I read an article this morning about Greggs in which their Chief Executive Ken McMeikan was explaining how he used customer feedback to expand the chain.
So how do they get customer feedback and what do they do with it once they’ve got it?
When McMeikan started as Chief Executive in 2008, he wrote to 20,000 customers asking them what they thought of the brand. 11,000 of them wrote back! He then went on to implement many of the small changes which were suggested and he believes that it was this customer feedback which lead to a £4m profit growth in the 12 months from January 2010 to January 2011.
Could you ask for feedback more often? Could you write a letter to some of your database and find out what they actually want?
Customer needs change all the time and you need to respond to these changes or you’ll sink.
Is there a service you don’t offer which people wished you did? Is there another revenue stream you hadn’t even thought about? How do people make the decision on whether to buy from you or your competitors?
What are you missing?
All you’ve got to do is ask and there will be plenty of people who will tell you what they think. Many – if not most – of the enhancements that we make to the best of are ideas and suggestions that come from our franchisees. It’s a hugely valuable feedback route.
To be clear- I’m not talking about testimonials here, I’m talking about honest feedback which if implemented quickly and in the right way will see a boost in your profits.
And yes, some of the responses will be garbage but some of them may surprise you…
