A look under the bonnet of how some top Bizpedia Members and Partners build strong, repeat business through powerful customer communications
In business, few questions are as powerful—or as often overlooked—as a simple, sincere:
“How are we doing?”.
Yet as you will know from your business and personal transactions, paying careful and systematic attention to what customers want, for the sake of the customer rather than for the data, is all too rare.
When you have read this article, we hope you will be inspired to turbo-charge not only your customer feedback, but your whole customer experience, because it’s such a powerful strategic force.
What exactly Is Customer Feedback?
Customer feedback is any information your clients give you about how they perceive your service, experience, or brand. It can be spontaneous or structured, direct or anonymous, quantitative or anecdotal. And its benefits are wide-reaching:
- Improved client retention and loyalty
- Early warning that something’s wrong
- Insights to help lead product and service development
- Richer, more sincere relationships
Four case studies
For this article, four Bizpedia partners gave us a unique insight into how they operate around customer feedback. They share a common stated aim, which is to set themselves apart by delivering a whole new level of customer experience. During these interviews, Bizpedia learned that eliciting customer feedback is a great start, but it’s only the start. Our thanks to our participants for explaining how they elicit and then enact feedback and how, perhaps unsurprisingly, feedback and interaction have become part of the DNA of how they grow, adapt, and delight their clients.
FORTH® – Scott Stephens
Portsmouth member Scott Stephens is CEO of FORTH® Group of Companies a rapidly growing engineering company with projects ranging across education, healthcare, heritage and commercial and industrial spaces. Scott invested in the company when it had already been operating for 20 years and in his eleven years at the helm, it has grown to over £32m and counting, and currently comprises four separate trading businesses and a service company that supports them all.
Scott’s understanding of customer service comes from his background in hospitality, which was hugely influenced as he was growing up by his Dad, who had worked in senior roles at companies including Whitbread’s Brewers Fayre, TGI Friday and Costa.
After his own career in hospitality, Scott also had a spell as a personal trainer. “If one session of PT isn’t good, the customer might not come back, so every single session has to be great.”
It’s a philosophy that he brought into FORTH®, and when he realised how low the customer service bar is in the construction industry, he decided to make customer experience central to how FORTH operates. “We have built some of our best relationships because of fiascos on day one”, says Scott. “In our book, if a client is willing to give you genuine feedback, it’s a massive opportunity. By listening to each individual and putting things right, we build trust.”
Net promoter score (NPS)*
Having gone through a number of customer feedback exercises that were way too complex, FORTH® has done two things. Firstly, it has introduced NPS in its current financial year, as its key customer satisfaction metric. It is a light touch way of getting intel faster. NPS is embedded into their HubSpot system and they ask customers to score them out of 10 on whether they would recommend FORTH to others.
“9’s and 10’s mean that we are doing really well, we couldn’t be doing better. When a customer is scoring us like this, we know we can lean into the relationship and there is the opportunity to grow it,” Scott explains. “A score of 6 or below means we are woefully unimpressive and we need to sit down and talk”.
Improvement baked into the systems
Secondly, the company is embedding customer feedback into its normal ways of working. Scott explains, “The sales teams have weekly, monthly and then more significant quarterly customer meetings, and all the intel we used to get separately in customer feedback exercises is instead baked into those meetings. I have personally spent a lot of time on creating this process, embedding it and auditing the sales teams on quality meetings. I have made sure the system puts the interests of the customer and the business over any individual team members’ bias, whether conscious or unconscious.
“Whilst sales team members own the accounts and carry out the meetings, their MD’s are now ultimately responsible for scrutinising the results of customer feedback and making sure it’s enacted.”
This way of working also strengthens the business in other ways. “It’s important that our relationships run deep in our customer organisations,” says Scott. “However good you are, you can lose a relationship easily, when someone moves on in either company.”
