Survey: Closing the customer feedback loop builds loyalty

A new survey from Apptentive and SurveyMonkey partnered to study how consumers and businesses approach feedback, and the role mobile plays in gathering customer input. The resulting report, "Feedback and Loyalty on the Mobile Frontier," provides new data on consumer expectations and insights on how companies can leverage customer feedback and increase loyalty.

According to the study, nearly all (98%) of the survey respondents who prefer to leave feedback for companies directly in-app are likely to do so when prompted. Not only that - their feelings are so strong that two-thirds of consumers who prefer to leave feedback in a mobile app expect to be asked. And yet, one-third of businesses surveyed have never asked their customers for feedback.

Other findings from the survey:

• Asking for feedback is not enough. Companies need to acknowledge that the response has been received so that customers feel heard and remain loyal. More than half of respondents (55%) who leave feedback in a mobile app are not likely to remain a customer if their feedback goes seemingly ignored. 67% of respondents who do leave feedback in a mobile app never receive a response from the company.
• Mobile apps can be a key dialog driver. The data shows that apps have a clear impact on driving loyalty. The companies that said they have a mobile app reported lower levels of decline in customer loyalty than companies without an app. In fact, of companies that saw their levels of customer loyalty decrease a great deal over the past year, two-thirds (66%) said they do not have a mobile app.
• Customers often value feedback more than companies. There�s a clear discrepancy between the way companies and their customers think about feedback. More than half (55%) of respondents said they are not likely to continue being a customer of a company that ignores their feedback, but on the flip side, nearly all (97%) said they are somewhat likely to become more loyal patrons to a company that implements their feedback. There exists a clear opportunity for companies to turn their customer feedback into action, whether it be through product changes, communication or any other avenue.
• Companies often fail to close the loop. Sadly, the majority of respondents said they are not confident they are heard after leaving feedback: about two-thirds of respondents typically don�t receive a feedback response, and a majority (62%) say they are not confident their feedback is heard. In contrast, nearly three-fourths (73%) of companies believe they are good at implementing feedback - a clear discrepency.

The Apptentive survey was gathered online from 621 consumers ages 18 and older in the U.S., and 658 full-time professionals at companies with more than 10 employees.

Read the full report here.