odd question i know, but if you'll hang in a few seconds i will gladly explain the admittedly distant relationship between the two.

many times as i grow older and the noise of life seems to overtake my memories of the good ole days, i find myself doing things that i used to do as a kid, and these simple acts bring back long-forgotten, yet fond memories. today, as i was perusing the fridge to see what was the easiest thing a hungry, lazy man could put together to tie over my ever-present appetite until dinner, i noticed three simple elements that encouraged a smile to slowly widen across my face: bread, mayonnaise, and kraft singles.

ah, those were the days. a rough summer day of swimming, baseball, and bike riding, and then on home to enjoy the fixin's of an artfully made mayonnaise and cheese sandwich. so, today as the nostalgia swept over me and i fearlessly dived into my first bite, i realized something was amiss.

after some serious analytics, i discovered that the addition of a beautiful wife to my life had made some changes to my cheese and mayonnaise sandwich. you see, she likes healthy food. the once loved soft, white Ironkids bread had been replaced by wheat bread with 134 added grains, which resulted in some crunchiness with every bite.

this was not a cheese and mayonnaise sandwich. it almost was, but the wheaty impostor just didn't cut it, even though we call it bread as well.

customer feedback is three major elements: surveys, analytics and actions, and closing the loop. according to Gartner, 95% of companies collect feedback, 35% analyze and use the feedback, and only 5% tell their customers what changes they made.

where does your company fit in? even if you say you use customer feedback, are you generalizing the term? just the same as wheat bread is no substitute for white bread, collecting feedback and doing nothing with it is not using customer feedback.

the most common reason only 5% of companies actually relay to their customers how they are using their feedback is that it is a process that can be difficult to put into play. however, technology has come to save the day once again, turning this tough process into a simple application.

do you close the loop with your customer? or do you substitute wheat bread for white bread and call it a cheese and mayonnaise sandwich?

if you are looking for someone to help you close the loop with your customers, i'm your huckleberry.