How to ask customers for feedback the right way: 8 tips with examples

Regardless of the industry you are in, customers are the most important part of your business. Consequently, knowing what they think of your services or products is essential.

To find out how customers see your business, you must consistently request their feedback. Asking customers for feedback might be challenging, but it is crucial to the success of your business.

In this article, we will show you how to ask for customer feedback by asking the right questions, at the right time.

What is the purpose of customer feedback?

Customer feedback gives business owners insights into how their customers feel about their services or products. Its primary purpose is to help businesses improve, remain competitive, and enhance the customer experience.

Basically, customer feedback is a critical review of a business’s services provided through an objective lense. This review could come in the form of suggestions to improve performance or cut back on complaints. Safe to say, this feedback, aggregated from different sources, represents the voice of the customer.

Often, companies request customer feedback but don’t use it. The reason is that they haven’t defined the purpose of the feedback before asking for it.

Defining the purpose of customer feedback is necessary for building an effective closed feedback loop system and boosting brand credibility. So before you start asking customers to share their opinions about your business, make sure you know exactly what you’re going to do with this information.

Why do customers avoid leaving feedback?

There is a common misconception that customers are unwilling to leave reviews or feedback. In reality, most people are willing to leave feedback, especially if they are happy with a product or use it frequently.

Around 95% of consumers will leave an online review about a product if asked to do so. However, there are some things that will determine them to become unresponsive or abandon the feedback process:

• Feedback emails that are too formal.
• Disruptive feedback pop-ups.
• Surveys that are too long or ask the wrong questions.
• Requesting feedback at the wrong time.
• Weak social link between them and your business.
• Complicated feedback submission process.

Any feedback, even negative one, is better than no feedback at all. Naturally, customers often leave feedback when unsatisfied with a business or service.

You should view negative feedback as an opportunity to improve. When addressed correctly, it might also determine unhappy customers to give your business another chance.

Importance of asking for feedback

Whether you’re looking to build a closed feedback loop system or generate better Google reviews, asking for feedback is vital. Below, we will discuss some of the benefits of doing so. 

• It provides a basis for improvement. Asking customers for feedback helps you to determine what you need to work on and possible services to add. It also lets you identify the products and services excelling amongst your customers.
• It helps improve customer service. In business, you must ensure that your customers are satisfied with your products and services. A great way to do so is by asking for customer feedback and acting on it.
• It allows you to identify customer preferences. Since the primary goal of a business is to satisfy its customers, you must first know what they want. Identifying your customers’ preferences lets you create products and services that they will benefit from.
• It boosts business image. Reviews play a significant role in the way potential customers view your business. In fact, in 2021, around 70% of customers read product reviews before purchasing a product.

How to ask customers for feedback 

Asking customers for feedback is undoubtedly a major step toward achieving your business goals. Here are some of the best methods of asking for customer feedback:

1. Create feedback opportunities through conversations

Striking up a conversation with a customer can make them comfortable enough to voice their concerns and give you a review. Hence, you can gain insights into their experience of using your product. To achieve this, you can use customer service emails, live chat, or phone calls after each successful interaction.

2. Serve relevant feedback forms at critical points

Inserting feedback requests at critical points of the customer journey is an excellent way to discover why they decided to do what they are doing. For example, when a customer backs out from a purchase, you can inquire about why they didn’t complete the action.

This type of customer feedback is specific to the customer’s action, so you need to ask the right questions. For example, if a customer doesn’t convert from a trial to a paid account, you could ask what doubts they had about your product. Use tools like HotJar to gather feedback, analyze insights, and uncover behavioral patterns that will help you optimize the path to conversion.

3. Request customer feedback via SMS

Despite the rise of newer communication methods, SMS marketing is still at its peak. In 2021, mobile users sent about 2 trillion messages using either SMS or MMS. This widespread use makes SMS an excellent method for requesting customer feedback.

Create automated text workflows to follow up on customer actions when they have used your services.

You can also send regular messages to inquire about the customer’s experience over a particular period. SMS for customer support is great because it creates the opportunity to have two-way communication with customers and request feedback more organically.

4. Make it easy to submit feedback through your website

Although customers are willing to leave feedback, making it difficult will discourage them. So, when requesting customer feedback on your website, you must make it easy for them to submit their suggestions.

