Why Addressing Customer Feedback is Crucial to Successful Franchising

The most desirable franchises to invest in may soon become those with attentive and prompt methods to address online complaints.

In a recent column in Fast Casual, Alonso Castañeda, VP of Brand Development and Strategy for the Savory Restaurant Fund, outlined why prioritizing prompt and effective reception to customer feedback is critical in the digital age.

“There are so many ways the customer is reaching out to us,” Castañeda said in the column. “Right now when a customer complains on a social listing, sends an email, to them it's like back in the day when they were complaining to the manager and they expect a response.”

It takes longer to respond online than it does face-to-face, of course, and in the ever-expanding world of social media, it can be challenging to address every complaint. It can be easy for organizations to enlist their own methods of customer service, but that does not restrict a customer’s ability to take a complaint anywhere other than a preferred method of an individual company. 

Casteñeda recommends the most direct approach possible: resolving conflicts in real time. Every business will need to listen to customers in order to achieve continued success. In the modern franchising landscape, a prompt response to criticism can be just as important as the response itself.

Quick responses may require enlisting staff to handle real-time complaints that are published on the internet. "The added benefit is that reviews account for 15% of how Google ranks your business, so if you're very active and responding to reviews, you are going to rank higher," Casteñeda said. 

Not all organizations will need a Twitter account that measures up to the loads of fun Wendy’s is having with theirs, but that brand’s model should inspire other companies to acknowledge the benefits of prompt feedback.

Not all franchises will have the ability to access a corporate account, either, which poses a unique challenge if a corporate outlet isn’t well established online. (A local Wendy’s won’t be able to respond to a tweet like their corporate office can.) Some businesses may not need a humorous or unique approach, but most of them can benefit from putting more focus on their digital voice.

Short-term acknowledgment can turn into long-term benefit, and a hopeful resolve to digital complaints is one that can yield a diligent fan base.