Types of Customer Feedback Every Business Should Analyze

It goes without saying that customer feedback is key. However, analyzing just one or two feedback sources is not enough. It can lead to skewed perceptions and inaccurate insights.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss why it’s crucial to analyze multiple types of customer feedback and list customer feedback sources every business should analyze. 

_{Why Do You Need Multiple Types of Customer Feedback?}

Here’s why you should use multiple feedback channels:

• Holistic insight

Different customers have unique communication styles. By collecting feedback through multiple channels like surveys, social media, emails, customer support interactions, and online reviews, you can capture a wide range of perspectives and opinions, getting a more complete and holistic view of your customers' experiences.

• Diverse feedback sources

Different feedback channels attract different customer segments. Some customers may prefer to give feedback directly through customer support interactions, while others might leave reviews on third-party platforms. Analyzing feedback from multiple sources allows you to identify patterns, trends, and segments that you might miss by focusing on just one channel.

• Uncovering blind spots

Each feedback channel has its limitations and biases. When you leverage multiple feedback sources, you can uncover blind spots and areas where certain issues or opportunities may have been overlooked in other channels.

_{Types of Customer Feedback You Should Analyze}

To get a holistic view of customer experience, analyze the following feedback sources:

_{Product reviews}

Product reviews offer direct feedback from customers who have used your product, which makes it the most valuable source of feedback. Depending on the platform and format, reviews can provide insights into what customers like or dislike about the products, their overall satisfaction, and specific features or aspects that need improvement. To ensure a constant stream of data, ask your customers for reviews and give them several ways to leave feedback. After collecting reviews, you can use sentiment analysis tools like Essense to quantify positive and negative sentiments, identify common themes, and prioritize improvement areas.

_{Customer surveys}

Surveys are a great way to gather structured feedback. Since surveys are highly customizable, you can use different survey design techniques and formats to maximize the quality and relevance of survey data. With surveys, you can dig deep into different aspects of your business, such as customer service, website usability, or product features, without taking too much of your customers’ time. To reach your customers, you can use marketing emails, in-app pop-ups, or in-store polls. If you use a survey platform like Typeform, you can analyze your responses in just one click with Essense. 

_{Net promoter score (NPS)} 

NPS never gets old, or at least it hasn’t yet. Net promoter score is a popular way to measure customer loyalty by asking customers to rate how likely they are to recommend your business to their friends, family, or colleagues. With one simple question, NPS allows businesses to gauge customer retention and loyalty, which are key components of sustainable growth.

NPS surveys should be sent regularly via email or other channels to a large number of customers. This way, you can ensure accurate results and track the impact of new updates and features on customer sentiment. If you want to dig deeper, you can analyze the distribution of scores and focus on the reasons behind detractors, passives, and promoters.

_{Customer support interactions}

Whenever a customer has a problem they can’t solve by themselves, they reach out to customer support. Customer support data is a goldmine of insights when it comes to customer issues and pain points, so this is data you cannot afford to overlook. Analyzing these interactions helps identify recurring problems and evaluate the effectiveness of support teams.

To organize support interactions, you can use support ticketing systems that track and categorize customer interactions. With Hubspot, Intercom, and Zendesk, you can link your account to Essense and benefit from AI-powered automated analysis. 

_{Social media mentions}

Social media platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram are an incredible source of honest customer feedback. Both your haters and promoters go to social media straight away when they want to express their strong opinions about your product. Monitor mentions, comments, and direct messages to gauge customer sentiment and find out what people are saying about your brand. 

On social media, you can collect quantitative data such as engagement rates as well as qualitative data in the form of mentions, comments, and direct messages. By analyzing both, you can gauge overall customer sentiment and collect valuable product insights. 

_{Customer behavior analytics}

To find out if your customers are having a good experience with your app or website, you don’t need to ask them about it. You can use web analytics tools that track user behavior, for example, click-through rates, bounce rates, and conversion funnels. With this data, you can analyze user journeys, optimize user experience, and leverage predictive customer analytics. Identifying and improving just one weak touchpoint can make a massive difference for your conversion rates. 

_{Competitor feedback}

Customer feedback analysis doesn’t have to stop at your feedback. Analyzing feedback about your competitors can give you insights into what customers like or dislike about their offerings, allowing you to identify areas of improvement or differentiation for your own business. Luckily, many feedback sources are openly available, so you can collect and analyze competitor social media data, product reviews, and other sources. When done right, competitive intelligence research can help you find market opportunities and get a better understanding of customer needs.

_{Online review platforms} 

Online feedback platforms create a space where customers can share their experiences, ask questions, and provide feedback in an organized manner. Some people genuinely enjoy reviewing products and sharing their experiences with each other. For software products, the most popular review platforms are GetApp, Capterra, and G2. Brick-and-mortar businesses can collect reviews on Google Maps and Yelp. And the best part? You can analyze all of these feedback sources with Essense.