Another of FORTH’s biggest fundamental strengths is that they are not afraid to say ‘no’. “It’s important that the team spends time on the right customers at the relevant level. It’s not sustainable to deliver a Ferrari if a customer is paying for a Mini, and the amount of time spent must be commensurate so if it means we have to say ‘no’ to something that a customer is not prepared to pay for, we are not afraid to do so, as kindly as possible.”
Response in action
FORTH doesn’t confine its customer focus to the sales teams. It’s fundamental throughout the business, including in the invoicing department. “As a business we work in all different types of sectors, through third parties and direct to end users. The way we invoice our work is therefore extremely varied, and accuracy in invoicing is a challenge. We learned that this was the reason that some clients were paying us later than contracted. This feedback helped us make the decision to employ someone full time just to look at complex invoice situations and exclusively handle the payment element of those relationships. This has not only improved the customer relationship but has also reduced debtor days and increased cashflow.”
What next?
Whilst they don’t yet formally feedback to customers when they have enacted an improvement, FORTH holds six-monthly client events and it broadens awareness amongst clients. For example, at a recent shooting day, clients from the Royal Household mingled with atomic weapons specialists. They could each talk about their work in a safe space and it created more conversations including on how to improve the service.
FORTH are investing in HubSpot development; the software is growing infinitely faster than they need to keep up with at this stage, so they know there is plenty of scope to continue to scrutinise and improve the customer experience.
They are also recruiting someone who just looks at how AI can improve the business. “We could become double the organisation if we really go for it,” says Scott.
Advice from Scott
“I appreciate we are British and we might get polite responses if we simply ask for feedback, but there are great ways of asking to elicit meaningful answers. It doesn’t have to be sophisticated. At FORTH, we buy a lot of services, and I am continually disappointed that more people don’t ask us how they are doing, and care more about us as their customers. My advice to Bizpedia members is to start developing ways of actively getting feedback and taking action on it, if you don’t already. And if you do, then keep improving how you do it.”
Darren Shea, Head of Brand and Partnerships at Winged Boots
For Darren Shea and the team at Bizpedia National Partner Winged Boots, customer experience is much more than a department; it’s the foundation of the entire business. As a luxury travel management company with clients who expect nothing less than seamless, highly personalised experiences, feedback is not only welcomed but essential.
“We’re here for the journey,” says Darren. “Not just the booking. We want to know what our customers like, how they like to travel, and what kinds of experiences they’re after. Equally, we really want to know what, if anything, didn’t go so well. That’s how we improve, and how we build trust.”
Making changes as a result of feedback
The Winged Boots approach is deliberately high-touch, with multiple feedback loops built into every stage of the client journey. Once a booking is made, a dedicated Concierge reaches out to ensure all needs are understood and that every requirement is fulfilled— a process that now happens earlier in the timeline based on client feedback. “We used to introduce Concierge eight weeks before departure,” says Darren. “Clients told us it would be better to start sooner, so we changed it. Now it’s part of the process as soon as a trip is confirmed.”
After clients return from their travels, they receive a feedback survey through Alchemer, the team’s preferred platform. “It’s not just about collecting data,” Darren explains. “The responses are shared across the team, and if it’s positive, we use that to reinforce recommendations for other clients. If it’s even slightly negative, we take immediate action. Whether it’s a resort issue or an internal miss, we address it straight away.”
The insights gathered influence everything from operational tweaks to wider marketing and sales strategies. The personal nature of the service — clients often build close relationships with individual Travel Managers — means feedback is often given informally too, verbally or through WhatsApp or email. Thousands of pieces of information are consistently fed into a proprietary CRM system, designed in-house and tailored to reflect the bespoke nature of the service.
“We’re not just booking holidays,” says Darren. “We’re curating experiences and managing a part of our clients’ lives. That means knowing that they don’t like lifts in hotels or that they want to be checked in for their flight without lifting a finger. These details matter.”
