Have you considered how feedback benefits your success? In your personal and professional life, you can find valuable hints. See how you can use relevant opinions to your advantage.
I’ve been a blogger for over five years. Even as a solopreneur for around a decade, I gain a lot by learning about my ideal clients. In your personal life, relationships benefit when you take the time to listen and understand.
1. Feedback benefits
There are lots of ways to make better use of evaluations. When they come from relevant sources, they’re valuable. Seize them as opportunities to understand the needs and improve.
Communication is incomplete when two people talk all the time. It’s important to listen and understand. Read my other article on effective communication, which I illustrate through a short story.
It gives a living example of how the communication process works. A cycle supports it. Through it, you’ll easily identify some key best practices and tips.
2. Why feedback is important in business
In the corporate world, management can get insights and make better decisions. For example, employees who are in contact with client services, know best what they prefer.
Carrying out a customer survey benefits the company. It supports management in finding better ways. They can offer better products and services.
3. Survey methodology
Surveys help identify specific information. Plan your questions carefully. At a high level, qualified professionals may have to design them.
When it comes to simple activities, basic questions may also help. If you’re a solopreneur with a limited budget, you can design simple questions thoughtfully. For example, whenever someone joins my email list, I ask them about the type of content they prefer.
I had an online shop before and offered home shopping services. Most of my repeat sales came from clients who were members. Finding what they were looking for was key to satisfying them.
4. Reviews and testimonials
When you make new sales, encourage your clients to post reviews. This will help you in finding what you need to improve on. You may also find what you missed out on.
Share testimonials from your happy clients. This is a fantastic way to build trust. New leads can see what existing clients have to say.
Reviews and testimonials should be genuine. If a family member gives you a five-star rating, chances are that they want to support you. Real-life clients can better evaluate your product and give unbiased ideas.
5. Better decision making
The information you get is crucial. It supports better decisions, and eventually, can boost better results. When you find out what the majority of your ideal prospects require, you can design your offer for better success.
Focus on the right data. There might be times when respondents provide irrelevant reactions. Take into account the right client persona and niche, for relevancy. Send survey questions to the right contacts.
6. How bloggers gain
Bloggers, like everyone else, should take advantage of evaluations. To improve in various areas, listen to your readers. They’re the ones you write for and serve.
Here’s a list of feedback benefits for bloggers (7-15):
7. Readership. Your readers can show interest in certain topics over others. See what is in high demand. Use it to better plan your content.
8. Writing skills. Through questions that you receive, you may identify ways to improve. If ambiguous, you may write more clearly. Remove fluff, if any, and be concise.
9. Engagement. Encourage your readers to share their experiences. Know about them, and build a community. When informative, they’re likely to share your content on social media as well.
10. Improved SEO. When someone adds a relevant comment, they introduce valuable keywords. This could boost your SEO performance.
11. Brand awareness. When your articles get shared on social media, more people can find them. Helpful content can solve problems. This could lead to new business opportunities, be it new clients, or brand partnerships.
12. New opportunities. If you’re keen on doing guest posts, you can find other bloggers to collaborate with, while interacting.
13. Better confidence. It can improve confidence when others express their thoughts and opinions. You get to find their point of view and needs.
14. Sense of purpose. Someone may comment, telling you how your blog supports them. Knowing how your work makes a positive impact, can boost intrinsic motivation.
15. Sense of accomplishment. Seeing that your hard work is paying off, give yourself a pat on the back!
More helpful tips
16. Active listening
Being a good listener pays off. Introverts tend to do a better job at it. I’m an ambivert and do listen a lot. I even talk less than others.
Listening is a crucial part of the communication cycle. It prevents misunderstanding and can save a lot of time, energy, and resources. Read my other post to find 15 examples of how it helps.
17. Benefits of ongoing feedback
Periodically asking for input guides you in the right direction. However, how often should you seek such an assessment? There could be different intervals and frequencies for different individuals and organizations.
Some evaluations vary from formal reports to informal methods, such as comments. The frequency of surveys or other administrative tasks should be reasonable, saving time. It could be desirable to get ongoing insight and ideas, without work overload.
I benefit informally, all the time. Having enabled blog comments, whenever someone feels like expressing themself, they can. It’s convenient for me and my visitors.
18. The sandwich method
Let’s face it. Reactions can hurt. Evaluation can sometimes feel cruel. Use the sandwich method when appraising others.
I was a member of a public speaking club, years ago. It’s a friendly and supportive community. The sandwich method helps to evaluate someone’s performance.
Three simple steps:
- Tell them what they did well (good)
- Say what needs improvement (not so good)
- Finish with what you admired (good)
This is a respectful way to encourage them. At the same time, you point out what needs to be worked on. You end with another positive point. If you’d like to read about the benefits of public speaking skills, read my other post.
19. When feedback is not constructive
Not everyone who visits your blog is part of your target audience. Sometimes someone else has a reaction that’s right for them. However, it doesn’t make sense in the context of your blog.
Take criticism positively. It’s an advantage to know what you need to change. Always reply politely. See what you can take from it to improve.
You can get pestered as well. If it’s irrelevant, be graceful, and move on. You may have the option to block or report the account.
20. Complaint vs suggestion vs advice
There could be different forms and intentions behind reactions. Handle client complaints promptly. Consider suggestions for future improvements. Relevant advice is likely to be beneficial, accept it.
You can always evaluate if a response is relevant or not. Revisit your set goals. This helps to determine which criticism is advantageous.
Basic survey guideline
Conducting a survey can range from simple to complex. This can be based on the nature of the activity or organization. The available budget and expertise level also count.
For bloggers and solopreneurs, it can often be basic. You know all areas of your business, being on your own. For simple ideas, you could proceed alone.
This is a basic outline:
- Aim for long-term benefits
- Set your survey goals
- Choose your methodology
- Determine sampling size
- Create questions
- Collect the data
- Analyze
- Take action
- Improve satisfaction
Conclusion
Aim for better listening skills. Know what others need in your personal and professional life. Take full advantage of feedback benefits for better success.
Tips from Sharvi 