Ask for a Second Opinion
Capture valuable feedback while enhancing
customer relationships

It is common in the medical profession to seek a second opinion on a diagnosis, and the practice works equally well during communications planning. You establish the first opinion when you draft a communications plan with strategies and tactics. Then you share some plan elements with other stakeholders and ask for feedback.

Customers can be an important resource for feedback, but you don’t want to approach the task without a game plan. You’ll want to be thoughtful and intentional about how you ask for customer feedback.

• As with the first rule of medical treatment, you must do no harm. Create a feedback plan that captures customer input while enhancing customer relationships.
  
  
• Consider the competitive environment. Establish parameters that meet your security requirements while fostering a candid, trusting dialogue.
  
  
• Use one or more media to create an interactive format. Set up a password-protected survey on your web site, or engage customers in personal discussions.
  
  
• Social media may be appropriate for some forms of customer feedback, but first assess the risks against the security parameters mentioned above.

• Ask customers to give feedback on selected plan elements rather than asking them to review a complete draft. Construct questions that solicit opinions or ask customers to choose between alternative approaches.
  
  
• Give feedback on the feedback. Don’t merely thank customers for participating. Tell them later how their feedback influenced your final draft.

Finally, repeat the feedback process year over year. Subsequent batches of customer feedback can be used to established benchmarks and best practices for the communication strategies that create the most customer value and deliver the best return on investment.

Crawford/Mikus offers a full range of marketing, sales and communication services, from brand execution to selling tools, and we implement end-to-end solutions across all media-from concept to execution. We’ll help define your visual voice, and we’ll convert your business goals into solutions that deliver bottom line results. Click on the Contact Us button to the left or call 404.875.7753 to speak directly with Scott Mikus.