In our ongoing series, Data Bytes, we ask questions, conduct industry research, dive into the data, and bring our expert analysis to you so you can use our findings to improve your business practices.
This week, we unearthed insights into how best to solicit product-related feedback from customers to drive product research.
Collecting feedback from real customers is an important part of improving your current product line and developing future offerings. And, as we discovered, product feedback surveys can also be an important driver of future sales.
To discover these insights, we went directly to consumers by surveying just under 400 people on customer feedback, incentives, and likelihood of making a future purchase.
These are our three biggest findings from our study.
How Likely Are Customers to Provide Feedback to Brands?
When embarking on a product research project, one of the first options is to create a consumer feedback study, often the first question that researchers ask themselves is: will our customers even respond?
It turns out, the answer is overwhelmingly yes, even without an incentive.
74% of respondents surveyed reported that they are either likely or very likely to respond to a brand’s request for specific product feedback. This percentage increases when you segment responses by age groups.
91% of respondents between the ages of 35 and 44 say they are likely or very likely to respond to solicitations for direct product feedback before an incentive is offered.
This means, for brands and products whose target audience falls within this age range, you may be able to get the results you need just by asking for input.
That said, when it comes to surveying customers for product feedback, time is of the essence.
How Much Time Will Customers Spend Providing Feedback?
Your audience may be happy to provide feedback without an incentive, but before you dive into creating an in-depth survey or schedule phone interviews, keep in mind this important fact:
The overwhelming majority of customers who will provide feedback without an incentive will only spend five minutes with you.
In fact, without an incentive, you are twice as likely to receive five minutes of feedback than 10 minutes. This means, you have to keep your survey short, sweet, and to the point.
Relying mostly on multiple choice and short answer questions, a five minute product feedback survey will be about 10 questions long.
But for more in depth projects, five minutes may not be enough to collect all of the data that you need. In these cases, you’ll need an incentive.
Does Asking for Product Feedback Influence a Customer’s Likelihood of Purchasing Again?
Have you ever wondered if collecting product feedback had any effect on a customer’s opinion of the brand and therefore their likelihood of making another purchase later on?
For a large percentage, asking the question makes all of the difference.
42% of respondents surveyed report that they are more likely to make a future purchase with a brand that asks for their feedback on a particular product.
By conducting product research with customer feedback surveys, you’re not just helping improve your product line right now. You are also laying the foundations of customer trust and loyalty that drive future sales.
Get Started with Product Feedback Surveys
As you begin your next round of product research, keep these three takeaways in mind. By designing your surveys and interviews around your audience’s preferences, you will increase the quality of the feedback you collect, increase future sales, and improve your bottom line.
New to creating product feedback surveys? See our quick-start guide and free templates for everything you need to get started.
