In short
Customer feedback is the information customers give you about their experience — what they think, feel, and expect. It comes in two forms: structured scores (like a satisfaction rating) and open comments. Its value isn't in collecting it; it's in acting on it before the experience it describes has moved on.
What is customer feedback?
Customer feedback is any information customers share about their experience with your organisation — a satisfaction rating, a star, a smiley tap, a written comment, or a review. It tells you how people actually felt at a touchpoint, rather than how you assume they felt. Good feedback covers both the what (a score you can track) and the why (the comment behind it).
Types of customer feedback
| Type | What it is |
|---|---|
| Solicited | Feedback you ask for — surveys, kiosks, smiley ratings, follow-up emails |
| Unsolicited | Feedback customers volunteer — reviews, complaints, social posts |
| Real-time | Captured at the moment of experience, while you can still act |
| Post-experience | Captured later — more reflective, but slower and lower-response |
Why customer feedback matters
- It shows where experience is breaking down — by location, team, or touchpoint
- It catches issues while they're still fixable, not in next quarter's report
- It tells you what's working, so you can repeat it
- It signals to customers that their voice changes something
How to collect it
The best method is the one that fits the moment: a smiley face survey or kiosk at a busy touchpoint, a QR or NFC survey anywhere without hardware, or digital follow-up after the fact. What matters most is capturing it in the moment and having someone own the action — see why real-time beats the annual survey.
Questions
Answered
What is customer feedback in simple terms?
It's the information customers give you about their experience — both structured scores (like a satisfaction rating or smiley tap) and open comments. It tells you how people actually felt, so you can improve the experience.
Why is customer feedback important?
Because it surfaces what's working and what's breaking down, by location and touchpoint, while issues are still fixable. Collected in the moment and acted on, it's the difference between fixing a problem this week and repeating it for a year.
Put this into practice
Book a free assessment and we'll map where your feedback could drive change.