Building on my last post about Delighting the Customer, let’s dive into how to respond to client feedback. A strong feedback loop is mission critical. To keep your client relationships at their best, you need to know what they are thinking.
Soliciting Formal Feedback
You need to be intentional about requesting feedback regularly and systematically.
At Perficient, we use a system called “Client Insights” to gather feedback throughout the project lifecycle. During onboarding, the project manager sets up automated feedback requests for key client contacts on a set cadence. Our goal is to get actionable feedback regularly from multiple people.
For my projects, I aim for quarterly requests and rotate contacts to avoid overwhelming anyone. The frequency and recipients depend on the project size and client’s team structure.
Insights from Informal Feedback
While our Client Insights system handles formal feedback, we don’t rely on automation alone.
Poor communication is one of the five obtrusive blockers to being a great servant leader. Informal feedback offers a different angle, because some clients skip automated requests or hold back negative comments to avoid conflict.
You can ask them for feedback informally anytime, whether that be one-on-one calls, emails, or chats. Some clients may open up more in private. Remember to also document and share informal feedback.
Receiving Positive Feedback
Positive feedback feels great, but don’t get complacent. Always take action. Share the kudos with your team. Everyone plays a part, so make sure they know they’re appreciated.
Then, don’t be obvious, but probe for constructive input anyway. Try something like, “That’s great to hear! I’m glad things are going well. But I aim for continual improvement, so are you sure there’s nothing small we could do better?”
Receiving Negative Feedback
Whether formal or informal, receive negative feedback graciously. Thank the client for sharing their perspective and assure them you’ll use it to strengthen the team. Give them confidence you’ll handle their input appropriately. Clients don’t want their feedback to cause strain on their relationships with the team. Offer to keep it anonymous and tailor how you share it with your team to avoid hurt feelings.
Leaders need the full details, but others only need actionable feedback. Instead of saying, “Bill thinks you don’t know what you’re doing,” try, “The client feels we might be spinning our wheels. What can we do to get back on track?” This softens the impact and aims for collaboration. As your teammate shares their perspective it allows you to say something like, “That sounds smart. Let’s aim to catch this sooner next time.”
Leadership’s Role in Feedback
We know client feedback is mission critical. Leaders should make sure formal feedback processes are in place, easy to use, and gather information that’s actionable. They should regularly review the feedback documentation and reports, watching trends over time.
Leaders can set goals for business units, smaller teams, and individuals. If a serious problem pops up, they might need to make tough calls like swapping out resources or even letting go of poor performers. Tough conversations can’t be avoided.
Lastly, leadership should share aggregated feedback data so everyone understands the types of feedback coming in. At Perficient, this happens in regular town hall meetings by each business unit. It gives everyone a baseline on how we’re doing, helps spot trends, and lets individuals compare their own experiences against the average.
A Personal Example
About a year ago, I helped onboard a new client. They were excited for a change from their previous agency but came with some built-in frustrations about their website’s platform and solution.
At the three-month mark, our Client Insights program received the first formal input. I knew there was some tension, but I was surprised when they gave us a one-star rating. Their comments were clear: they felt our team was slow, our hourly estimates were higher than they expected, and sometimes it seemed like we didn’t remember what they told us. Ouch! That’s not typical for us, and it was tough to hear.
The leadership team and I used some of the methods I mentioned earlier. We decomposed requests into smaller pieces and took a crawl, walk, run approach with bigger requests. With the client’s approval, we agreed to exclude QA and deploy hours from ticket estimates since that seemed to inflate sizing. Most importantly, we asked the client to help by making sure tickets had all the info, including screenshots, and our team made sure to ask for missing details immediately.
After that first negative review, the next feedback jumped to three stars! Most recently, we’re at four stars, with the client saying Perficient is becoming the partner they wanted. That is great to see! But we still have that last star to earn…and we will.
Conclusion
Client feedback is key to building strong relationships. Doing it right helps avoid surprises and solves problems early. It helps you understand what matters most to the client and each person on their team. With that, you build trust by following through and always aiming to improve.
Getting a perfect review feels awesome. A bad one? Not so much. But it can be satisfying to help your team bounce back and turn things around. Sometimes, though, ratings drop and things just don’t click. That’s a clear sign something needs to change. And sometimes, the required change might just be you.
When that happens, ask for help. Get advice from leadership, take some training, and work on improving yourself to better serve your clients. Start by assuming the problem is yours, then build from there.
……
If you are looking for a partner who craves client feedback and continual improvement, reach out to your Perficient account manager or use our contact form to begin a conversation.
Source: Read MoreÂ
