Product feedback surveys

Creating and updating the right products for the right people is critical to the success of your company. So the process shouldn’t be left to guesswork or simply “trusting your gut.”

Assuming what your customers want and need out of a product leaves room for error and miscalculation. And that’s a risk you can’t afford to take. Fortunately, conducting product surveys can minimize that risk and guide you toward creating and updating products that meet and even exceed your customers’ expectations. 

Product surveys give you the insider knowledge that you need to plan new products, grow your business, and succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. Whether you’re creating software, apps, or real-life widgets, using one of our product survey samples can get you on your way to being more competitive, improving your product, and creating items your customers will love.

Product feedback surveys are a tool to learn how customers view and interact with your product or service. These surveys give you insight to what your customers like and dislike,  and also provide a roadmap for improving your product or service moving forward. Additionally, these surveys give your customers the opportunity to be candid about your products and share their thoughts and opinions with you. Their feedback may be very useful and can even influence any changes that you make to your product, in order to maximize their experience and attract new customers.

You can start creating your own product feedback surveys using SurveyMonkey’s template and other resources to quickly gain feedback about the products you are putting into the market. These templates help guide you in how to ask for product feedback from your customers.

Using product feedback surveys can be very advantageous to your business. For starters, they can build and strengthen customer loyalty because as you conduct surveys – whether by email, text, or social media – you are sending a clear message that your customers' feedback matters and is valued. Furthermore, these surveys reinforce your company’s commitment to stay connected with customers by using these surveys as an ongoing open line of communication.

Additionally, by knowing what your customers' needs are, what they like and dislike, and what makes them happy will ultimately save you money – and time -- because you have accurate and reliable information that came directly from them. This takes the guesswork out of determining what features would be most attractive to your customers.

Whether you want to receive feedback on a new product or service or looking to expand your product in a new market, there are various types of product feedback surveys that you can use. In this section, you will learn the different surveys available to help you gain insight on how to provide the best service or product to increase customer satisfaction.

Net Promoter Score surveys get you the data you need to quickly understand how customers feel about your organization. Furthermore, they are quick and straight to the point, asking one simple question: How likely are you to recommend company X/product Y/service Z to a friend or colleague?

These surveys use a rating system of zero to 10, where customers fall into one of three categories:

• Promoters – These customers rate their experience either a nine or 10. They are the most loyal and will continue to do business with you. Not only that, but they would recommend your organization and services to others, which ultimately contributes to your company’s growth.

• Passives – Customers in this group are satisfied but not enthusiastic. They are a vulnerable group because even though they expressed a positive view of your company, they are still open to patronizing your competitors. They rate their experience a seven or an eight.

• Detractors – This group are the unhappy customers who would not refer a friend or colleague and could potentially hurt your company’s brand through negative word-of-mouth, online reviews, or comments. They rate their experience from zero to six.

NPS surveys are beneficial to your company by capturing a clear measurement of customer loyalty. It offers up a big picture perspective if your products are hitting the mark with the majority of your customers. And while no one likes to receive negative feedback, NPS surveys can also be helpful in finding out what areas you can improve on to possibly regain those customers. For the promoters, they are more likely to bring your business new customers based on their recommendations.

However, NPS surveys provide a host of other benefits to your company like:

So when should you put an NPS survey to work for your company? Remember that these surveys are used to determine how many of your customers would recommend your business to others, how satisfied they are with your service or product, and benchmark your company’s efforts. Therefore, you want to ask questions that can yield you those answers, such as How likely are you to recommend this company to a friend or colleague? What does this company do really well?

You can also ask questions regarding demographics, such as age, gender, and household income.

Think about your most recent customer experiences with products and services that you use.  What made a certain experience better or more meaningful than others? For experiences that didn’t meet your expectations, ask yourself why? Maybe it was rooted in a specific interaction with the product or service that was time-consuming or confusing.  The customer effort score is a good metric for measuring the success—or ease—of an isolated interaction with a customer. The metric can also give you an idea of how much effort customers feel like they have to put forth to get their issues resolved.

Your customers are busy and want pleasant customer experiences – whether it is a service or product -- that is fast, easy, and worth their time. Customer Effect surveys are valuable when trying to ensure that you continue to meet your customers’ expectations. The following are advantages of measuring your customer effort scores.

