Feedback Loops
How Customer Feedback Can Increase Business Success
Feedback loops are an important marketing tool for strengthening customer loyalty. What may sound innovative and technical at first is based on a principle that is almost as old as the Earth itself. Without feedback loops, there would be no people, nor the ability to read this article on the Internet right now. Feedback loops can be found in all areas of our lives and control our technical, biological, and social systems.
Such feedback regulates and balances almost all the processes in the human body – from the production of hormones and their delivery to the blood to the water balance in our cells. After a three-course meal, for example, the stomach sends feedback to our brain to let us know we're full up. When these processes run naturally and as intended, our body works perfectly and is in balance. However, when a feedback loop breaks, we slip out of balance and get sick. Feedback loops are thus a sophisticated safety and control system that, on the one hand, ensures our survival and, on the other hand, creates pathways to further development.
What works in nature can also lead to a developmental leap for businesses. Each customer is individual and therefore has different expectations for and wishes from a company. Companies are increasingly faced with the task of finding out what most excites or annoys their customers. A simple and effective method is to ask the customer directly for their feedback and implement a feedback loop.