Are feedback forms a waste of time?
Often I see these comment boxes on docs/product/cancellation pages. They don't post a public comment, it just goes to the owner (or /dev/null).
- Do people use these for meaningful feedback?
- Are there better ways to solicit or accept feedback?
- Do they send out a good or bad signal?
Trending on Indie Hackers
I build a feedback cycle into my payment flow. For a micro SaaS and solo founder, it's amazing. I call them checkpoints, like a game.
Feedback is only collected after the trial period ends and then once every 90 days after that, if the user continues using the site. Each month is a cycle and they can choose to pay whatever they want.
What I essentially end up getting is a good sense of how my app resonates with my core audience as well as a continuous cycle of testimonials and feedback. My app homepage is made up of featured feedback that comes from checkpoints.
I also get a sense of how organic my app spreads because I calculate something called an Earned Advocacy Score. I like this better than an NPS because it actually measures past behavior, not super optimistic behavior (which we know from the Mom Test book, is all dirty lies).
The data I collect:
I've gone into some detail on some posts in my profile but the gist is:
I have learned through the method that people will tend to pay from $1-20 per month, depending on their situation and how often they use the app. I also have learned people tell their friends a lot. I also have a star rating for the app segmented by first-time users vs. paying members.
My current implementation is not ideal and eventually I'll replace it with a more integrated custom Stripe flow but I freaking love the checkpoint system.
You always want to hear from your customers. It's better if you could make it easy for the customers to send their thoughts with the context.
I always like to have feedback form everywhere it looks meaningful.
Yes, you may not always get a worthy input from your customers. But let me tell you, if a customer have taken efforts to send you their thoughts then it more worthy than not hearing anything from customers.
Out of 100 customers less than 10% take some efforts to write feedback/ thoughts and hit send button
Thanks, very thoughtful. The context gets me thinking. Technically it might be hard to get the browsing context via other methods.
In my opinion, sending feedback to a large company is rather useless. For small companies (like us) it's like air.
I'm attaching a screenshot from our lastest survey that we did at Everhour. In most cases, the answers are very detailed. We read, categorize, discuss everything. All team members can see this.
By the way, for some clients, we have to write and tell them that we have this or that functionality, they just didn't find it. This is the easiest way to increase loyalty :)
What I want to note:
We ask 4 questions:
hey mike! We're building an open-source tool to gather feedback exactly like you do - but in a more integrated and automated way :)
Would love to learn more about your process to see if we can replicate it in Formbricks - looks pretty slick!
I have learned more from interviews than from feedback forms. However, I always try to make it easy for users to give feedback. In general, multiple choice questions worked much better than free text, e.g.
Yes, I suppose this makes it easier for someone to think of an appropriate response if they don't have an obvious problem to report.
You never know when someone will be prepared to leave feedback, so it's good to always capture this kind of information. It's also a good idea to include a feedback request in your email Welcome series. Asking them what they think via email is great because you can reply and go back and forth, which results in much more depth.
The only time I think it's a bad idea to ask for feedback is if you make them jump through a bunch of hoops to cancel a subscription and then include a feedback form. That drives me nuts as a user, and I'll just run my hand across the keyboard to enter enough characters and be done with it.
Most people won't bother to write anything, but you can still get useful feedback from them. You may also get the occasional person using it to vent their frustration at you.
It's the occasional gems that you get, which makes such feedback forms worth it.
It's really a numbers game at the end of the day. If you have enough users that see your form (and the CTA is pretty clear) then some % of them will fill it out. It's up to you to design a form that actually provides you with meaningful insight though
So I work on the feedback team of a fairly large CRM software house. Here's my 2 cents.
Firstly, it depends, we always use feedback forms when launching a new product and i've found it valuable as it's caught a bug or two and also told us if our assumptions about the UX were correct or if we need to correct it. It can give you an idea of what has to be done in order to bring your customer ratings up.
Where it starts to lose its value is if you're bombarding your customers with feedback request e.g. you have 6 / 7 features live and each has its own feedback form. You're going to need to get into some sort of governance there so you don't ruin the users experience. I've found that having a targeted time frame / set of feedback requests here works best.
Then also you can get customers who just don't want to to give feedback, we once had a submission saying they were unhappy with a feature and in the "could you provide anymore details" input we just got "no lol". It inspired me to use the Frodo "ok keep your secrets" meme.
So yeah to summarise, if used properly feedback forms are a great way to judge how customers see / use your product. But don't expect amazing data from every single customer.
In my experience, using feature-specific forms works really well. If the feature requires some steps to be completed, there's a good chance the user will fill out the form. But I haven't found a way to convince people to fill out more general forms.
I think feedback forms can be a waste of time or detrimental if they're presented to non-paying viewers of the website
It would be more favourable to send feedback forms to already paying customers, or customers that churn
Why is that? Is there risk that they deter potential customers? Or is it just that the feedback is not likely to be relevant?
