Won’t I Annoy My Clients…

…if I ask for too much feedback?

This question is, almost without exception, the first one asked when we talk to firms about client feedback.  The short answer is NO!  Not if you ask for feedback when they want to give you feedback.

We are so conditioned to the idea of “feedback” as being a long survey sent to hundreds or thousands of people.  These surveys are generic, and don’t offer anything to the person responding.   They also usually come after the product or service has been offered, when it’s too late to do anything about it.  They are separated from the project, and don’t seem relevant at the time they are sent.

But you already ask for feedback all the time!  When you deliver something to a client, don’t you ask “is this what you were looking for?”  When you wrap up a meeting, don’t you ask if everything was covered? That’s asking for feedback!  It’s not very structured, and it doesn’t always get asked, but no client will ever be bothered if you check with them to make sure you covered your (and their) bases.

Our Client Feedback Tool blends the best from both approaches.  While we use email and the internet to deliver surveys, they are not typically designed to be sent broadly (though, they can be).  Instead, we’ve built hundreds of templates and supporting processes to send surveys, systematically, in a much more focused manner.

When should you ask for feedback (i.e., send a survey)?  Send one every time your client may want to give you feedback.  No client waits around to answer a mass survey.  If you send that out monthly, it’s too much.   On the other hand, if you give your client a key deliverable every week, don’t you want to make sure, each time, that you’ve given him what he needed/expected?  You could call or email asking “did you get what you need?”   Or, you could send a short feedback request that digs a little deeper and gives you more data, while not really taking any more time.

Odds are, you’ll only annoy your clients if you ask them for feedback two months AFTER a project is over as part of a quarterly survey.  It’s too late to fix, so why ask now?

Instead, show clients you care.   Ask for feedback when it makes sense.  Deliver something?  Ask for feedback.  That easy.  Since asking via The Client Feedback Tool is a simple email, clients can always ignore/delete it.  Even that gives you feedback!  NOT responding, in essence, let’s you know that things are most likely going well enough they don’t feel a need to correct anything.  However, for every few times they ignore your request because things are going okay, there will be one time when they have feedback, and will be glad you asked.  And they’ll respond.   Until you ask, you don’t know.  So, you have to ask.  And ask again.

If you’re still concerned, ask your clients!  Find out from them when they’d like to be asked for feedback.  Odds are, it’s more often than you think.