the impact you have today!

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