Winged Boots also feeds client sentiment into brand strategy and content. A great review might become a social media post, or even part of a wider thought leadership piece. “We always ask: is this a brand value? Can we tell this story to others?” Feedback becomes more than an operational insight — it becomes a narrative tool.
Strengthening supplier relationships too
From a business perspective, feedback also strengthens supplier relationships. “We’re often selling someone else’s product — a hotel, a villa — so how that partner performs is crucial. We share all client comments with our DMCs (destination management companies) and use them to ensure standards are maintained, or raised.”
The team’s agility is a core strength, as is their scale: Winged Boots is part of the 200-strong Ocean Holidays Group, with sister brands including Ocean Florida, Ocean Beds, and Ocean Trade. While NPS is used more heavily in the Florida-focused parts of the group, Winged Boots takes a more tailored approach — still guided by the principles of responsiveness, continuous improvement and exceptional service.
Recent changes, such as the launch of live booking feeds and concierge follow-ups, have come directly from customer input. “Ultimately, feedback helps us make decisions with confidence,” says Darren. “It’s one of the most powerful tools we have for building loyalty and evolving the business.”
Oliver (Olly) Priestman, Global Head of Client Experience at Air Charter Service
Air Charter Service (ACS), another Bizpedia National Partner, is the world’s leading aviation broker for private jets and group charter and cargo. Its focus on customers has evolved from being a value-add to becoming a core strategic driver. “It’s more important now than it’s ever been,” says Olly Priestman, Global Head of Client Experience. “I often use the analogy that ten or fifteen years ago, you might have said, ‘Let’s go to the theatre on Friday night, and it was just that. A theatre visit. Now, it’s about the whole experience — getting dressed up, having a drink beforehand, having supper before or afterwards, making a night of it. That shift in behaviour applies across industries.”
The Air Charter industry is no exception and at ACS, customer feedback had always been focused primarily on issue resolution and post-flight follow-up. When Olly was brought in in April 2023 it was to create a client experience dimension to the business. His role spans the full client journey — from first contact to repeat booking — transforming ACS into a truly experience-led organisation. “Customer feedback is reactive. Customer experience is proactive — it begins the moment someone discovers your brand, and in many ways, it never ends.”
ACS is a high-touch, high-trust business. Whether flying a global board of directors, transporting humanitarian cargo, or arranging a celebratory private jet experience, every client has specific needs — and ACS aims to meet them all. That might mean matching the client with a salesperson who cares about whether they prefer pink or white flowers, or who knows the kids like to run around the aircraft. It might mean matching a client who doesn’t need so much detail to a salesperson who is more matter of fact.
Clear increase in repeat business
That level of personalisation has paid off. “We’re seeing a clear increase in repeat business,” Olly reports. “We realised we had a leak — we were fantastic at attracting clients but weren’t always retaining them. Now we’re plugging that hole by making sure every customer knows that we care.”
To deliver this consistently across its 37 global offices, ACS has built a rigorous training and onboarding system. Every salesperson trains for six months with a mentor before attending a three-week intensive programme in London, including sessions led by Olly himself. They must pass a demanding exam before qualifying to sell. “If you don’t know why you’re doing something — if it’s just a tick-list — you’ll do it less well. So, we make sure everyone understands the ‘why’ behind every action.”
Every office is identical in layout. Many of the senior leaders — including the global CEO — started in entry-level sales roles. “This inspires loyalty both from staff and clients,” Olly says. “When you’re selling flights worth tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands, you’re not just selling ACS — you’re selling yourself. Trust is everything.”
Relentless drive for improvement
The Client Experience team is relentless in its improvement efforts. Bi-weekly brainstorming sessions lead to near-monthly innovations, backed by data collected, categorised, and analysed globally. And the team listens — not just to Google reviews, but to every phone call, every survey, and every piece of feedback. If something’s not working, it gets addressed. “We don’t take our foot off the throttle,” Olly says.
