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By Karl Staib

How to Embrace Customer Feedback

feedback

I had a client who was deathly afraid of feedback. Every time we talked about getting feedback from her customers she changed the subject.

Before I go any farther…

Being open to feedback always is black and white. It’s not you did a bad job here and you need to fix it.

Feedback from someone else comes with emotion. It’s this emotion that clams us up or stokes our ego.

My client owned her own dance studio and has helped children foster and grow their dancing for over 40 years. Of course it’s not easy to hear that someone is having an unpleasant experience.

The thing is…

What is the alternative?

Not hearing the feedback at all and going about your day.

Which would you prefer?

Why We Should Embrace Feedback

Feedback is meant to help us grow. It’s our ego and emotions that get in the way of using it well.

The most important part of feedback is how we receive it.

It’s just as important as taking action on the feedback.

If you receive negative feedback and you go on the defensive you won’t take any action.

Now if you receive negative feedback and you are able to keep your ego out of it then this feedback can be used in a positive way.

Of course not all feedback is equal.

If all my client received as feedback was…

“You suck and I hate your school.”

That doesn’t help very much.

But if she received. “You suck and I hate your school because my child cried to me after we got home and said she never wanted to return.”

Now you can reach out to her and find out why. It might have been a miss understanding or another student that caused her child’s anguish.

This is a fixable problem with a little digging could turn into an opportunity to create a better experience for her and her child.

Regular Feedback

As I talked with her about getting regular feedback I could see her warming to the idea. Not by very much, but it was a ember that hopefully would one day turn into a fire.

It’s this ongoing feedback that will help you track trends in your business that you can only do when you engage with your customers.

Are you getting quality feedback from your customers that actually helps you grow your business?

By Karl Staib

By Karl Staib

How to Find a New Challenge for Faster Growth

One of the biggest mistakes I made earlier in my businesses and my career that I hope that you don’t make.

You won’t be able to stop making mistakes throughout your career and as you grow a business, But you can avoid certain issues that will come to surface as you try to grow yourself professionally. Some people might challenge themselves by taking on a different role in the company. Others will try to grow a side project as they work for a company. And then there will be others who go all in on a business.

All of these are great ways to keep growing and learning throughout your career.

The thing I regret is is not trying certain types of projects that could help me personally and professionally. I let fear get the best of me.

Building Software

So when I have the idea of building software to improve how I was able to help my clients I decided that I couldn’t let fear dictate my choices.

I’m currently working with the developer to create software that will help small business owners create more engagement with their customers and get better feedback.

I looked at all the tools out there and I found most of them fell short and the ones that were close were very expensive. So I saw I need it in the market and I decided to make the leap. To do this was a financial risk and a time crunch for me.

I am working with a very large company on a one year contract, still working with clients, and working on passion project. All of this and finding time to spend time with my two sons and wife.

It’s not easy juggling everything.

What I found is that priorities dictate my success as a father, husband and business owner. I believe if I’m not staying busy and working on projects that get me excited then I am not as happy and not as engaged with the people around me. That’s why living in the present moment for me is so important. When I’m with my family I’m there 100% when I’m working on a project and they are 100% as you can see this isn’t easy but it’s what makes me happy.

So over the next couple months we will be going into beta testing with the software and if anyone is interested please let me know. You’ll have early access to one of the best customer engagement tools out there.

Top Priority

The software will be a monthly subscription-based model and at a price point that and a small business owner can afford. I set it up this way because I felt like so many small business owners weren’t engaging their customers as well as learning how to improve on their customer experience from their customers. This should be a top priority for most small business owners.

Should always look for ways to improve and make the customer happy here in the most crucial ways.

So as you grow your business and career you also have to look at how you find ways to grow personally and professionally. That may mean taking on an extra project that creates a little extra stress in your life, but that also means you’ll be challenging yourself and finding growth in various areas that you never thought possible.

By Karl Staib

By Karl Staib

Getting Closer

Turn-customers-into-fans-smiles

The stories I collect around each project could fill a book.

As you might know I’m working on a software project. The project will help companies collect better feedback from their customers.

