In-app feedback captures customer impressions, suggestions and even pain points in real time and in a streamlined fashion, utilizing the interface of the app itself.
No matter where they are in their journey, customers are constantly fielding calls, emails, texts and browser pop-ups. While there is certainly no shortage of opportunities to collect feedback from your customers, it is more important to know when and how to reach them to get the most value out of the contact without interrupting their workflow or disrupting their overall experience.
While each form of contact has its merits, many B2B SaaS organizations choose to utilize in-app feedback because the data it produces and the customer analytics that accompany their responses are incredibly valuable to product managers as they chart the product roadmap ahead of them.
Why is in-app feedback important?
While the act of collecting feedback data from your customers is in itself important, prompting for those insights from within your app adds several key benefits:
- Respondents are active users: If you are prompting users to provide feedback through an in-app mechanism, you know that these users are already engaged and invested in your product. This can increase the value of their comments when compared to a request for feedback that could otherwise include less-active users.
- Feedback tools are always ready: When configured properly, such as through a customer success platform, you know that your in-app feedback is going to be ready 24/7 to prompt users for input, lessening the burden on your staff and catching users when they are using the product.
- Cost of use is lower: When compared to other forms of surveys — which may have to be created in other platforms or managed separately by staff — in-app feedback often requires minimal maintenance to run after implementation.
- Feedback is given in real time: When you get feedback from in-app prompts, you are able to collect comments and impressions from users in real time when the information is fresh in their minds without them having to jump to another application to share their thoughts.
How can you maximize in-app feedback?
While every customer and SaaS solution is unique, there are still some in-app feedback best practices that can be followed to help maximize the time you are engaging with your users.
- Integrate surveys into the native interface of your app. Configure your feedback prompt to fit within the look and feel of your application, which makes it convenient for users to reply without interrupting their workflow.
- Keep the content and options concise. Keep the list of questions, and the length of the questions themselves, short and sweet. This can increase the likelihood of customers taking the time to provide their feedback.
- Ask for an opportunity to follow up. Because you are keeping the feedback prompts short, ask for the opportunity to follow up separately with the user about their response or even to participate in future surveys.
- Make space for open-ended responses. With shorter questions and feedback forms, some users may feel they need more space to share their justifications or thoughts on a question. Leaving an open-ended space can help to add more context to their response.
- Emphasize the value of the feedback. Whether it is a point of contact or an email address, list who will be receiving the feedback and the actions that will be taken to address it. This can encourage more detailed responses and demonstrate your ongoing efforts to improve your product or service.