It's moreso the risk that it's not likely to be relevant
I think you can get relevant feedback if you can catch potential customers round when they decide not to buy. For example, their trial period ends and they didn't buy.
It's not uncommon to see those comment boxes on product pages, and I've often thought that they are a way for frustrated customers to release their steam. However, as an entrepreneur, I believe customer feedback can be a precious tool for improving one's business.
In my opinion, having a feedback system that allows customers to voice their opinions in a constructive way is crucial. I think having public threads where customers can upvote popular issues and suggest changes is a fantastic way to ensure that the most pressing concerns are addressed first. This creates a collaborative and inclusive environment that makes customers feel valued and heard.
If it's not public, I guess the use of AI technology to filter out the noise and irrelevant feedback could be a great way to streamline the process and focus on the comments that matter.
Using a public forum/issue tracker is an interesting idea. I'm not sure what the best way to go about that would be?
Adobe's feedback system https://community.adobe.com/ , I believe that taking inspiration from Adobe's community forum is a great starting point. By creating a feedback system that fosters collaboration, responsiveness, and innovation, you can create a community of loyal customers that will help your enquiry form thrive.
I usually give feedback with forms if they don't ask me for my email. I can give my Twitter or social for feedback, never my email. You can't have all. Feedback or email ?
Makes sense, although I see two situations here.
They signed up already, so I have some way to contact them.
Refused to sign up.
If 2 then this is relevant. I hadn't thought about social. It could be left to them if and how they want to be contacted.
Yes, you have to let them choose how. On the other hand, the idea of being reconctacted is not very attractive to users like me. I don't mind giving an opinion right now but I do it by telling myself that it stops right there, on this single interface. Continuing the conversation doesn't excite me unless I love the product. I would say it would be better to be able to get everything you can on one discussion. For this, it is necessary to prepare the best questionnaire. ( Google raduction)
I adored this one !
I personally use tons of forms that i create on Airtable to scan my customer satisfaction during their customer journey.
The main goal of all forms is to for my company to identify >> will this customer churn ?
But as we cannot really ask the question this way to the user, i don't really know how to formulate it ... any suggestion ?
No never a waste of time provided:
More info at : https://opiniator.com/rules-for-getting-actionable-customer-feedback-12-steps/
Full disclosure - we enable brick and mortar, non transactional and closed loop feedback via the cell phone
Feedback forms can be a valuable tool for gathering information and insights from customers, employees, or other stakeholders. However, whether or not they are a waste of time depends on how they are designed and implemented.
If feedback forms are poorly designed, difficult to use, or don't provide meaningful insights, they can be a waste of time for both the people filling them out and the organization collecting the feedback. In some cases, feedback forms can even be counterproductive, as they may create frustration or disengagement among those asked to provide feedback.
On the other hand, well-designed feedback forms can provide valuable insights that can inform decision-making, improve products or services, or help identify areas for improvement. They can also help organizations demonstrate that they are listening to their customers or employees and are committed to continuous improvement.
To make feedback forms effective, they should be designed with the following principles in mind:
Keep them short and easy to use: Long and complicated feedback forms are less likely to be completed, and may frustrate or turn off participants.
Ask specific and relevant questions: Feedback forms should ask questions that are specific and relevant to the purpose of the form. Avoid asking questions that are irrelevant or unclear.
Provide clear instructions: Make sure that participants understand what they are being asked to do, and provide clear instructions on how to complete the feedback form.
Use a mix of question types: Feedback forms can use a variety of question types, including open-ended, multiple-choice, and Likert scale questions. Different question types can help to gather different types of feedback.
Provide incentives: To encourage participation, consider providing incentives such as a prize drawing, a discount on a future purchase, or access to exclusive content.
Overall, feedback forms can be a useful tool for gathering insights and feedback, as long as they are well-designed and effectively implemented.
You should try this. I had an idea to create a directory site, but today I discovered that someone else has already launched a similar project in the market.
What I lost: I had to let go of my idea and my aspirations of starting my own small startup. I even searched for a domain name for my idea, but never purchased it.
Although, if you can automate this process in the future, you should give it a try and hope that over time, you will get results. If you have solid calculations, even if your giant competitor gets 100 clients on a single job list, you can still get 3, 6, 9, 15, 25, or any other number. Your idea can count as a giant project for a new startup person like you.
They aren't a waste of time. If there's something you're unsure about then there are a lot of people with a high variety of knowledge and perspectives which can help you with your problem or provide their opinion on things.
No, it's definitely not a waste of time. The feedback you get helps you get new clients.
No, they are not a waste of time. The feedback you receive from your customers will help you improve your product or service. Most customers will give you positive feedback and help you gain new customers.