Customer Feedback: Why It's Important + 7 Ways to Collect It

When you think about collecting customer feedback, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of possibilities. With so many customers ... Growth&CultureLatestArticlesCustomerServiceGrowth&CultureInsideHelpScoutSearchIconWhenyouthinkaboutcollectingcustomerfeedback,it’seasytogetoverwhelmedbythesheervolumeofpossibilities.Withsomanycustomers—andsomanywaystoconnectwiththeirfeedback—it’shardtoknowwheretostart.Onethingisclearthough:takingaproactiveapproachtocollectingcustomerfeedbackensuresyouneverstraytoofarfromtheneedsofyourcommunity,evenasthoseneedsevolve.Feedbackisapowerfulguidethatcangiveyourleadershipteaminsightsthatchartapathforwardforeverypartofacompany—fromproductthroughUXandcustomersupport.That’sespeciallyimportantwhenitcomestocustomersatisfaction.Inthisblogpost,webreakdown7waystocollectcustomerfeedback.Here’severythingyouneedtoknowaboutthedifferentmethodsatyourfingertips.Prefertowatchavideoinstead?Checkoutthiswebinaronturningcustomerconversationsintoactionableproductinsights,featuringMathewPattersonofHelpScout,JakeBartlettofAtlassian,andMaryJantschofTuff.Whatiscustomerfeedback?Customerfeedbackistheinformation,insights,issues,andinputsharedbyyourcommunityabouttheirexperienceswithyourcompany,product,orservices.Thisfeedbackguidesimprovementsofthecustomerexperienceandcanempowerpositivechangeinanybusiness—even(andespecially)whenit’snegative.Whyiscustomerfeedbackimportant?Customerfeedbackisimportantbecauseitservesasaguidingresourceforthegrowthofyourcompany.Don’tyouwanttoknowwhatyou’regettingright—andwrong—asabusinessintheeyesofyourcustomers?Withinthegoodandthebad,youcanfindgemsthatmakeiteasiertoadjustandadaptthecustomerexperienceovertime.Inshort,feedbackisthewaytokeepyourcommunityattheheartofeverythingyoudo.The7mosteffectivecustomerfeedbackmethodsBeforeyoubegincollectingfeedbackfromcustomers,youneedtopinpointwhyyou’reseekingtheirinput.Identifyingyourdesiredoutcomesandoutliningtheprocessforgettingtheresetsthegroundworkforaworthwhileinvestmentofyourtime—andyourcustomers’time.Withoutaclearintention,yourfeedbackmaynotserveanyone.Jotdowntheanswerstothesequestionsandtalkaboutthemwithyourteambeforegettingstarted:Whatpartofthecustomerexperiencewouldyouliketoimprove(onboarding,contentmarketing)?Targettheaspectofthecustomerjourneythatwouldmostbenefitfromcustomerinsights.What’syourplanforthedatayoucollect?There’snoreasontogathercustomerfeedbackunlessitleadstoactionablechange.Let’ssayyourcustomersurveyrevealsthatyourproduct’sUIisconfusing.Ensurethatyou’rewillingtoinvestinfixingitbeforecollectingfeedback.Whichcustomerfeedbackchannelworksbestforyourgoals?Don’tworryaboutthatlastquestion.Bytheendofthispost,you’llhavealltheinformationyouneedtoanswerit.1.CustomerfeedbacksurveysDevelopingausefulcustomersurveymaybemorechallengingthanyouthink.Thereareatonofquestionsyoucouldaskcustomers.Thegoodnews:youcanchoosebetweenshortslidersurveys(whichhelpyoutargetspecificissues)thatpopuponyoursiteorlonger,traditionalsurveys.Forone-questionsurveys,youcanuseatoollikeQualarootogaugetheresponseofcustomerswhoarealreadyactiveonyourwebsite.Forlonger-formsurveys,thereareatonofoptions.SurveyKingoffersafreeplatformforsmallbusinessesthat’sjuststartingtoexplorethepoweroffeedback.Alchemeradaptstoeveryonefromsolopreneursuptolargerorganizations,andattheenterpriselevel,Qualtricsyieldsdynamic,sophisticatedinsights.Ifyouwantcustomerstofollowthroughoncompletingasurvey,makesureyoufollowsomesimplebestpractices.Onlyaskquestionsthathelpyoumeetyourgoals.Writethoughtfulopen-endedquestions.Createconsistentratingscales.Avoidleadingorloadedquestions.2.EmailandcustomercontactformsEmailisoneoftheeasiestwaystogathercandidcustomerfeedback.Becauseit’sasupportchannelformostcompanies,youcanuseeachinteractionasanopportunitytogatherfeedback.Tomaximizethelikelihoodofhearingbackfromacustomer,dothesethreethings:SetclearexpectationsSometimes,customersdon’tofferimportantfeedbackbecausetheydon’tthinkanyonecares.Isitanywondermostcompaniesdon’thearfromunhappycustomers?Manyofthosesamecustomersmaybewillingtoleavefeedbackiftheyknewthey’dhearback—andexactlywhentoexpectaresponse.Consideraddingashortsentencetoyouremailsthattellspeoplehowsoontheycananticipatehearingbackfromyou.