I’m doing this because I want to help companies create a better customer experience.

When you understand your customers buying triggers you will be able to deliver more value to them. You’ll find out where things aren’t working and how to improve them. You’ll also find out who really cares about your company.

Closing the Gap

The difference between a customer and fan is huge. Having a lot of fans is the different between an average company and a very successful one.

Customers who are fans keep buying from you and tell their friends about you. It’s this group that need to be cared for and appreciated.

It’s also the passive group of customers that you want to turn into fans.

The customers who are passive need to be shown how much you care. When they see how much you care you’ll be able to turn them into fans.

This is the magic of collecting great customer feedback.

As I work with my programmer we are digging into the final details to make sure everything is working correctly. It’s challenging, but a lot of fun.

I can’t wait to share it with you.

When it’s ready you’ll be the first to know.

Show How Much You Care

Before it’s ready I would like to think about what you do to show your customers how much you care about them.

What do you do to show your customers how much you care?

I’m curious because I’ve notice the companies that not just care, but show that they care are the ones that I like the most. I always look for flights on Southwest first because I like flying with them. They have good prices, but it’s the people that make the experience that much more enjoyable.

That happens because Southwest has a great company culture and are listening to their customers, finding ways to improve on everything that they do. It’s this type of listening that I would like you to do because it will work magic on your sales.

By Karl Staib

By Karl Staib

New Adventures in Business

Last year I had a tough conversation with a client.

She wanted to know why her retention rate was only getting worse.

I suggested that the first thing we should do is use NPS surveys to help gather data. We can look at how the analytics that we gather to help us make smarter decisions.

She balked at the idea.

Gather Feedback

Over the next few weeks I kept revisiting the issue. I didn’t want to be pushy, but I needed to challenge her.

We had to ask customers why they were leaving. If we made them feel as comfortable as possible and explained how much we just wanted the truth then we could figure out how to solve the issue.

That’s why I made a decision to start this new project.

I’m currently working on a software project to help companies like yours get better feedback from their customers so they can use this data to make smarter decisions.

Expanding out my business is always interesting because it requires challenging myself to step outside of my comfort zone.

Leadership

I’m learning to be more of a leader instead of just a doer.

I’m not a programmer, so I’m hiring someone to help me build the software. This requires a lot of patience and trust.

He has to understand my vision, use his best judgement, and create something that we are both happy with.

Most leaders make the mistake of trying to dictate the rules and try to get people to follow them.

I’ve realized the hard way that this is a bad way to lead.

People want to be involved in developing the project.

If you take that away from them then you take the joy of work away from them too.

Let me back up.

I have a passion project called Work Happy Now. I started the project because I wanted to know what made me happy at work and I thought I’d share it with the world.

It’s why I started this business, Domino Connection.

After many years of being a bad leader I began researching what really made people want to do great work. I wrote an article that went mini viral in the business writing world. It’s about encouraging employee happiness and engagement.

Progress

I found out that most people were happy when they saw progress in their career. They want and need to see a project succeed. They want people show appreciation for their hard work. And they really want to see that their work truly matters.

And for that same reason they are afraid to try new things. They don’t want to see it flop and feel like a failure.

They don’t want to be a failure.

But that’s the problem.

I’m going to tell you an open secret that many people are afraid to accept.

You need to fail to feel successful. You need to fail small and big to succeed.

Challenge Yourself

If you don’t try new things you’ll never see progress.

It’s why I challenge people to create passion projects for themselves. The people who try to do something difficult, grow professionally and personally because of it are the people who really succeed.

They stretched past what they thought was possible.

I look forward to seeing what you think.

The best way for business to continue to drive innovation is to improve how they listen. When you listen to smart people who care, then that’s where you will find hidden gems that help you take your business in new directions.

Stay tuned and I should have something to show you very soon. We’re shooting for June 1st.

By Karl Staib

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Recent Posts

  • Marketing Video for Domino Feedback
  • How to Embrace Customer Feedback
  • How to Find a New Challenge for Faster Growth
  • How to Use Google Analytics for a Better Website Experience
  • Getting Closer
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