In order to identify and address any obstacles in your customers’ experiences, you should use a survey that will help you to measure customer effort scores. Try asking customer effort questions immediately following events -- where they have had some type of interaction with your product or service -- to capture their initial reactions.

You can ask customer effort questions in several ways like multiple choice and open-ended questions. Consider asking these types of questions:

Ultimately, the questions that you ask – and how soon after an interaction you ask them – will help you to identify the areas in which you can improve your customers’ experience.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSAT) are a great tool to gain quick insight on how satisfied your customers are with your product or service. It is a creative way to ask your customers what they like and dislike about your product or service, and also identify areas in which your business can improve their experience in the future. But most importantly, it lets your customers know that their feedback is being heard, and is valued by your company.

No matter the industry, customer loyalty will always be one of your most valuable assets. This is why building strong customer relationships through the use of CSAT surveys is so helpful. It offers a direct line of communication between your business and customers, so you can trust that the information you are receiving is reliable and accurate. With thoughtful customer satisfaction surveys, you send the message to your customers that you care about their experiences and want to continue to provide them with the best products and service as possible.

Another advantage of CSAT surveys is that they can provide access to relevant customer information. Ideally, the more information you have about your customers, the better chance you have at keeping them connected and engaged in a variety of ways. For example, obtaining a phone number, email address, and mailing address will allow you to contact willing customers via text message, email, and by postal service. It stands to reason that the more ways that you can connect with your customers, the more likely they are to support your business.

Since CSAT surveys try to capture your customers’ thoughts and feelings, you typically find questions that yield those answers. The following are examples that you could ask customers to learn how satisfied they are with your product or service – or not.

By asking open-ended questions will give your customers the chance to share their most honest feedback. Keep in mind that negative feedback doesn’t always mean that it should be taken negatively. If you do receive feedback that isn’t as good as you’d hope for, look at it as an opportunity to identify any areas in which you can improve to maximize your customers’ experience. Your customers will be grateful and appreciate your company’s efforts to make their experience a good one.

You can get started creating your survey with SurveyMonkey’s Customer Satisfaction

Survey template.

Product feedback surveys can be used for many different reasons to gather a full spectrum of data and information aimed at better developing and upgrading products and services. 

Using important feedback to make informed product decisions

From the features of a product to entering new markets, the feedback you receive from surveys can help you to make informed decisions about your product. The following are examples that you would use for product feedback surveys.

Below are tips to help you create successful product feedback surveys.

Survey early, and often

Have a great idea for a new product? Before spending the time and money to make it happen, send a survey and see what your existing customers think. Surveying early on the process helps you gauge interest for your idea and lets you know if it’s worth your investment. But don’t stop there. Sentiments can change over time. For example, people may think a frozen yogurt food truck is an excellent idea in July, but they may not feel the same way come December. It’s hard to measure progress without benchmarks. Think about creating product surveys before, during, and after production of a product to see how far you’ve come, and to understand how to progress successfully.

Filters are your friend

Your results are in, and it’s time to analyze. Filters are a great way to quickly sort through all the information you have and find exactly what you’re looking for. Say you only want to see responses from people who live in a specific geographic region. Set the criteria as a filter and see what you want quickly and easily. Be sure to plan ahead and think about what filters you’d like to use when creating your survey questions.

Be concise

“Less is more” is the way to foster high completion rates for your survey. Make sure your questions are clearly written and easy to understand. Keep questions short and to the point. Avoid creating surveys that take a long time to complete or ask too many questions—this can cause your respondents to lose interest and drop out of your survey before it’s complete.

Product feedback survey questions should be simple and easy to answer. The following are examples of questions that you can ask in order to receive the best feedback.

The bottom line: Successful product strategies start with surveys. You can go straight to the source—your customers—to measure customer awareness, usage, and satisfaction over time. You gain a deeper understanding of how to improve your product and determine if there’s a need to adjust to your pricing.

Start now getting the insights you need to grow your product. Access SurveyMonkey’s product templates and certified survey questions to help you create and send surveys with ease. Looking for targeted people to take your survey? SurveyMonkey Audience is home to millions of qualified respondents who want to share their opinions, so you can have the insights you need to make better product decisions.

SurveyMonkey offers several resources to ensure that you get results that will create a better business and work environment. Explore SurveyMonkey market research solutions and see all that it has to offer.