Written for EO by Jason McCann, a lifelong entrepreneur and experienced founder.

You wouldn’t be surprised if I said that customer feedback is essential for a startup. And nobody doubts the connection between long-term customer relationships and success.

However, some companies never find a way to fit it all together. Seeking out feedback is one thing. Taking it in, learning from it and translating it into innovation takes intention and commitment. The payoff is well worth it.

At my company, customer feedback has been at the core of building and growing the business. Listening to customer input and responding with product tweaks is business 101. However, our success has been driven by going a step further to operationalize how we analyze feedback, so the insights become a guide for future innovation.

The ultimate goal is to create a lifelong relationship with a customer that’s a two-way street. We want to give the customer a voice to tell us what’s working and what would improve the product or experience. We also want to show the customer that we’re listening. When we do it well, we drive satisfaction and strengthen our bond with the customer.