Here are a few ideas to help you simplify the feedback submission process:

• Create a “leave us your feedback” page that is easily accessible so customers can quickly type their feedback. It is also a good idea to include other customer reviews to encourage more feedback.
• Feature reviews and feedback prominently on your pages for social proof and add CTAs to encourage others to leave their review.
• Add a quick line requesting feedback to all relevant email communications you send to customers.
• Reward customers that take the time to share their feedback with you. Follow-up after every review request to show them you are taking action based on their feedback.

5. Ask for customer input on social media 

Social media is an excellent way to get customer input about your services. Including polls or engaging posts can help encourage your customers to leave feedback. You can also include links to your website’s review page in the captions of social media posts.

Another great strategy is to create paid social campaigns highlighting reviews from other customers. Retarget your existing customers, and ask them for their feedback. Take it one step further by reaching out to these customers and featuring their feedback in case-studies or success stories.

6. Request feedback through third-party websites

Third-party review websites are more than just an effective way of getting customer input, as they also help to boost your market reach. Sites like Trustpilot and G2 have specific review pages that customers can fill out. Once published, these pages can be used to capture demand.

Here are a few ways that you can benefit from feedback on third-party websites:

• Become a top performer or market leader in your niche.
• Receive awards and badges that you can display on your website or banners to boost credibility.
• Evaluate specific aspects of your product or service. Third-party surveys request feedback on various areas of the business, like functionalities, quality of support, price, etc.
• See how you are performing against competitors and identify your unique competitive advantage.

7. Create product or service experience questionnaires

Product and service experience questionnaires are surveys in which customers describe their experience using your products or services. After creating such a questionnaire, you can publish it on your website so that long-term customers can fill it in. Please note that these types of surveys are different from quick one-question surveys.

Typically, these surveys are longer and much more detailed. Our recommendation would be to request this type of feedback from customers who have already responded positively to shorter feedback requests or who use your products often.

8. Always thank customers for their feedback and act on it

After receiving customer feedback, it is essential to thank the customer for their input. For example, if you’re using a conversational method, you can end the conversation by thanking the customer for their time and for giving valuable feedback.

It is also a great idea to include a thank you message at the end of a questionnaire or social media poll. Then, once you’ve obtained the feedback you need, you must act on it. This could require you to fix a bug on your website, add a new service, or improve your customer service.

Examples of customer feedback questions

Customer feedback questions have various purposes. Some will help you to improve your products and services, while others will help you to understand the customer’s general experience. 

Here are a few typical examples of customer feedback questions to get you started, but we encourage you to check out our full list of survey questions organized by user journey:

1. Where did you hear about us?
2. What did you enjoy most/least about our services?
3. What would you change about your experience?
4. What products or services would you like to see?
5. Did our staff help you solve any issues you encountered?
6. Were our staff courteous while taking care of the issue?
7. How fast was our service?
8. Has any of our services exceeded your expectations?
9. What would have made our services exceed your expectations?
10. Would you recommend us to others or use our services again?

How not to ask customers for feedback

Here are some things to avoid when requesting customer feedback:

• Offering cash rewards in exchange for feedback. While this might be tempting, offering rewards to customers for their feedback is never a good idea. Rewards in the form of gifts, discounts, or monetary incentives can be seen as a bribe to the customer and thus may damage your image.
• Not responding to feedback. Not replying to customers’ complaints on time or not acting on them at all is bad for business. Responding to customer feedback shows how much you value your customers and, ultimately, will boost your company’s image.
• Buying or generating fake reviews. Fake reviews are painfully obvious. Not only do they prevent you from improving your services, but they can also lead to a poor customer experience.
• Being pushy. Nobody wants to be bombarded by pop-ups or emails when they’re trying to do something. Be mindful of the frequency at which you are requesting feedback.

Conclusion

Customer feedback is a powerful tool for business growth. However, the process doesn’t stop once you have obtained it. Acting on it, to a large extent, determines whether your customers will use your services again or not.

There are numerous ways to request customer feedback. These include using third-party websites, emails, SMS messages, and a service review page on your website. You simply have to find the method that works best for you and apply it to gain that vital customer input.