Madeleine Wilson May 9, 2021 Surveys notoriously have low response rates, especially when using a legacy channel such as email. However, in-app surveys present an entirely unique opportunity to engage with customers and gather feedback in real time.
One of the most common surveys brands deploy is the NPS survey. We know NPS can be a powerful tool if used correctly, and recognize the value in having one metric to provide a holistic pulse on your customer experience. Unfortunately, the way it’s used today by many companies can have flawed results.
So, if NPS isn’t always the most effective survey, what are some other questions you can ask your app customers? Well, we have the answer. Here are several common use cases for surveys within the mobile experience and then questions you can ask to support those.
Roadmap prioritization and feature adoption (or lack thereof)
One of the more baffling dilemmas product managers face is lack of customer adoption after launching a new feature or an app update. Instead of scratching your head or making guesses about why customers are not using a particular feature, go straight to the source and ask them. These questions can help uncover bugs you might have missed in the QA process. It might reveal that customers simply did not know about a new feature or update, which can then inform your marketing and in-app onboarding.
Surveys can also be used to ask questions about the app experience as a whole to better inform your product roadmap and help with prioritization.
- How easy was the new feature to use?
- Have you used this feature yet?
- How was your experience with this feature?
- How can we improve?
- How often do you use our app?
- What is your primary reason for using our app?
- What would your ideal feature be?
Beta program participation
If you ask customers if they’d like to participate in your beta program and they answer “yes,” you want to immediately gather information about them so you can follow up with them or retarget them appropriately. Instead of sending a follow-up email asking for more information (which the customer may or may not even open), gather that information right then and there within the app. Surveys do not always need to be about customers giving feedback, they can be used as a tool to gather more basic information.
Once you’ve developed your beta tester persona, found your beta testers, and distributed the app with instructions on what you expect, you have to make sure this process will deliver the results you need. Surveys are a great way to ask beta testers for their input.
- Overall, how would you rate the beta program?
- Did you find it easy to know your responsibilities as a tester?
- How easy was it to report issues you encounter?
- Do you have any comments/suggestions for the beta program?
Customer sentiment
Understanding how your customers feel is the catalyst for all other communication. Would your customer service team treat an angry customer the same as they would treat an elated customer? Probably not. Would you communicate with customers without first knowing how they feel about you? You could, but you probably won’t get your message across very effectively. Treat digital interactions as you would in-person interactions—with context in mind.
A simple tool we developed here at Apptentive called the Love Dialog allows brands to quickly take a pulse from customers. We simply ask, “Do you love [insert your brand here]?” If a customer answers “no,” we have a solid understanding of where they’re at in terms of customer happiness and can create a plan to shift that answer back to “yes” the next time we check-in. This simple question combined with strategic targeting will allow you to benchmark sentiment from the same customers over time.
NPS+ is a tool we recommend as well to gauge emotion and sentiment. As we mentioned earlier, NPS as it exists today and how it’s used by most brands is not effective. However, simply asking “why” after the classic NPS question can open up a world of information and helpful context.
- Do you love our brand?
- Do you love our app?
- How likely are you to recommend our app and why?
Bonus mobile survey tips and tricks
Surveys can be used in so many different unique ways. Here are a few additional strategies to make the most of in-app surveys.
- Micro-surveys: In the mobile world, efficiency is key. Reducing friction and eliminating steps your customers have to take to give you feedback is critical. By creatively using micro-surveys, you can eliminate one of those hurdles between your customers giving you feedback.
- Opt-in: Instead of just launching people into a survey, first ask them if they can answer a few quick questions. In our 2021 Mobile App Engagement Report, we found that simply giving customers the choice to opt into or out of surveys resulted in survey response rates of 60% (again, industry average for survey response rates is 1%).
- Retargeting: One of the biggest flaws of classic survey channels is that it’s next to impossible to retarget people and take the pulse of the same customer over time. If you use in-app retargeting the right way, you can easily follow up with the right people time and time again. This can help you identify shifts in behavior or customer sentiment in real time and quickly uncover issues within your mobile experience.
- Benchmarking: Whether you’re launching a new feature or simply fixing a bug, it’s critical to understand customer sentiment and preferences before and after a major update. Taking the pulse of your customers before and after a change can help you more accurately understand the effectiveness of that change and make adjustments quickly.
Surveys enable companies to collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative feedback. Mobile surveys are powerful in understanding sentiment, but only if they’re used correctly. When it comes to mobile, short surveys with specific asks (like feedback on a new feature) are effective and efficient.
In addition to content, the timing of surveys is critical. A survey that interrupts a customer’s in-app experience will rarely be well-received. The data in this post shows us how winning brands design in-app surveys for great customer feedback flows.
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