Technology supports their goals but never replaces the human element. “AI has potential, and we’re exploring it, but our business is too personal to be run by tech alone. Technology always comes second to human experience.”
Importantly, ACS always closes the loop with customers. “Of course, we tell them when we’ve improved something based on their feedback. It’s okay to admit when you got it wrong — it’s how you deal with it that matters. That honesty can build even more trust.”
Olly sums it up with a memorable comparison: “Business relationships are like personal relationships. They need communication, transparency, and investment from both sides. Just like on the London Underground, when they introduced the Next Train indicators as part of their passenger information system — people are happier to wait 10 minutes knowing the train is coming than to wait 4 minutes in the dark. It’s about clarity, and care.”
Alexandra Mostyn, Sales Manager, Commercial at Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire
As the only UK Four Seasons hotel sales manager based outside the group’s Park Lane London head office, at Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, Alexandra Mostyn works closely with every department, from front desk and events to food and beverage, to create exceptional guest experiences and ultimately, to secure repeat business. Her views are particularly interesting because she’s not at the head of Customer Experience – but she sees herself as very much responsible for the part she plays in it.
“Luxury guests expect a lot from Four Seasons,” Alexandra says. “And rightly so. At the heart of what we do is authentic, genuine service. I personally love what I do and I care about getting it right for every guest. When guests feel we’re being real with them, that’s when loyalty is truly built.”
This speaks volumes about the group and about Alexandra herself.
Glitch system and recovery
As an example of playing a team role, Alexandra shared with us the impressive ‘Glitch’ system run by the Front Desk teams throughout The Four Seasons group. If a guest experiences even the smallest problem, a ‘glitch’ is logged in a global Four Seasons system visible across all departments. This means every team member is aware of the issue and can act on it immediately. “The aim isn’t just to fix the problem,” Alexandra explains. “It’s to recover the guest’s experience while they’re still with us — whether that’s a swift resolution, a thoughtful gesture, or a financial adjustment.”
Anticipating needs
The hotel’s GDPR-compliant global guest profile system records detailed preferences — from pillow type to dining likes and dislikes, or past issues to avoid unwanted repetition. This allows the team to personalise each stay before the guest even arrives. “Guests expect to be recognised across the 133-strong (and growing) group,” says Alexandra. “We work hard to ensure we know what they want before they ask.”
From enquiry to event
On the commercial side, Alexandra qualifies every enquiry carefully, asking open questions and probing about past experiences to tailor proposals and ensure every detail is right from the start. Site visits are highly personalised and Alexandra gathers feedback on the proposals, too, so that no detail is overlooked as she passes the information to the Events team who take it from there.
Event feedback is treated very seriously, no matter how small the booking. Any negative comments — from billing to menu choices — are addressed promptly by the team, and Alexandra is always aware.
Driving repeat business
Rather than waiting for enquiries, Alexandra proactively revisits the previous year’s events list to invite clients back. While many of her events are one-offs, some major accounts return regularly — and when they don’t, the sales team makes it a priority to understand why.
Culture of continuous improvement
Guest ratings — whether 10 or one out of 10 — are discussed in daily meetings, with agreed actions for every score. Positive feedback is shared across the group, celebrating team members and reinforcing high standards.
Alexandra sees herself as a small puzzle piece in a much bigger picture, but as with every good jigsaw, her piece fits seamlessly and completes the whole.
*Net Promoter Score (NPS)
This is a simple way to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. In its simplest form, it asks one key question:
“On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?”
How it works:
- Scores 9–10 are Promoters – loyal, enthusiastic customers.
- Scores 7–8 are Passives – satisfied but not enthusiastic.
- Scores 0–6 are Detractors – unhappy customers who could damage your reputation.
The NPS is calculated as:
NPS = % of Promoters − % of Detractors
The final score ranges from −100 to +100.
A positive score is generally good; above 50 is excellent.
It’s a quick, powerful way to understand customer sentiment and improve loyalty.