How to Get Quality Feedback from Customers (+ email example)
Getting feedback from your customers is a crucial step to success.
The honest insight of well-chosen people can be an invaluable tool to help you polish your product or service.
To get quality feedback, you need to find a way how do get it.
Most of the time, clients don't provide this type of information voluntarily so you have to be creative in the way how you approach them and ask for their opinion.
You can get their feedback in the guise of something else, so they provide feedback knowing they get much more back from it.
In this article, we're going to take a look at some of the most efficient ways of asking for client feedback.
In addition to that, I'm going to share one of the most effective email templates that will help you to ask for feedback.
Before even starting looking for ways to interrogate your beloved clients, it's better if we take a step back for a second and ask ourselves the following questions.
You can get their feedback in the guise of something else, so they provide feedback knowing they get much more back from it.
In this article, we're going to take a look at some of the most efficient ways of asking for client feedback.
In addition to that, I'm going to share one of the most effective email templates that will help you to ask for feedback.
Before even starting looking for ways to interrogate your beloved clients, it's better if we take a step back for a second and ask ourselves the following questions.
Who not to ask for feedback?
We all have customers that pay the lowest possible price but require a tremendous amount of attention.
They always ask for a huge discount, choose the smallest plan, and look for ways of reducing your price at any cost.
At the same time, these are the most demanding clients.
They expect you to go above and beyond, payout of your pockets for additional things they need.
Of course, it's a bit exaggerated example. But, don't tell me you've never encountered one of those people?
Asking these customers for feedback is not that much an option if you want to get valuable insight.
They always ask for a huge discount, choose the smallest plan, and look for ways of reducing your price at any cost.
At the same time, these are the most demanding clients.
They expect you to go above and beyond, payout of your pockets for additional things they need.
Of course, it's a bit exaggerated example. But, don't tell me you've never encountered one of those people?
Asking these customers for feedback is not that much an option if you want to get valuable insight.
What customers should I ask for feedback then?
If you get client feedback from people that pay for your service, the quality will be much better compared to those who get it for free.
Also, pay special attention to customers paying more than average and not very demanding and always refer other clients.
These are the best customers.
You can use ABC classification to identify the best candidates to ask for feedback from:
So we need to focus on segment A.
Why? Because we want to get more clients like that, that's why their feedback is the most important.
Now when we know what kind of clients we should ask for feedback let's look at some ways how to do this.
Also, pay special attention to customers paying more than average and not very demanding and always refer other clients.
These are the best customers.
You can use ABC classification to identify the best candidates to ask for feedback from:
- A - 10% of your clients, who generate 75% of your revenue
- B - 20% of your clients, who generate 15% of your revenue
- C - 70% of your clients, who generate 10% of your sales
So we need to focus on segment A.
Why? Because we want to get more clients like that, that's why their feedback is the most important.
Now when we know what kind of clients we should ask for feedback let's look at some ways how to do this.
How to get client feedback?
Now that you have taken the leash of the basics, here are some of the best ways you should try when aiming to gather the most honest and valuable feedback.
Shall we?
1- Surveys
Customer feedback surveys keep their ground when compared to other procedures.
It's nothing new, and yet technology has done nothing but good to them. This means that online surveys are much easier to share and the data they provide is often automatically analyzed, which takes a lot of weight from your shoulders.
There are a few rules to keep in mind when designing a survey, though. Keep cohesion in style and language and aim for short, clear questions.
Furthermore, a tablespoon of humor (if you feel it's a good suit) or open-ended questions that make sense can become great allies if used correctly.
At the end of the day, you should be looking at each question and be able to roundly say "yes" when thinking: "Is this question in line with the goals of the survey?"
Shall we?
1- Surveys
Customer feedback surveys keep their ground when compared to other procedures.
It's nothing new, and yet technology has done nothing but good to them. This means that online surveys are much easier to share and the data they provide is often automatically analyzed, which takes a lot of weight from your shoulders.
There are a few rules to keep in mind when designing a survey, though. Keep cohesion in style and language and aim for short, clear questions.
Furthermore, a tablespoon of humor (if you feel it's a good suit) or open-ended questions that make sense can become great allies if used correctly.
At the end of the day, you should be looking at each question and be able to roundly say "yes" when thinking: "Is this question in line with the goals of the survey?"
2- Customer Interviews
While surveys tend to provide quantitative (regardless of the quality) feedback, one on one interviews aim for more detail and longer explanations.
Start with wider questions and narrow it down as you go, but make sure you don't leave any important bit behind.
It is also relevant to keep in mind that such a small sample of people may not be fully representative of the whole picture.
However, interviewing a single customer can bring more life and color to the insight provided by thousands of people.
Look for their relationship with your product, their story, debunk some false assumptions and look at your own company from the eyes of someone outside of it.
Asking your customer's opinion face to face is certainly a very effective way of obtaining valuable information.
You get the chance to get more details and get a better insight into their thoughts regarding you, your team, and the product/service they've used.
When talking with clients about the feedback it can be useful sometimes to ask them what would change their mind about buying again from you.
We believe that asking such a question will give you clues on how to get more client satisfaction and improve business development by creating a strong relationship with them.
3- Social media
If setting up a poll on Instagram or publishing a survey-like post on Facebook (or Meta, now) feels aligned with your company, it's almost mandatory for you to try and squeeze all of the hidden feedback that lies among surprisingly honest users.
On one hand, it's a useful tool to show everyone that you care about them and to shorten the distance created from one to another.
On the other hand, social media respects today's tendency of fast, flashy content.
On Instagram for example, it's a single click.
Then you're already on the next slide/question.
