I have a quick thought for today.  How do you respond when you receive feedback?  Do you thank someone for taking the time to email you a comment?  Do you simply roll your eyes and forget to comment back?  Do you email back with a defense such as “we do it this way because…”  Or, do you email letting them know that you will consider their feedback to better your services in the future?

Sometimes we ask for feedback, and we may not like what people have to say. Sometimes we get feedback randomly, which makes it harder to listen. Sometimes we ask questions that we are not prepared to make changes for when people do comment. Sometimes we simply do not hear what people have to say.

We want  loyal & happy audiences, don’t we?  This includes hearing and listening to our audiences’ feedback, comments and suggestions so they can be a part of the process to make you and your services better.  I would like to suggest that it is best to take the 3-step response method:

1. Take a deep breath and be open to hearing and listening to what they have to say.
2. Thank them for the feedback and let them know you appreciate them taking time out to be proactive.
3. Consider the feedback, and respond with one positive comment about their viewpoint (instead of the defensive – we do it this way because reaction).

You can choose to take their suggestion into the staff, committee or board for further action if you feel it truly is a good idea.  Or, you can wait and see if other audience members start giving you the same suggestion for future action.  In any case, you will want to truly listen, be thankful that they care enough to take time out to comment, and to be positive in your response.  Otherwise, you may make them unhappy and unloyal with the wrong type of reaction.

Leaving a bad taste in their mouth can lose audiences. Being sweet and tasteful will boost audience morale with more positive karma to follow.

Thoughts?

Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,
Shoshana

Shoshana Fanizza
Chief Audience Builder, ADS