Earlier this year, I had an experience with a business that inspired me to provide some feedback. I reached out, leaving a voicemail, but no response ever came. I then decided on another route; I posted a review. Fast forward four months, I get a notice from Google informing me that my review had received over 10k views. Holy moly, that’s a lot of views.

In examining some historical metrics, this is not an uncommon path for many legitimate unsatisfactory reviews. The customer first attempts to reach out to business directly, but is unsuccessful and only then posts an unfavorable review.

Now consider the ramification of this simple review, which took less than ten minutes to post. If the sentiment of the review was positive and favorable, a lot of positive word-of-mouth is generated. Conversely, if the review was unfavorable, the opposite effect happens.

After three decades of measuring various aspects of the customer experience, I cannot remember a time when I’ve seen more widespread breakdowns in customer service than I am now. While most acknowledge COVID as the culprit, most consumers report their patience with poor service wearing thin. In light of this, it is not surprising that the America Customer Satisfaction Index is at a 15 year low (ACSI®).

Look no further than the ubiquitous “Help Wanted” signs adorning so many businesses these days. Staffing deficiencies have led to an environment where maintaining service levels is a tough proposition.

Another continuing problem is the disruption to the supply chain. From cars to appliances consumers are voicing their frustrations in not being able to access the goods and services they need.

While most expect the current staffing and supply challenges to eventually work themselves out, businesses cannot afford to lose part of their customer base in the short run. That prospect can easily become a reality if businesses, feeling overwhelmed, throw up their hands in frustration and chose to ignore customer complaints or poor reviews.

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70% of unhappy customers whose problems are resolved are willing to shop with a business again.

– Hubspot Research

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79% of consumers who shared complaints about poor customer experience online had their complaints ignored.

– Harris Interactive

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67% of customer churn is preventable if firms resolve issues the first time they occur.

– Ameyo

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Many businesses are looking into digital solutions that will help them do more through automation.

• Utilizing Cloud-based solutions so CSRs, store managers, and other stakeholders can see and address customer issues effectively.
• Investing in a multi-channel customer communication platform that offers alternate ways customers can reach out to get the help they need.
• Install chatbots with ‘live takeover’ capability

Guest-note is just such a solution. It’s an omnichannel, customer feedback management system that makes responding to customer feedback and reviews easy. Guest-Note offers an affordable cloud-based SaaS platform to support companies of all sizes and their distributed workforces.
Call or visit our website to set up a quick demo so you can see how easily your business can effectively manage all customer feedback and reviews.