Every company gets them. Customer complaints are often met with disdain, but a few sour words can actually hold the secret boost your software company needs.
So how can your software company turn negative feedback into good business?
1. Change your perspective.
Don’t immediately sideline customer reviews as negative or positive comments, but instead view them with a SWOT mentality. Are the comments in reviews highlighting a strength, weakness, threat or potential opportunity for your business? If you're receiving feedback that your user interface is difficult to navigate, that is highlighting a weakness for the company. Think of it this way: If there were people who had issues with the interface while still using your software, there were very likely many potential customers who avoided using it altogether because of it. Customers can often unknowingly shed light on where your business can grow and improve, even before you may be aware of it yourself.
2. Observe Patterns.
It’s impossible to take the time to answer every single complaint or suggestion, so the best way to move forward is to try and notice patterns of customers who have similar complaints. When these patterns of complaints occur, it is definitely a sign that this is an issue for most of your customer base. While it could simply just be a bug with the software itself, it’s always key to check in and see if your software design needs improvement. There’s no point in creating software if it doesn’t do what people need it to do.
3. Exceed Customer Expectations.
The software company that meets and exceeds customer expectations is the one that turns their customers into their best promoters. When companies take the time to listen, respond, and quickly patch up problems, it creates a lasting experience for their customers. The inbound marketing approach refers to this as “delighting” your customers. Checking in with your customers and asking about their experience helps build brand loyalty while reducing churn, and retaining customers is far less costly than acquiring new ones.
