I would be remiss if I didn’t blog about feedback in the Web 2.0 world. It has become utterly integral to the whole feedback loop from a company and personal perspective. If a company doesn’t have a blog or a wiki, it’s losing out on valuable feedback loops, whether it be internal or external feedback. But it’s a delicate balancing act to use these tools. They harbor huge promise and potential, but they can also spin out of control if they aren’t used correctly. (I won’t go into Twitter just yet — it’s a different animal, even though it’s related to blogs in many respects.)
The two feedback streams I want to talk about briefly are blogs and wikis.
Blogs
Everyone has one, everyone uses them, it is the place to spew ideas, feeling, concerns, have discussions with the rest of the world (literally). But how can this tool, this medium be used effectively for customer feedback? In short, if you control it, steer it and maintain it, you can garner a huge amount of feedback over a period of time, which can give you a nice snapshot.
If you deliver a service or a product, a blog can be a good way to get a discussion going. GM’s Fastlane blog is a great example where the higher-ups at the company get in on the discussions. And more importantly, start discussions. It can get you in trouble — just ask Bob Lutz and his comments on global warming — but it’s a reminder that controlling the discussion is critical to getting good feedback. Since almost anyone can post a comment, you are open to harsh criticism — and passionate defenders if you take of customers properly.
If you follow a blog discussion, analyze it, and keep it alive, you can mine it for useful feedback and use that to improve what you’re offering.
Wikis
Wikis are a different animal, and I am not just talking about Wikipedia. I am talking about chipping in, collaborating and possibly making something greater by using the wisdom of the many. Although a wiki is a collaboration tool, it can also be used to garner feedback, and in most business cases, internally. You can post ideas and documents for reviews and get feedback relatively easily. It’s more one-way than a blog, as permissions and editing rights are required here. But it’s a good tool to do virtual feedback rounds with internal experts. Just remember, you can use a wiki for more than just collaboration, but maintain control of who can access it and edit it.
What’s it all mean?
Web 2.0 tools are critical to gather legitimate, actionable feedback, but you have to be careful about who has control of the conversations and how you direct the flow of info.
