How to get customer feedback without being annoying

Asking for feedback without being annoying means asking little, at the right moment, and giving something back.

TL;DR

• Ask one short question, right after the person finishes something.
• Ask where they already are: in your product, or by reply to a message they have already read.
• Tell them what changed. That is what makes them answer next time.

When to use it: any time you want to learn from customers without a long survey. When not: do not ask at all when you already have the answer in a thread, a call or a support chat. Read that first.

When is the right moment to ask?

Ask at a break, not in the middle of a task.

• Just after something works. They finished a task, or you fixed what they reported.
• Just after something fails. A cancel, an error, a downgrade. The reason is fresh, and they have already decided, so you are not in the way.
• After a gap you can explain. A first week in, or a month in, with a reason: "you set this up and we want to check it works."

Do not ask while they are reading, buying or stuck. Do not ask the same person twice for the same thing.

How often should I ask the same person?

Set limits before you launch a survey, not after someone complains. Six rules cover it:

• Days after signup before the first ask, so new people get a chance to use the product.
• Days after a response. Someone who just answered has given you enough for now.
• Days after a dismissal. A closed survey is an answer too: "not now."
• Days after an ignored view. They saw it and kept going. Wait before showing it again.
• The most asks per person, ever, for that survey.
• Quiet days across surveys, so two surveys never land on the same person in the same week.

Annsa's in-product surveys have all six as settings, with recommended defaults for each template that you can change.

How short should it be?

One question. Two at most. Nielsen Norman Group's advice on survey questions is to ask only what you need, avoid wording that nudges, and make most questions optional, because required questions lead people to answer at random or quit.

Good questions ask about what just happened:

• "What were you trying to do just now?"
• "What almost stopped you?"
• "What would you tell a friend who asked what this is for?"

Avoid asking people to predict ("would you use this?"). Ask about the last time. Rob Fitzpatrick's book The Mom Test is a short guide to asking about real problems without fishing for compliments.

Where should I ask?

Where they already are.

1. In your product. One question, a few seconds, easy to dismiss. Annsa has six in-product survey templates, each with limits on how often it asks.
2. By reply. A short message in the channel they already use, such as Slack or Intercom. A reply is easier than a form.
3. On a call. Record it and keep the transcript. Annsa takes call transcripts, so the words stay.
4. After a fix ships. The best time of all: they asked, and you have news.

Make one way easy, not five. Do not make people log in to answer.

What do I do with the answers?

Put them in one place with who said them. A reply that sits in an inbox gets lost, and you will ask the same person again. Feedback arrives from many sources, so the point is to keep each one with the person, the account and their exact words.

Then act, or say why you will not. Then tell them. Someone who hears "you asked for this, it shipped today" will answer the next time. See closing the loop.

Asks you can send today

Four short asks. Change the brackets and keep it short.

## 1. In the product, after a task
What were you trying to do just now? (one line is fine)

## 2. After a fix ships
Hi [name], you told us [their words, quoted]. We fixed it today: [one line]. Does it work for you now? A yes or no is plenty.

## 3. When someone cancels
Sorry to see you go. What was the main reason? A single line helps. No reply needed if you would rather not.

## 4. After a call
Thanks for the time, [name]. One thing I took away: [what you heard, in their words]. Did I get it right?

How does Annsa help?

Annsa is the source of direction for your agents, and it starts with what customers say.

• Replies from Slack, Intercom, call transcripts, in-product surveys (six templates, with limits on how often each person is asked), CSV and Google Sheets imports, GitHub and the API all land in one list. Each request keeps the customer behind it, their exact words, the account and its revenue.
• Annsa groups matching requests, so you see how many people asked.
• When the job ships, Share Back drafts a note to each person who asked. You read it and send it.

Try it on the Surveys page or see Feedback.

Sources: Writing Good Survey Questions: 10 Best Practices, Maddie Brown, Nielsen Norman Group, 20 August 2023. The Mom Test, Rob Fitzpatrick.