By: Graham Rand
Business development involves activities that enhance the value of your brand, such as capturing market share and nurturing relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Regarding the latter, without feedback from clients and employees, it will be difficult for organisations to determine the direction business development should take. Here are five ways to attain your business goals through feedback:
IMPROVE EMPLOYEE WORKFLOW
Management doesn’t perceive everything that happens within the office buildings as it is busy with coordinating an entire enterprise. This is why it is critical to collect employee feedback. It is the only way to keep an eye on the efficiency of work routines that were implemented gradually and with much effort.
By allowing your employees to remain anonymous, all voices will equally count no matter where they are in the hierarchy structure. The ideal survey would focus on what they like, what they want to improve, and ideas on how to make the workplace more enjoyable.
Sometimes, all there is missing is one small detail that can greatly enhance the professional environment. For example, the employees from an airline company can access Delta Extranet landing page and find out valuable information at any given hour. Their job requires them to be always updated on the latest flight changes. This simple digital automation has simplified one of their crucial tasks.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Experts can give you insight on how well your product performs technically. However, customers are the only ones that can tell you how enjoyable, relevant and useful they are. And between becoming a technical masterpiece and a popular product, the latter will bring you a higher number of sales. That’s because customers know what they want and what they like, and some technical improvements might not even be as useful for them as some experts might think.
You can implement a successful customer survey action plan that envisions a series of questions prior to an important business event, such as a product launch or a massive marketing campaign. The answers you receive might surprise you, going against your expectations or presumptions. as an indicator of the sort of customers who will choose whether or not to invest in your products or services, the results shouldn’t be ignored.
MARKET RESEARCH
Any market, whichever kind it may be, has a volatile nature. What works today might not work tomorrow since the governing rules change as new trends emerge. That’s why it is important to listen to the latest industry news and make adjustments to your business. Your product will remain relevant this way for your target audience.
However, you can’t know more about your target market without interacting with prospective clients. They are the ones that can tell you where you stand in the market. Your brand is the image only your audience sees through social media, website, offline events, and customer care services. So, you should take proactive measures to improve your business according to their feedback. After all, they are the ones you should impress with your services.
INCREASING SALES
A survey by BrightLocal found that 88% of consumers base their purchasing decision on product reviews created by customers. This settles the importance of feedback even more and depicts the weak influence of promotional articles. Consumers want to know how efficient and good the product is, and not how marketers are positioning it on advertising platforms.
So, where there are no reviews, consumers might find other brands that succeeded in building a voice of authority that people trust. The moment you start nurturing an honest relationship with your audience, others will follow. Negative reviews should not keep you away from this business development but open your eyes. Once you think of it as constructive feedback and take proactive measures to improve your weaknesses, consumers will realise you are consumer-centric and responsive, leading them to increase their trust in your brand.
INFORMED BUSINESS DECISIONS
There are lists of decisions you must make every day to keep your company afloat – and these must be supported by facts, not hunches or presumptions. Customer and employee feedback play a crucial role in making informed decisions. In fact, these people can make or break your company. As long as you give them what they want, your company will thrive.
All in all, business development depends largely on your relationship with customers and employees. No matter how expensive and awe-inspiring your company growth is, it will not succeed if it doesn’t answer the requirements of your audience. Feedback can close the gap between brand and consumers and provide a safe path to business growth.
Source: Dynamic Business
