The Ultimate Guide to Getting Valuable Customer Feedback

Getting feedback from customers is crucial for any business that wants to improve and deliver an exceptional customer experience. But asking customers for feedback the right way is an art form You need to make it easy and compelling for customers to share feedback, while also asking the kinds of questions that will uncover truly valuable insights

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore proven methods, tools, and best practices for soliciting customer feedback that you can use to improve customer satisfaction, develop better products and services, and grow your business

Why Customer Feedback Matters

Before we dive into the how-to, let’s start with why actively seeking customer feedback should be a priority:

• Identify pain points. Customer feedback helps you identify pain points in your customer journey products, services and business operations that you may not be aware of. You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

• Increase customer retention. Research shows that customers who provide feedback are more engaged and loyal. Listening to feedback fosters goodwill.

• Drive product innovation. Customer feedback provides unique insights into how real customers use your products and what they need and want. This allows you to develop more customer-focused product innovations.

• Improve customer satisfaction. Closing the feedback loop by addressing issues identified by customers increases their satisfaction. They feel heard and understood.

• Generate referrals. Satisfied, engaged customers are much more likely to recommend your business to friends, family, and colleagues.

• Boost your reputation. By publicly responding to feedback, you build credibility and trust in your brand. Customers see you care about their experience.

The bottom line is that seeking feedback proactively shows customers you care and makes them feel valued—which is good for business. Now let’s look at proven techniques to collect feedback that provides actionable insights.

7 Ways to Get Customer Feedback

Here are seven of the most effective channels and methods to solicit high-quality customer feedback:

1. Create Feedback Opportunities Through Conversations

Don’t just wait for customers to submit feedback—ask for it through natural conversations. Train staff to listen for feedback cues and then follow up with open-ended questions, such as:

• How was your experience with our service?
• What could we do to improve your experience in the future?
• How does our product compare with other options you considered?
• How likely are you to recommend us to friends and colleagues?

Capture key feedback points during the conversation. Then follow up afterward with a thank you note and any additional questions.

2. Serve Relevant Feedback Forms at Critical Touchpoints

Identify key moments in the customer journey—such as after a purchase, support call, or product install—and request feedback then via customized forms or surveys. This in-the-moment approach gets feedback while the experience is still fresh.

Keep forms brief with a mix of ratings, multiple choice, and open-ended questions targeted to that touchpoint. Send via email or display in-product. Offer incentives for completing.

3. Request Customer Feedback Via SMS

Text messaging provides another convenient channel for reaching customers. Send a feedback request via SMS following key touchpoints. Keep it to 1-3 simple questions that customers can respond to quickly via text.

SMS is great for quick polls, ratings, and open-ended feedback from millennials and gen Z customers who prefer texting. Be sure to get opt-in permission first.

4. Make It Easy to Submit Feedback on Your Website

Your website is the digital heart of your business and a natural place to request feedback. Make it easy for visitors to share feedback anytime:

• Display a feedback widget or pop-up form on high-traffic pages.
• Include feedback forms in menus, footers, and support pages.
• Add ratings/reviews capabilities for products and services. Monitor reviews and publicly respond.
• Dedicate a page for feedback submissions and FAQs.

To encourage submissions, limit required fields and prominently display your commitment to feedback.

5. Ask for Customer Input on Social Media

From Facebook to Twitter, social media provides a convenient platform to poll followers and start conversations to gain feedback. Some ideas:

• Run quick polls on Facebook and Instagram. Ask about preferences, experiences, and satisfaction.
• Post open-ended questions on Twitter to get feedback on topics. Monitor mentions and hashtag conversations.
• Respond to reviews on your social profiles. Ask the reviewer follow-up questions.
• Share positive reviews from customers. Ask followers if they had a similar experience.

Remember to monitor and respond quickly to demonstrate you value feedback.

6. Request Feedback Through Third-Party Review Sites

88% of consumers read online reviews before purchasing. That makes review sites like Yelp a goldmine for feedback. Make sure your business listings are claimed and complete. Then:

• Actively request customers leave reviews after purchases/projects. Provide direct review site links.
• Monitor and respond publicly to reviews. Thank happy customers. Apologize for and address negative reviews.
• Use reviews to identify weaknesses and gaps in service and products. Follow up on insights.

The more reviews you can generate, the more feedback you’ll gain to act on.

7. Conduct In-Depth Customer Interviews

For deeper insights, conduct one-on-one interviews with both new and long-term customers. This lets you ask more open-ended questions and probe with follow-up questions to get details. Interviews reveal more about motivations, thought processes, and emotions behind feedback.

Focus interviews on better understanding customer needs, priorities, pain points, experiences, and journey. Be open to any feedback, even if it’s critical. Then thank customers for their time and insights.

Best Practices for Collecting Feedback

When reaching out for feedback across channels, keep these best practices in mind:

• Ask open-ended questions to encourage detailed, honest responses vs. yes/no answers.
• Reward customers who provide feedback with discounts, gifts, early access to new products, etc.
• Make it quick and convenient with short surveys, text/SMS options, 2-3 question mini-polls, etc.
• Thank every customer who provides feedback and tell them how it will be used.
• Follow up to close the loop by telling customers how you addressed their specific feedback.
• Monitor all channels where you can collect unsolicited feedback, including social media, reviews, and mentions.
• Remain calm if faced with negative feedback. Be grateful they took the time and focus on resolving issues.

The easier and more appreciated customers feel giving feedback, the more of it you will receive.

Using Feedback to Drive Improvements

The real value in gathering customer feedback comes from how you ultimately use it. To ensure you act on insights gained:

• Categorize feedback into groups by topic, product/service, processes, etc. Look for common themes.
• Assign someone to own following up on each category of feedback.
• Identify insights that can drive meaningful changes to improve weak points.
• Share key findings across the business so all departments can apply lessons learned.
• Incorporate feedback into product roadmaps, service blueprints, process updates, associate training, etc.
• Close the loop by communicating changes made from customer input.
• Obtain reactions to changes implemented with follow up surveys, interviews, or conversations.

Make acting on feedback a regular business process. Continual improvements based on customer insights will compound gains in satisfaction and loyalty over time.

Tools to Collect, Analyze, and Act on Feedback

Dedicated customer feedback software makes it much easier to gather feedback at scale across channels, analyze it for insights, and track the actions taken. Here are some top tools to consider:

• Qualtrics – Robust platform for building/sending surveys and analyzing open-ended text with AI for themes.

• SurveyMonkey – User-friendly tool for quickly creating and sending web-based surveys, analyzing results, and exporting data.

• Delighted – Simple solution for sending SMS and email surveys plus analyzing feedback and satisfaction trends.

• Zonka Feedback – Allows collecting feedback via customizable widgets on your website, SMS surveys, and review management.

• Wootric – Specializes in single-question pulse surveys and text feedback via mobile and web apps.

• Hotjar – Adds heatmaps, visitor recordings, conversion funnels, and feedback boxes to your site to get visual feedback.

The right tool will depend on your budget, the channels and types of feedback you want to gather, and the depth of analysis needed. As your business grows, invest in more robust platforms.

Over to You

Actively seeking customer feedback using the variety of approaches outlined in this guide will provide invaluable insights to help your business thrive. The key is making the collection process easy, rewarding, and appreciated. Then closing the loop by actually applying feedback to improve.

Focus first on building feedback opportunities into your most important customer touchpoints and interactions. As you prove the value from acting on insights, you can expand your feedback channels and collection. Just remember to keep