The Best Times & Channels to Request Customer Feedback

Customer feedback fuels a company’s growth and long-term success. Hearing directly from those you serve provides valuable insights into the customer experience and its impact on loyalty. Gathering this requires knowing how and when to request customer feedback.

While there are many customer feedback channels, some may work for your business more than others. In this guide, you’ll get practical advice on where and when to ask for customer feedback. Explore best practices, tips to boost response rates, and more.

Why Timing and Delivery Matter More Than You Think

Does customer feedback survey timing really matter? In a world where companies ask consumers for their opinions, standing out can be challenging.

There are many things that impact response rates. Some of those are within your control, including when and how you request customer feedback.

Businesses can make errors here simply because they forget about the timing or delivery. Instead, they rely on an automated process and hope for the best.

Some frequent mistakes include:

• Asking for feedback before the customer receives the product or service
• Making it confusing for customers because there are too many places to leave feedback
• Waiting too long after the transaction or interaction
• Not communicating in the preferred channel for the customer

Delivery Mistakes

There could be a channel issue, but there’s more to delivery. Customers don’t like overly formal email requests. They also expect surveys to be quick. They don’t have time for dozens of questions.

Where you ask for reviews and how easy you make it affects response rates.

Timing Errors

Finding that timing balance can be tricky. It could be too soon or too late. It’s true that people have better recall of something that just occurred. In some cases, an immediate feedback request works.

Other times, it could be too soon, and customers may ignore it if you do ask for input right after a transaction. You may consider pacing it out more. 

Whether it’s too soon or too late, each has an impact on the response rate. So, how do you dial into the ideal customer satisfaction request timing?

Best Times to Ask for Feedback

Determining when to ask for feedback is unique to every business, but some things hold true across the board. To find your optimal time, you’ll want to take these steps.

Look at Your Response Data

If you are currently requesting feedback at different times within the customer lifecycle, which timeframe has the best response?

If there’s no clear “winner,” you’ll need more context to determine the impact of timing.

Define the Customer Lifecycle

Feedback requests should align with the customer lifecycle. Those will vary, especially in a product versus a service. Highlight the touchpoints within this timeline to determine when a customer should be able to form an opinion.

Here are some examples:

• In the fitness category, it’s good to give customers time to make this a habit. A good rule of thumb is 30 days. However, you may want to review their usage before sending them.
• For home services, it’s best to reach them very soon after completion. Waiting too long could cause no response.
• For health and wellness, perfect timing varies for product versus service. If it’s a product, you need to wait until enough time has passed for results. Services are often best when immediate.

In the lifecycle map, you also need to consider shipping and delivery timeframes for products. After delivery, you may still need to wait a few weeks so people have time to use it.

Usage patterns matter here as well. That additional data can help you plot the best times to request customer feedback.

Additionally, consider engagement milestones within the lifecycle. Has the customer taken meaningful action, like completing a certain number of gym check-ins?

Avoid Review Fatigue

There’s an impact when your requests come too close together. It can turn off customers and cause them to abandon submitting post-service feedback.

Top Channels for Collecting Feedback

In addition to timing, the channels you use to gather customer responses also impact responses. There are lots of options available, and some have better traction than others.

Channels for collecting customer feedback include:

• Email: It’s typically the “best” channel to use. It’s non-intrusive and occurs in a “logged-in” medium, where people are usually engaged. The average inbox keeps getting fuller, so timing and wording will impact responses.
• Text: Texting surveys can have better response rates than email, but it depends on consumer preferences. Data suggests that 53% of consumers rate SMS as their preferred communication. It’s a convenient place to send a quick message with a link.
• Phone: Even in a digital world, calling customers and requesting feedback could still be viable.
• Chat: If customers interact with you via chatbots, you can include a quick survey after the conversation. The experience is fresh, and it only takes someone a few seconds to answer a question or two.
• Social media: Some platforms, such as Facebook, have review options. You would solicit feedback here by posting to your followers and asking them to submit a review.
• In person: For service companies, your technicians or workers can leave behind a card with a QR code to leave a review. You can also have a feedback box at your location with cards for customers to give a rating and leave a comment.

These are the top communication channels for requesting customer input. There’s another side of the “where.” Emails, texts, and QR codes must lead somewhere. Options include:

• A survey platform
• Your website
• Third-party review sites (e.g., Yelp, Google, etc.)
• Social media profiles

You may use all of these channels to collect feedback. Communications can provide all these channels, or you could customize messaging based on known customer preferences.

RELATED ARTICLE — How to Ensure Uniform Customer Experience Across All Franchise Units

Listen360 Best Practices

Ensuring you request customer feedback the right way involves following best practices. There are many factors to consider in designing the best customer feedback loop.

The customer feedback loop has four key elements to consider as you learn about best practices:

• Asking for feedback
• Grouping feedback into buckets
• Acting on the input from customers
• Following up with customers who offered their opinions

For feedback to make a difference in the customer experience, having a set of best practices should account for all four areas of the “loop.” The quicker you can implement changes, the better. If they are minor, it’s not so hard to do so across your locations. If they are major, it may take more time.

Here are some other ideas and suggestions to develop best practices that deliver results:

• Tell customers why you want their opinion. Being transparent and authentic about why you want feedback builds trust. You can let them know that their reviews help you improve the business.
• Make it easy to respond. Customers need quick and clear instructions. When they click to leave a review, it should be once. Make surveys short so it takes them seconds to reply.
• Offer an incentive for views. A small reward, such as a discount or branded giveaway, could get people to respond to your request.
• Train your staff. Make sure employees across locations follow the same practices for requesting customer feedback.
• Categorize the customer responses. You could do this based on location, service, product, or any other criteria. If you do this as the feedback comes in, you can streamline analysis.

Another crucial best practice is the platform you use to manage, monitor, and improve customer experience. If you have data in multiple systems, you’re likely spending too much energy getting it all together.

Also, a platform empowers you to monitor feedback responses in one spot so you can gain insights into timing and channels. You’ll know what’s working and what you should continue to tweak.

RELATED ARTICLE — Measuring Customer Satisfaction: How NPS Drives Enhanced Customer Engagement

Tips to Boost Response Rates

The first thing to consider about response rates is measuring them. You should calculate these percentages for each channel. As you implement new strategies, monitor to see if there have been any changes.

Here are some tips to improve response rates:

Keep It Short and Simple

Feedback can come in different ways. Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric based on one question: How likely are you to recommend the company? It may also include an option to add a comment. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is also a simple rating, typically.

You can also send custom surveys. It’s best to make them 10 questions or shorter so it only takes a few minutes. You can even put in an email or text that it only takes 2 minutes to give feedback.

Provide Options for Feedback

Direct people to several platforms to leave a review, and they can choose the one that’s most convenient to them.

Enable anonymity. Let them know that they do not have to provide their information when they leave feedback. It may make them more comfortable.

They may feel skeptical about going to a site they don’t use, so make it convenient.

Personalize the Outreach

Create several templates for feedback that align with the particular product, service, or milestone. You can set up these messages and automate their delivery based on the timing trigger you’ve determined is best.

RELATED ARTICLE — The Impact of Online Reviews on Franchise Growth and Customer Acquisition

Final Thoughts: Make Feedback Work for You

Customer feedback is essential to ensure consistency across locations. Having a broad view helps you identify weaknesses and gaps. To gather the most feedback, each franchise should follow the same processes.

It’s also essential to have the right technology in place to collect, analyze, and act. Listen360 has the tools you need to do this. See how by requesting a demo today.