“We’llgetbacktowithinXhours/days”willgoalongwaytosetexpectationsandbuildtrustwithyourcommunity.OrganizeemailfeedbackAtHelpScout,weuseTrellotocreate“boards”yourwholeteamcanaccessandcontributetowithgreatcustomerfeedback.It’saclearprocessensuringthatnohelpfulinsightsslipthroughthecracks.Here'sthesystem:CreateboardswithinTrellotitled“ProductIdeas”(featurerequests),“UpNext”(what’sbeingworkedon)and“Roadmap”(whatyouplantoworkon).Buildindividualcardswithineachboardtocategorizerequests.ForourProductIdeasboard,weusesectionslike“Inbox”(newideas),“Rejected”(discardedideas),“Someday/Maybe”(goodideas,butnoturgent),and“Apps”(integrationrequests).Addemailaddresseswithincardsforthepeoplewhorequestedtheidea.Forinstance,anyonewhoaskedusforReportsupgradeswillbeaddedtoalistwithinacardsothattheycanbenotifiedwhentheupgradeiscomplete.Here’sanexamplecard(withemailsblockedoutforprivacy):Thissystemenablesyoutokeeptabsonrequestsandtheirrequestors,aswellasideasyou’vealreadypassedon.Theprocessalsogivesemployeesaclearroadmaptoguidefuturecustomerinteractions.SendpersonalizedresponsesThebestwaytogetacandidresponsefromacustomeristosimplyaskforone.Sinceemailenablesyoutosendaone-to-onerequest,youcanaskformorepersonalfeedbackthaninasurvey.Whencustomerssignupformoreinformationaboutyourservices,forexample,youcansendoutanauto-responderemailaskingasinglequestion.Inquireintotheissuesthatcustomersarestrugglingwithmost,whatfeaturestheywouldlovetosee,orjustaskwhytheysignedup!Thetrickistomakesureyouteamhasasetprocessforreplyingtotheseemails;otherwise,yourcustomerswillfeelletdown.Youcanalsouseahelpdesktotransformeveryemailintoanopportunitytotuneintocustomerfeedbackwithhappinessratings.WhenyourcustomersrateareplyfromHelpScout,theycanalsoaddextracomments:Youcansorttheratingandcommentsintohappinessreportsthatcapturetheperformanceofindividualsandteams.TrythecustomersupportplatformyourteamandcustomerswillloveTeamsusingHelpScoutaresetupinminutes,twiceasproductive,andsaveupto80%inannualsupportcosts.Startafreetrialtoseewhatitcandoforyou.Tryforfree3.UsabilitytestsForusabilitytestingtobringdeepinsightstoyourcompany,itrequiresmoreupfrontplanning.Withaclearstrategy,though,youcanuncoverchallengesthatcustomersdon’tknowthey’refacingandactionableinsightsthatmaketheirexperiencesbetter.YoumayevenwanttoconsiderrewardingyouruserresearchparticipantsthewayGoogledoes.AtHelpScout,weleverageusabilitytestingtorefinedesigndetailsornewfeatures.Whenwe’re90%finishedwiththeupdates,thesetestsguaranteewegetthatlast10%right.WhenourteampreparedtolaunchmajorimprovementstoourBeaconproduct,theyopenedBeacon2.0toasmallnumberofbetaparticipantsbasedontheircurrentimplementationofBeacon1.0.Wetransformedtheirfeedbackintoproductadjustmentsthatimprovedtheproductbeforewerolleditouttoeveryone.Eventhoughmostofusassociateusertestingwithweb-basedproducts,thefundamentalsapplytoanybusiness.Let’ssayyourunagym.Offeracustomerafreemonthtovisityourgymthreetofivedaysaweekandkeepadiaryabouttheirexperiences.Learningaboutthebusinessfromtheirperspectiveuncoverssmalltweaksthatmakeahugedifferencetothecustomerexperience.ThebookRocketSurgeryMadeEasybySteveKrugcanhelpyoustarttounderstandthepowerofusabilitytesting.Forweb-basedtestingwithpeoplewhodon’tknowyourbusiness,checkoutUserTesting—theydoanoutstandingjob,too.4.ExploratorycustomerinterviewsDoesdirectoutreachtranslatetobeneficialfeedbackfromcustomers?Absolutely!Reachingouttocustomersdirectlyopensupconversationsthatotherwisewouldn’thappen.Qualitativestoriesfromcustomersbringcolorandnuancetoquantitativefeedback(data).Thesepersonalexperienceshelpateamunderstandthefeelingsbehindcustomerdecisionsandthecommunityresponsetoacompany’sbrandordecisions.Whenyouconductcustomerinterviews,youcreatetheopportunitytochallengefalseassumptionsthatdevelopedovertime.Keepthefollowingtipsinmindwhenyousitdowntotalktocustomers:Startanopen-endeddialogue.Whenyou’retalkingtocustomers,open-endedquestionsareyourbestfriend.Thesequeriesgiveyourcustomerstheflexibilitytodigintotheirexperienceswithmoredetail.Plus,they’relesslikelytobebiasedorleadingquestions.Getmorespecificasyougo.Begintheconversationwithwiderimpressionsandgetmoredetailedinyourquestionsasthedialogueevolves.Everypieceoffeedbacktheygiveyouisanopportunityforanothermorespecificfollow-up.Practiceactivelistening.Toreceiveinsightsthatcanhelpyourteam,youneedtobeopenandreceptive.Maintaineyecontactandmirrorbackthekeytakeawaysyou’rehearingfromclients,alwayskeepingthespotlightonthem.Don’tletdistancestopyoueither.HelpScoutusesZoomtospeaktoadiversegroupofcustomersnomatterwheretheyare.5.SocialmediaSociallisteningcangiveyouaccesstoanotherwiseuntappedreservoirofcandidfeedbackfromcustomers.Directcommentsormentionsonsocialnetworksaren’ttheonlywayforyourbusinesstocollectcustomerfeedbackeither—manynetworksincludebuilt-inpollingtools.LookatthisquickpollonInstagram:TheDogistShopcreatedan“Askusanyquestionsaboutourholidaylines”surveyonInstagramstories.AcustomeraskedTheDogistShoponInstagramiftheyplannedonmakingornamentsoftheteam’sdogsthisyear.Notonlycouldtheteamclarifytheanswertotheentirecommunity,butDogistalsoaskedthecommunityiftheywantedornamentsnextyearinaone-questionInstagrampoll.Thiskindofnaturalengagementensuresthattheirteam’sproductdecisionsalignwiththepurchasingbehaviorsoftheircommunity.6.On-siteactivity(viaanalytics)Analyticsrevealwhatcustomersdon’tknowabouthowtheyuseyourproduct.Especiallyifyouselladigitalproductorservice,youbenefitfromleveraginganalyticstounderstandhowusersinteractwithyourcompany.Forexample,ifyouofferself-servicecontentasaformofcustomerservice,youcouldseethenumberofpeoplevisitingeacharticle.Ifonearticlehasan0:09averagetimeonpageandanawfulbouncerate,youknowsomethingisn’tstickingaboutyourmessaging.ReportingtoolslikelikeHelpScout’sDocsReportgiveyouinsightsaboutfailedsearches,mostfrequentlyvisitedpages,andsoonsoyoucanimproveyourcustomer’sself-serviceexperience.7.InstantfeedbackfromyourwebsiteWithanembeddableon-sitewidgetlikeBeacon,youcancollectinstantcustomerfeedbackwithoutaskingthecustomeranyquestions.AtHelpScout,forexample,wepulledninearticlesintoawebpagethatcouldbevaluabletopotentialcustomersonthepage.Insteadofaskingcustomerswhicharticlestheypreferred,Beaconcollectedthedataonthemostpopulararticles.Ifnoneofthearticleshelped,thecustomercouldemailtheteam—andthat’svaluableinformation,too.CollectingcustomerfeedbackiscrucialCustomerscantransformeveryaspectofyourcompanyforthebetterifyoulistentotheirfeedback.Thinkaboutyourmostpressinggoalsandstartwithoneclear,simplemethodforcollectingcustomerfeedbackbeforeexpandingouttomorecomplextacticslikeusabilitytestingandanalytics.Customersupportchannelsaretheidealplacetobegin—yoursupportteambringsmorevaluewhentheyapproacheveryinteractionasanopportunitytocollectquantitativeandqualitativefeedbackonrealexperienceswithyourcompany.Likewhatyousee?Sharewithafriend.ElizabethWellingtonLizwritesaboutbusiness,creativityandmakingmeaningfulwork.SayhelloonTwitterorthroughherwebsite.