If people don’t like something, they speak with their wallets. It’s better for your business to find out customer preferences before you lose the sale. Feedback from clients, website visitors and potential customers is important for all businesses, but getting this feedback as an e-commerce business can be tricky. How can you request feedback that is constructive without irritating people online? This guide shows you practical solutions.
What Are the Obstacles to Receiving Feedback From Online Customers?
There are several challenges when it comes to gathering the opinions and suggestions of online clients. Here are a few common obstacles you may face.
Privacy Concerns
Consumers are more hesitant to share their personal information online these days. Asking them to fill out a survey with information related to their income or preferences can make some people uncomfortable.
Busy Lifestyle
Many modern families live a busy lifestyle. When online, people tend to have even less patience. Many shoppers even get frustrated when webpages take a few seconds extra to load! Filling out a questionnaire may be the last thing users want to do with their time.
Negative Drift
It can be hard for small business owners to wade through feedback, because many of the responses may be negative. It’s a fact of life that people are more likely to make their voices heard when upset than when happy.
Unclear Ideas
For feedback to be helpful, it should be specific. If someone simply says that they “don’t like” a product, it doesn’t help you improve anything. You need to know why they didn’t like it and how to improve.
How Can You Design a Good Survey?
The good news is that many of these obstacles can be overcome with a quality survey. Instead of your run-of-the-mill blank form, a well-designed survey gently guides customers in the general direction of good feedback. That way, the feedback you receive is of higher quality, too.
Aside from the technical considerations of survey design, you can pay attention to the overall format you choose. Instead of depending on users to do the heavy lifting, you can create interactive surveys that are simple to use. People may be more inclined to fill out a survey with a short list of options that they only need to click on.
For example, instead of asking, “What did you like most about the product” and leaving a blank box for clients to write in, place several options for people to choose from. “Price,” “app design,” “color,” “personality” or “quality” are a few options. Then, at the end, include a box for “other” so people who feel like going into greater depth can.
How Can You Make Giving Feedback Feel Rewarding?
Every business needs to approach feedback differently depending on the target audience. Different age groups may participate in feedback for different reasons. Your business can encourage honest reviews in several ways.
Change When You Request Feedback
In the past, many stores gave customers feedback surveys immediately after checking out. That’s a mistake. Let your customers enjoy their purchase and the dopamine rush that comes with it.
Ask for feedback after people have had a few days with their new product. Send an email with a positive tone, such as “How are you enjoying your new [item]?” If you make great products, and the person is feeling happy about their purchase, they may be more inclined to take a few minutes to leave a review. Plus, it’s more likely to be a positive review.
Stay Active on Social Media
Social media conversations with your business are feedback in disguise. Always respond positively to communications, even negative ones. That way, you make a good impression on other people who may be reading the chat.
You can’t pay directly for reviews, but you can incentivize feedback. There’s nothing wrong with rewarding clients with a nice discount on their next purchase for taking five minutes to give you feedback.
