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Customer feedback is the cornerstone of a healthy business. Instead of guessing what your audiences want and how they view your company, you can hear directly from your top customers on how your company can improve. From the cleanliness of your store to the customization options of your food, your customers can tell you what you’re doing right and what needs to be improved.

Fortunately, technology makes it easier than ever to collect customer feedback. Instead of counting endless review cards, you can view data that is instantly analyzed and presented in a clean, structured way.

Plus, there are a few great tools you can use at your brick-and-mortar location to solicit opinions from your customers. Check out our top five tech tools to collect customer feedback.

Interactive Touchscreens

One of the most interactive ways to solicit customer feedback is through touchscreen interactive displays. These screens are typically located near the front of the store or along the wall where customers wait for their food or friends. Along with sharing other in-store content like updates about the business, seasonal specials, and sales, these digital signs can ask questions and collect survey data on the customer experience.

For example, you could ask a question and ask respondents to click on an emoji to share their feelings, with images similar to the reactions you see on Facebook. These questions don’t have to be complex, but could address a few issues in your store:

  • How is the quality of the customer service?
  • Did you find everything you wanted today?
  • How would you describe the cleanliness of the location?
  • How likely are you to recommend our business to a friend?

Even small dips in the response types to these questions can signal that your store needs to make changes to meet the needs and expectations of your customers.

On-Table Surveys

One of the most popular ways quick service restaurants collect information from customers is through on-table surveys. You can find these survey options in traditional restaurants like Chili’s or Red Robin, but they are entering the fast-casual world as well.

On-table surveys have high response rates for customer feedback because people have time on their hands to respond to a few questions. If they’re not in a hurry, or if they are are still finishing their meals, your customers can take a few seconds to rate your service staff and provide suggestions or insights for your business.

WiFi Survey Prompts

If you offer your customers free in-store WiFi, then you can solicit their feedback by asking a few questions when they sign in. You don’t want to take away from their online experience, but you can place a link on your landing page or send a push notification asking customers if they are interested in participating in a survey.

A great example of WiFi survey prompts can be found at Tampa International Airport and similar airports that employ the same tools. When passengers agree to the airport’s terms and conditions, they are redirected to a survey asking about their experience, how they traveled to the airport, if they are a local or visitor, and why they are visiting Tampa if they are from somewhere else.

The survey only takes a few minutes to complete, and passengers often have time to kill while waiting for their flights. Not only does the airport gather information on the quality of the experience, but also on the demographics of travelers. This is a great way to get the most out of your WiFi marketing.

Receipt-Based Surveys

One of the most common techniques to encourage customers to give their feedback is to print a call-to-action on the customer’s receipt. In the digital era, more customers are opting for paperless email receipts so they can review their purchases later. If you have this option at your retail or fast casual location, you can add a survey link to the receipt encouraging customers to click through.

If you do engage in receipt surveys (whether in print or through a digital method) to collect customer feedback, make sure you set yourself up for success. Dana Severson at Promoter shared their top tips for increasing customer feedback surveys response rates. These include:

  • Clearly stating how long a survey will take.
  • Limiting the number of questions to 2-3.
  • Showing a clear call-to-action on your receipt.
  • Following up with people who respond to your prompts.

 

Your follow-up could be a personalized thank-you for the feedback or a financial incentive like a discount or free item. Remember, your customers are giving up their time and mental energy to help you out, make sure you appreciate them for it.

Text Surveys

On a whole, fewer than 2% of people actually take steps to complete customer feedback surveys. This is why marketers and business owners across the country scramble to create easy-to-use surveys that actively engage customers.

For example, 30-40% of all surveys are completed on mobile devices. If you can get the attention of your customers on their mobile phones, then you have a chance of increasing your survey response rates.

It’s possible to use in-store technology to connect with customers via text. You can promote your text alerts and survey incentives on your digital signage, or encourage people to opt into them through your free WiFi landing page. Once you manage to collect the customer’s contact information, you can set up a geofence around your store so texts are only sent when your customer walks into your business.

Just because your customers aren’t filling out customer feedback surveys on in-store tools doesn’t mean in-store tech isn’t in play to get them to respond.

Collect Customer Feedback to Improve Your Brand

All of these tools are meant to make it easier for your customers to give you feedback, but they really symbolize the first step in the customer care process.

The next step is to take their feedback and use it to improve your brick and mortar location, products and services, and employee relations strategy. There’s no point in answering these questions in the first place if you’re not going to take action on the information.

To learn more about improving the customer experience at your business grab our free ebook — How to Impress Your Customers and Provide Exceptional Customer Experiences.