How to use client feedback to sharpen your messaging and shape your offers
I am Rachel Dunford. I run a business that helps organisations and small businesses understand and evidence the difference they make, so they can speak about their work with clarity and confidence.
If you’ve been running a business for a while, chances are you’ve gathered a fair bit of client feedback - testimonials, kind DMs, thank-you emails, feedback forms. But what most people don’t do is use that feedback strategically, and it's left gathering dust in a folder somewhere or strewn across your laptop, in random places!
But when you only use feedback as reassurance, you miss its real value.
Client feedback is one of the most practical tools you have. It shows what is working well, what matters most to the people you support, and where there may be opportunities to improve or expand your offer. It gives you the words and evidence you need to speak about your work with confidence.
Why client feedback matters
Client feedback is more than proof that someone enjoyed working with you. It gives you direct insight from the people who have experienced your work first hand. When you look at this feedback thoughtfully, you gain:
★ Clarity on how clients perceive your work
★ Insight into what they truly value
★ Language that mirrors their thoughts and emotions
★ Direction for improving or expanding your offers
How to Use Client Feedback to Sharpen Your Messaging and Offers
I’m Rachel Dunford, a multi-award-winning impact specialist. I help businesses and organisations measure the difference they make - so they can speak about their work with clarity, confidence, and evidence.
If you’ve been running a business for a while, chances are you’ve gathered a fair bit of client feedback - testimonials, kind DMs, thank-you emails, feedback forms. But what most people don’t do is use that feedback strategically.
That’s a missed opportunity.
Because when you know how to use client feedback effectively, you unlock one of the most powerful tools for improving your services, refining your messaging, and growing your business.
Why client feedback matters
Client feedback is more than proof that someone enjoyed working with you. It’s evidence of what’s really working - and what isn’t - straight from the people who’ve experienced your service.
When you take the time to gather, analyse and apply that feedback, you gain:
★ Clarity on how clients perceive your work
★ Insight into what they truly value
★ Language that mirrors their thoughts and emotions
★ Direction for improving or expanding your offers
In short, feedback takes the guesswork out of your marketing and decision-making.
Step 1: Go beyond surface-level testimonials
Many businesses collect testimonials that sound lovely - but offer little insight.
“It was amazing!” “Highly recommend it!” “Changed everything for us.”
These words feel good, but they don’t tell you why your work mattered. To sharpen your messaging, you need to dig deeper.
Look for specifics in your client feedback:
★ What did they say changed for them?
★ Which part of your process stood out?
★ How did they feel before and after working with you?
Those details show you the real value your clients experienced - and give you language you can reuse across your marketing.
Step 2: Use your clients’ words in your messaging
If writing about your business ever feels hard, you need to remember your clients have already done most of the work for you.
Their feedback is full of natural, emotionally-charged language that captures your value better than any marketing formula ever could.
To start:
★ Highlight words or phrases that repeat across multiple clients.
★ Note any metaphors, emotions, or expressions they use.
★ Mirror this language in your website copy, emails, and social media.
By using the exact words your clients use, you’ll instantly make your messaging feel more human and relatable - and attract more of the people who connect with what you actually do.
Step 3: Identify patterns and gaps
Not all feedback will make you want to frame it on the wall - and that’s okay. The parts that feel a bit uncomfortable or keep coming up again and again aren’t failures; they’re useful clues. They show you where things might not be landing quite as you intended, and where small tweaks could make a big difference next time.
Ask yourself:
★ Do clients misunderstand what I offer?
★ Are there recurring questions about what’s included?
★ Is there confusion about pricing or process?
Patterns like these reveal where your messaging might be unclear or your offer could be refined. Instead of guessing where to improve, you’ll know exactly what to address.
Step 4: Let feedback shape your next offer
When you look at your feedback collectively, trends start to emerge. Clients may point to a step in your process that felt transformative, or wish they had more time or support in a certain area.
That’s where your next product or service idea often hides.
Use these insights to:
★ Adjust or expand existing offers
★ Design new programmes around what clients already love
★ Add upgrades or support options that match their needs
Building new offers from real client feedback means you’re not guessing in a vacuum (or worse, building something nobody asked for). You’re creating what your clients are already hinting - sometimes loudly - they need.
Step 5: Turn feedback into powerful proof
Your client feedback isn’t just insight - it’s evidence.
When you use those words strategically, you create a powerful layer of social proof. Here are a few ideas:
★ Add key quotes to your sales pages and proposals
★ Turn detailed testimonials into short case studies
★ Use client language in captions, emails, or presentations
★ Build an “Impact” page on your website showcasing before-and-after results
When your marketing mirrors your clients’ actual words and experiences, it instantly feels more human - and that’s what makes it stick.
Turning Feedback into Growth
Once you start really listening, feedback stops being another business chore - and starts becoming a reminder of everything you’re already doing right. Plus it becomes the most powerful tool in your business.
It pulls you out of your head and back into connection. It helps you see what your clients actually value - not the version you hope they do, but the version they’re already experiencing.
And if that’s something you struggle to spot on your own (because most of us do), that’s where my flagship service - the Rapid Impact Review comes in.
I’ll gather the words, stories, and insights your clients are already sharing - and turn them into something you can actually use to shape your offers, sharpen your messaging, and make decisions with more confidence and less guesswork.