Negative feedback can be positive for your business.

When you are trying to sell your business, a good deal of your focus should be on boosting your bottom line to make the most money possible in your sale. There are a myriad of ways you can boost your numbers in that critical time between listing and selling, like cutting costs and ramping up marketing – but many small business owners overlook a simple way to utilize something every business has, customer feedback.

Customer feedback, especially the negative feedback, is a way for your customer base to let you know how they feel about the goods and services you offer. The amount of negative feedback you receive is also a good barometer of how happy your customer base is with you, and this is important because if your customer base isn’t happy, then they aren’t spending their money with you.

Negative feedback can be unpleasant, and it’s much easier to ignore than it is to face, but a smart business owner will take the negative feedback they get and use that information to make positive changes within their business – especially when selling that business is the ultimate goal.

How should you deal with negative feedback?

Have more than a handful of your customers complained about the customer service skills of your staff? Maybe some staff retraining or a staffing change would keep clients you might otherwise lose coming back. Have people complained about your prices? Perhaps re-running the numbers and making a few price adjustments will better cater to your customer base – and keep them spending money.

A caveat here – don’t respond to negative feedback with anger. Even if the feedback is inaccurate, throwing a tantrum and blasting back will cause way more harm than good to the image of your business. Remember that anything you post online is there forever, and not only your current and future customers will be reading it. Prospective buyers will as well.  

Making changes to keep your customers happy and coming back will add value to your business. Making changes will also show prospective buyers that you care about the growth and future of your business. No matter how unpleasant, face the complaints head on – then use that information to boost your bottom line.

Are you considering selling your business and are worried that bad customer reviews might hurt your chances of selling? Do you have questions about the types of things buyers look for? Ask us! Please feel free to leave comments or questions and we would be happy to help.

Ready to read What The People Want: Why Business Sellers Need To Pay Attention To Positive Feedback Too? Click here.

Michael Monnot

941.518.7138
Mike@infinitybusinessbrokers.com
12995 South Cleveland Avenue, Suite 249
Fort Myers, FL 33907

https://infinitybusinessbrokers.com