What NOT to ask while taking user Feedback

What NOT to ask while taking user Feedback?

For any business, seeing things from the user’s perspective is a big deal. Collecting user feedback helps make your product better and shows you care about what people really want. It even gives users a way to share what bugs them. Most businesses know this and run a user feedback survey now and then.

But still, some companies don’t get the helpful answers they need. Sometimes the data isn’t true, or there’s not enough, or it’s just too wishy-washy. It ends up being pretty hard to use. Why does this happen?

The truth? It’s all in the questions. The right customer feedback questions get you answers that actually help. The wrong ones give poor results. Every business is different, but most of the classic mistakes are the same. Let’s check those out and figure out how to ask smarter next time.

Asking Questions Whose Answers Don't Match

This happens way more often than you’d think. Sometimes companies forget to double-check if their questions and answers even line up. For example, you ask “What did you not like about our product?” and then offer choices like “fast shipping” or “easy to use.” That’s confusing. If you use mismatched answers, you risk making your company seem careless. Take a minute to proofread, and it will make your user feedback survey way better.

Asking Mandatory Questions in the User Feedback

Forcing every question to be required is usually a bad idea. User feedback is a privilege, not a chore. If you make every answer compulsory, customers might just give fake replies or skip your survey altogether. It’s always nicer if they’re willing to help. If you ask smart questions, people will usually answer anyway. Just avoid making every text box or question required.

Asking For Unnecessary User Feedback

You don’t need to ask for info you already have, like an email or name. If you’re already able to reach them, why double up? Start your client feedback survey with real questions that matter, not ones you can find on your system already. It saves time and keeps replies focused.

Here are Email Templates To Ask For A Testimonial! 🔥

Providing a no-opinion option

If you’re collecting feedback, you want opinions. Not a bunch of N/A or "no opinion" clicks. If every question has "no answer," it leads to shaky data. Save that option for questions where a real opinion truly isn’t possible, but don’t offer it by default. It’s better for data quality.

Asking the big questions too soon

Timing matters. Questions about things like money or personal opinions would feel weird if you ask them too soon. It’s best to let them get comfortable, and then ask such questions later, and only if needed. If you start too intense, customers can feel weird and leave halfway.

Asking Questions They Can't Answer

Don’t forget. Your customers aren’t living and breathing your business the way you do. Don’t ask "How many times did you buy this product this year?" Most people have no idea. Same thing for ranking priorities. They probably don’t know. For collecting customer feedback, keep the questions simple and only ask what people can genuinely answer.

Customer testimonials work better when you let people respond in their own words, instead of asking overly technical stuff. Simple stories stick, and they’re gold for any business.

For example, if we speak of surveys, build a user feedback survey around what matters to your customers. Cut out the fluff, ask what you really need to know, and let people reply at their own pace. If you keep surveys short and focus on customer feedback examples that really help you improve, you’ll see better replies and real insights.

Asking the big questions too soon

There is a time and place for everything. Granted that the user feedback needs to be crisp. But making the consumers comfortable is also necessary. Questions about money, social status, etc., can cause discomfort. It also does not make for a great customer experience.

So, asking these questions at the start can make consumers uneasy. Moreover, some businesses tend to make these questions compulsory. This doesn't help in building trust. Let the users get familiar with the process, and then these questions can be included. Furthermore, it is best not to make them mandatory. Providing a choice goes a long way in increasing customer loyalty. Also, this way, the questions don't feel intimidating or uncomfortable.

Asking Questions They Can't Answer

There are many aspects of a business that customers may not know. Businesses know more about many factors than their consumers. So, including such questions makes it tough for all consumers to provide answers.

Also, some questions might seem obvious to business owners. But consumers are stumped while answering. It is not that they don't want to answer, but they don't know!

For example, suppose you ask for video testimonial. Then questions like, ‘what makes a video stand out can make them think too much. Furthermore, if it is a text response, they might not know what to write.

Here's another example of questions that are near impossible to answer. ‘How many times do you buy this product?’ More often than none, customers don't keep track of these things. Very few people will remember the number of biscuit packets they have purchased. The feedback received is quite unreliable. Furthermore, analyzing actual purchasing data gives more accurate information in both scenarios.

Another type of difficult-to-answer question is prioritizing. Asking consumers to rank what they look for in a product. How are they supposed to know this? Also, how accurate is this data? Such types of questions are not for the consumers. They are for the analysts. Customer journey mapping will be helpful for these types of questions.

Asking an Opinion on Many Factors in One Question

For a successful customer feedback campaign, an essential mantra can be to keep it simple. Make it as easy as possible to understand and answer. Moreover, companies need to design the feedback in such a way that it gives actionable data.

So, asking whether the product was easy to use and functioning well may sound like one question. But these are two different things. A product can be easy to use but won't work, or vice versa. Now, if a consumer says yes to the question, it generates false data. In such cases, it is better to split them into two. It will provide way more quality results. They can mention if it was easy to use and functional.

Now, it also becomes easier for businesses to work on customer feedback. For example, two features are mixed together, and there are negative responses. How are they supposed to act on it? The product may already be functional but difficult to use. Making it two questions is more for businesses than it is for the users.

Including too many Subjective Questions in the User Feedback

After school is over, very few people are still used to writing essays. It is mentally more challenging to write something than tick a box. Providing a written response requires more effort. Customers are going to be discouraged from providing feedback this way.

Text-based questions are helpful in understanding the user mindset. It also provides deeper insights into the customer experience. So, they are important. But there needs to be a limit on their volume. Limiting them to 1 or at the most, two per feedback can be helpful.

Now, this was from a customer's point of view. There are adverse effects of open-ended questions for businesses as well. Suppose the number of responses received is huge. Now, that is a good sign for a business. But the trouble starts here. How will the business analyze these responses? If there are too many text-based questions, analyzing them is tough. Not to mention, time-consuming.

Open-ended questions can be a very good supportive tool. But, they cannot be the majority of the feedback. Keeping the number of subjective questions limited is good for the business.

So, these were some of the mistakes people make while taking customer feedback. Yes, there are many ways in which businesses can mess up customer feedback questions based on areas. We have provided a list of customer feedback questions to help you gather clear and actionable insights from your customers. But that doesn't mean it is futile to try on making it better. Looking at so many don'ts can be daunting.

But there is no reason to worry. When there are so many don'ts, one can wonder what we can actually do. Now, let us look at ways to increase effectiveness while collecting customer feedback.

So, these are some of the things businesses can avoid while taking user feedback. Feedspace is an excellent tool to collect testimonials and ensure a seamless user experience.