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Gathering high-quality user feedback can be one of the most powerful ways to improve your product, enhance customer experiences, and stay ahead of the competition. However, many PMs, UX researchers, and market researchers still rely on traditional methods like text-based surveys and static email forms. These methods can often miss the mark, especially when trying to engage users who are busy or disengaged.
If you're ready to take your feedback strategy to the next level, here are 9 pro user feedback tricks that you’re likely not using, but definitely should be:
Asking for a user interview is often seen as a hassle, but it doesn't have to be. By embedding a Calendly link directly in your emails, onboarding flows, or even within your product, you make it easy for users to schedule a quick 10-15 minute chat with you—on their terms.
Why It Works: A Calendly link makes the scheduling process simple and automated, allowing users to pick a time that suits them best, without the usual back-and-forth. Additionally, if you include this link before or after sign-up, you’re giving users a chance to provide valuable, real-time feedback about their first impressions.
Pro Tip: At the end of a survey or before sign-up, include a question asking if the user is open to a quick chat. This will set you up for easy, on-demand interviews.
Transactional emails—those sent after purchases, account updates, or feature interactions—are often underused as a feedback channel. These emails have high open rates, which means they are prime real estate for gathering insights. But why stop at just confirming the action? Instead, turn them into reply-inducing machines by prompting users to share their thoughts.
How It Works: Add a question like, “What was your experience with our [feature/product] today?” or “Is there anything we could have done better with your [purchase/sign-up]?” Or just add it to the footer of your email
Why It Works: These emails are often opened promptly, and users are more likely to engage when the ask feels like a natural follow-up to their recent action.
Pro Tip: Use AI-generated questions in your follow-up emails that are personalized based on the user’s previous actions. For example, “Since you recently used [Feature A], what part of the experience could be improved?”
The first email users receive after they sign up for your platform is a prime opportunity for user feedback and insight collection. Welcome emails are often eagerly opened, making them a perfect touchpoint for gauging first impressions.
How It Works: Ask a simple, non-intrusive question in your welcome email like, “How was your sign-up experience?” or “What made you sign up for [Product] today?”
Why It Works: At this early stage, users are more open to sharing feedback because they are just beginning to engage with your product, and their experience is fresh.
Pro Tip: To increase response rates, incentivize the feedback with a small reward like a free trial extension or access to exclusive features.
Traditional text-based in-app surveys are fine, but they can be a turn-off for users. Instead, try offering AI-moderated voice interview links. These allow users to speak their thoughts out loud, providing richer, more nuanced feedback compared to text responses.
How It Works: When users complete a key action (like finishing a feature), instead of displaying a survey, offer them a link to a voice interview. This can be AI-moderated, where follow-up questions and probing is done by the AI researcher.
Why It Works: Voice-based feedback is far more natural for users and allows you to capture richer emotional tones, nuances, and spontaneous feedback that can be hard to express in text.
Pro Tip: Use an AI moderated user interview tool to automate follow-up questions based on the user’s responses, allowing for dynamic conversations that adapt in real-time.
Sometimes, users need a little extra motivation to provide feedback. By incorporating a raffle system into your feedback collection process, you can incentivize users to participate in surveys or interviews.
How It Works: Let users know that by completing a survey or interview, they will be entered into a raffle for a valuable prize (e.g., free months of service, gift cards, or exclusive content).
Why It Works: Offering an incentive that feels tangible and attainable can boost participation rates. Plus, it adds an element of excitement and engagement to the feedback process.
Pro Tip: Make the raffle entry process simple (e.g., “Enter the raffle by completing this 2-minute survey!”) to lower barriers for participation.
While automated emails are essential, personalized messages for your high-value users can make a huge impact. Take the time to reach out to your most loyal users or customers with a personalized message asking for their thoughts or feedback.
How It Works: Send a direct email or message that references their specific interactions with your product (e.g., “I noticed you’ve been using [Feature X] for the last month. What do you think of it so far?”).
Why It Works: Personalized outreach makes users feel valued and appreciated, which can increase the likelihood that they’ll provide detailed, thoughtful feedback.
Pro Tip: For even higher engagement, record a 10-20 second video (could be even partially AI generated) to really personalize your message
If you want to collect consistent and deep feedback from your ideal users, consider creating a private WhatsApp, Discord, or Slack group where they can engage with your team and share their thoughts directly.
How It Works: Invite your most engaged, loyal, or high-value customers to join a private group where they can interact with your product team, share feedback, and provide insights into their experiences.
Why It Works: These real-time, casual interactions can uncover valuable feedback and also create a sense of community around your product. Plus, it’s easier to engage users when they feel like they have a direct line to your team.
Pro Tip: Keep your community engaged and valued with periodic content they value, special offers and events.
Managing feedback from multiple channels (surveys, support tickets, social media, etc.) can be overwhelming. Use an automation tool like Zapier or Make.com to automate feedback aggregation into one place, making it easier to analyze and prioritize.
How It Works: Set up Zaps to collect feedback from various sources (e.g., survey tools, customer support, social media) and send it to a centralized platform (e.g., Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable).
Why It Works: Centralizing your feedback streamlines the process of reviewing and acting on insights. You can quickly spot trends or issues that need attention without manually tracking data across different platforms.
Pro Tip: Set up notifications to Slack or email to filter for high-priority feedback (e.g., feature requests or major bugs) to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
Pro Pro Tip: Funnel all your data to an AI qualitative analysis tool (like Usercall) for automated tagging with excerpts and bigger themes for automated qualitative user insights.
Chatbots are not just for answering FAQs—they can also be a powerful tool for gathering real-time qualitative feedback. When users engage with your chatbot, you can automatically prompt them to share their thoughts on their experience or any issues they faced.
How It Works: After a user finishes interacting with a chatbot, trigger a feedback request asking them to share what worked, what didn’t, and what could be improved. Make the questions quick and conversational.
Why It Works: Chatbots offer an easy, non-intrusive way to collect feedback from users while they are already engaged with your product. They provide instant responses and can reveal insights about user needs, frustrations, and suggestions.
Pro Tip: Use AI chatbots to analyze sentiment during the interaction, automatically flagging negative experiences for follow-up.
Qualitativer user feedback is a critical part of improving your product, but traditional methods don’t always cut it. By incorporating these 9 pro user feedback tricks into your process, you can capture higher-quality insights, engage your users in new ways, and make data-driven decisions that truly impact your product’s growth.
The key is to keep things fresh and relevant for your users—offering them multiple ways to provide feedback in a manner that suits their preferences. Whether it’s through automated emails, personal messages, or leveraging AI and chatbots, there’s no shortage of innovative ways to collect actionable feedback. Start implementing these tricks today and watch your user insights improve!
