{"id":9897,"date":"2021-01-03T19:14:18","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T19:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/https:\/\/fransreichardt.com\/\/?p=9897"},"modified":"2021-02-13T08:02:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-13T08:02:29","slug":"closed-loop-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fransreichardt.com\/nl\/closed-loop-feedback\/","title":{"rendered":"A Cure for Corporate Deafness – 7 Steps to Closed-Loop Feedback"},"content":{"rendered":"

7 Steps to a Closed-Loop Feedback Process<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"corporateIn the middle of the corona crisis, I received mail from my housing association. For a moment, I hoped for a gesture to me, as well as to all the other tenants who were suddenly without income due to the government lockdown measures. Postponement of rent payment? A temporary rent reduction?<\/p>\n

When I opened the envelope and read the letter, I quickly had that illusion wiped away: while the world from a virus point of view was on fire, and many people were without work and income from one day to another, my housing association casually informed me about a new rent increase. As a customer, I felt unseen and misunderstood.<\/p>\n

I shared my bewilderment about this on Twitter:<\/p>\n

Who thinks that my #housing corporation is an unscrupulous money-grabber who has been collecting thousands of euros in rent for years without significant housing maintenance: this week they sent me a nice letter. Very thoughtful in times of crisis. It turned out to be the annual rent increase. #customerpain<\/em><\/p>\n

One of my followers replied immediately saying other housing associations are committed to affected tenants. Curious, I asked for examples. He sent me a link to the website of a housing association that organised balcony concerts and a few other initiatives that while well-meaning did not help financially affected tenants at all. Shortly afterwards, he turned out to have removed his tweet.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of Corporate Deafness<\/h3>\n

Here are some common symptoms of failing to listen to, or act on, customer feedback.<\/p>\n

Misplaced Customer Experience \u201cImprovements\u201d<\/h3>\n

You see it more often: initiatives that are intended to improve the customer experience, but hardly matter from a customer perspective. They ignore improvements in the customer journey that really make the customer happy. Adding a handwritten card to an ordered product is nice (and at the same time no longer very original).<\/p>\n

It is much more effective if the customer can easily find what he is looking for and can proceed to purchase, easily pay, and choose how and when the order will be delivered \u2014 just to name a few crucial touchpoints in the customer journey. To really improve the customer experience, it is best to focus on improvements in the customer journey that take away customer pain and make the lives of your customers easier and more carefree.<\/p>\n

Locked In Customers<\/h3>\n

From the moment I received the letter about the rent increase, the higher rent was automatically debited every month. As a customer, I have no choice, and that makes it even more painful. Organizations with a stronger position over their customers than other organizations should be aware of customer experience and the frustrations resulting from negative customer experiences.<\/p>\n

After all, a customer of a housing association cannot easily switch from one housing corporation to another, and even if he could, he would have to wait and see whether that housing corporation does have an eye for the customer. In those situations, the customer\u2019s frustration could be much stronger than the dissatisfaction which a customer might have towards a company from which they can easily switch from one moment to the next.<\/p>\n

Ignoring Social Media<\/h3>\n

Also painful is that my expression of customer pain on Twitter has probably escaped the housing association\u2019s notice. In any case, there was no response to my tweet. For many organizations, social media remains the blind spot of customer feedback\u2014a missed opportunity since this is precisely how customers are increasingly expressing their (dis)satisfaction.
\nSocial media platforms are a gold mine for those who want to listen to what is happening with their customers and who want to use customer feedback as a basis for improvement.<\/p>\n

No Action on Customer Feedback<\/h3>\n

You might think that this housing association does not conduct any research into the satisfaction of its tenants. Wrong. This summer, I received an email asking if I would like to participate in a customer satisfaction survey. You might think that this would be a great opportunity to express my dissatisfaction with the rent increase.<\/p>\n

Well, not quite. A few years ago, I also received an invitation to participate in a customer satisfaction survey. I did. In my feedback, I indicated various points on which I, the customer, wished the corporation would improve. The house is dramatically badly insulated. There is a draft in the house. Many windows have single-layer glass, which means that heat is lost unnecessarily. In this time of growing climate awareness, this should prompt a housing association to take action. It didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Other comments, such as about the water jet of the shower not being powerful enough and the opening of the shower tap causing a heavy hum in the outdated boiler (or in the pipes, that is also possible, I am not an installer), remained unanswered. None of my improvement requests were honoured. In fact, there was no response at all. The housing corporation did not take any action and did not respond to my customer feedback\u2014feedback that they had directly asked me for.<\/p>\n

Customer Reactions<\/h3>\n

How do customers react? Exactly as you\u2019d expect: \u2018If you\u2019re not listening to me, don\u2019t ask me!\u2019. I call it \u2018corporate deafness,\u2019 and its harmful consequences are severe:<\/p>\n