Let’s be real—getting feedback can be hard. Even if you’re always looking to grow, hearing what others have to say about you and your business often feels personal and overwhelming. But with some systems in place, receiving feedback can become routine and you’ll be equipped to use it to serve your customers well.

That’s why we wanted to give you some practical ways to gather customer feedback.

Build a comprehensive customer database

You can get to know a lot about someone based on what they buy—which is really helpful when you want to understand your customers. How often are they making purchases? What are they buying? Are there any complementary products or service they haven’t tried yet? If you have a sales software that allows you to make individual customer profiles, it can gather this information for you.

But be careful—you don’t want to accidentally break any privacy laws, and you’ll have to make sure to stick to information security standards for those customer databases. A safe bet is to chat with a lawyer before you ask for any information that’s in a grey area.

Talk to your top customers

These people are your tribe—they’re loyal to your brand and all you represent. Because of that, they’ll be able to give you a full idea of what’s going right and wrong with your business.

According to Gary Friesen, Managing Director of ATB Business in Southern Alberta, being curious and open to criticism is key.

"Ask your top customers what you do well and what you might do differently to make their dreams come true. The answers may be surprising or challenging to implement, but they will tell you what's important to your customers—and that's really important information for you to know."

Make it easy to comment

If you want to see how easy it is for people to voice their opinions, just take a look at a certain president’s twitter account. People love to share what they think, which can be powerful to help you and your business grow. Make sure you’re active, responsive and personable on your social accounts when people comment—this lets them know that you’re really listening. And if you’re looking for more specific feedback, why not send out a quick survey to your email list?

Enable BYOB (Build Your Own Bundle)

Customization is where it’s at. Why do you think people love getting froyo? There’s something about getting something that’s made just for you that makes us feel seen, heard and our needs met. Let your customers choose their specific products or services to give them a custom experience, and to give you an inside look at what’s a top seller. The key to staying sane while doing this is to keep the selection and sales processes as simple as possible.

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