Even if the user isn't highly interested in your product or service, we all love to be given away for us to speak our opinions and the quickness of it will help battle the generalized short attention span.
While surveys tend to provide quantitative (regardless of the quality) feedback, one on one interviews aim for more detail and longer explanations.
Start with wider questions and narrow it down as you go, but make sure you don't leave any important bit behind.
It is also relevant to keep in mind that such a small sample of people may not be fully representative of the whole picture.
However, interviewing a single customer can bring more life and color to the insight provided by thousands of people.
Look for their relationship with your product, their story, debunk some false assumptions and look at your own company from the eyes of someone outside of it.
Asking your customer's opinion face to face is certainly a very effective way of obtaining valuable information.
You get the chance to get more details and get a better insight into their thoughts regarding you, your team, and the product/service they've used.
When talking with clients about the feedback it can be useful sometimes to ask them what would change their mind about buying again from you.
We believe that asking such a question will give you clues on how to get more client satisfaction and improve business development by creating a strong relationship with them.
3- Social media
If setting up a poll on Instagram or publishing a survey-like post on Facebook (or Meta, now) feels aligned with your company, it's almost mandatory for you to try and squeeze all of the hidden feedback that lies among surprisingly honest users.
On one hand, it's a useful tool to show everyone that you care about them and to shorten the distance created from one to another.
On the other hand, social media respects today's tendency of fast, flashy content.
On Instagram for example, it's a single click.
Then you're already on the next slide/question.
Even if the user isn't highly interested in your product or service, we all love to be given away for us to speak our opinions and the quickness of it will help battle the generalized short attention span.
Nine tips on how to get customer feedback
Here are the ten tips on how to get your customers motivated and ask for valuable feedback from them:
- Approach clients who have been working with you long enough. Remember, the best clients are those who pay above average and don't require much of your attention;
- Tell them, that they have a unique chance to adjust anything in your product, thus making it even more valuable to them;
- Use the power of social media to get feedback from them by asking questions via Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, etc
- Easy way to get feedback from customers is to use video questionnaires, online surveys, any other way that simplifies the process for them;
- Make sure you show your gratitude for the time and effort they're putting into answering;
- Use humor, make it fun for them - this is very effective!
- Ask if there are any important topics or information that clients would like to get more insight on;
- Encourage feedback by using bonuses/discounts/gift cards as a reward;
- Be honest with them about why you need their input so badly - then most likely everyone will cooperate.
Email template for asking customer feedback
Here are a few things you need to know to increase your chances to get feedback.
You need to catch their attention in the first sentence.
Be straight to the point, no long reads for this type of email.
The shorter your email, the most likely they'll read it.
Don't use the same email template every company uses.
Customers won't open it.
You need to stand out to get their attention (and feedback).
Don't ask for a favor.
It's needed for them to share their experience of using your product.
Say it to them.
If there is something they were always hoping to improve, this is exactly the moment to share their thoughts with you.
Short and sweet email sample:
Did you notice how I formated this email?
Sentences are short, one sentence per row, and there are blank rows between sentences.
These three things increase email readability, thus the success of your customer feedback gathering campaign.
Finally, now that we've gone over some of the most effective feedback gathering methods, it's time to work on our answer (whenever that's necessary).
It is always nice to come back to the people whose time they invested in you to thank them and ensure their insight is valued.
Regardless of the nature of the feedback, whether it's positive, neutral, or negative, there are some things to keep in mind to maintain a certain level of professionalism.
First, always, always remain calm and polite.
Throwing a tantrum because a customer left a hateful or unfair message opinion is never the way to go.
Respect everyone's point of view and express concern on how could they experience be improved.
Express gratitude to those who love your product and make everyone feel listened to.
The key to a good feedback relationship is to actively listen and to act upon people's opinions.
That is why you're asking for it, after all.
Establish healthy relationships with those you can and act professionally with those who aren't willing to do so.
Expect every kind of behavior.
People are unpredictable, but your mannerisms shouldn't be.
Listen, thank and act.
After following these steps, you should be able to find remarkable improvement when it comes to the feedback you're getting and the way you're responding to it.
I hope it has been helpful!
You need to catch their attention in the first sentence.
Be straight to the point, no long reads for this type of email.
The shorter your email, the most likely they'll read it.
Don't use the same email template every company uses.
Customers won't open it.
You need to stand out to get their attention (and feedback).
Don't ask for a favor.
It's needed for them to share their experience of using your product.
Say it to them.
If there is something they were always hoping to improve, this is exactly the moment to share their thoughts with you.
Short and sweet email sample:
Did you notice how I formated this email?
Sentences are short, one sentence per row, and there are blank rows between sentences.
These three things increase email readability, thus the success of your customer feedback gathering campaign.
Finally, now that we've gone over some of the most effective feedback gathering methods, it's time to work on our answer (whenever that's necessary).
It is always nice to come back to the people whose time they invested in you to thank them and ensure their insight is valued.
Regardless of the nature of the feedback, whether it's positive, neutral, or negative, there are some things to keep in mind to maintain a certain level of professionalism.
First, always, always remain calm and polite.
Throwing a tantrum because a customer left a hateful or unfair message opinion is never the way to go.
Respect everyone's point of view and express concern on how could they experience be improved.
Express gratitude to those who love your product and make everyone feel listened to.
The key to a good feedback relationship is to actively listen and to act upon people's opinions.
That is why you're asking for it, after all.
Establish healthy relationships with those you can and act professionally with those who aren't willing to do so.
Expect every kind of behavior.
People are unpredictable, but your mannerisms shouldn't be.
Listen, thank and act.
After following these steps, you should be able to find remarkable improvement when it comes to the feedback you're getting and the way you're responding to it.
I hope it has been helpful!
