In order to be successful online, you have to put yourself out there. Running a business online is a very public endeavor, and it differs from running businesses in the past in that you can\’t just hide behind your storefront or LLC. These days, people want to know exactly who they\’re dealing with, and social media marketing works best when there is a face and a name. So you steel yourself and start making your private thoughts and ideas a little more public and lo and behold, the worst happens: you run up against criticism. The key to dealing with it is to look at criticism as an opportunity and not a crisis. It is a chance to learn about where and how you can improve and better serve your customers. In fact, it is not at all a bad idea to take a proactive approach and seek out constructive criticism on your own. Here\’s how to do it.
Figure out whom you\’re going to ask
From whom would it be most valuable to get honest, objective input? Your close friends and family? Some existing customers? Who you ask might depend on where you\’re at with your business. If you have been in business for awhile and already have an audience / customer base, then by all means, ask them. Send out an email survey, or ask them to complete one when they visit your website. If your business is just getting off the ground, however, then you might want to turn to some friends or family who can be totally honest with you. You could also seek out people who would be your \”ideal customers\” and run your ideas by them to see what they think.
Ask very specific questions
Make sure you are as specific as possible when asking people for their feedback. Don\’t just ask them, \”What do you think of my site?\” That is much too general of a question. Far more useful would be to get their opinion on various aspects of your website, like its header, its overall design, its usability, and its content. Or if you are having people look at an ebook or potential info product, get their opinion on specific aspects of that. The more in depth and concentrated the questions are, the more you can cull actionable steps you can take to improve things.
Analyze the answers and look for recurring patterns
Most useful would be to ask enough people for their opinions and constructive criticism that you can start to see patterns in what they say. If people overwhelmingly see room for improvement in your site design, for example, then that is valuable information. Or maybe no one was able to find the \”Buy\” button. Whatever it is, make sure you look for things that people agree on, and also try to read between the lines and hear the things that they might be too polite to say. We all have blind spots when it comes to ourselves and our work, and it can often be quite challenging to crack the case and figure out how people really see us.
Make an action plan to improve
Don\’t let this exercise be a waste of time. Make sure to follow up on the constructive criticism you receive and make actual changes to your business and your approach. Start seeing criticism as the valuable learning opportunity that it is, and you will soon find yourself head and shoulders above your competition in terms of profits and customers.