User Feedback Tools
Don’t know what tools to choose for your next survey? Consider Google Forms and Typeform.
BY IRINA ELISEEVA
Why use a survey?
In our age of content and product oversaturation, many of us wonder how to capture an audience for our product while creating a solution to improve lives.
If you relate to this, then you are at the right place. I’ll review surveys, a tool for user feedback, one of the first steps you should take to improve your products.
A survey is generally a tool for gathering quantitative information. They can help you identify who your users are and what they want.
When can I use surveys?
1. To test a hypothesis
Let’s say you and your friends are unhappy with the payment system at a local shop. You may jump to the conclusion that everyone else is unhappy; however, you’ll need quantitative data to prove that.
2. To gather feedback on your product or service
This probably should be done regularlyーit will help you improve the existing solution and also reveal new opportunities.
How can I create a good survey?
As the creation of unbiased surveys is heavy enough for a separate article, I am going to focus on the features of the two most popular free user feedback tools: (1) Typeform and (2) Google Forms.
Depending on your goals, you can use one or another. Personally, I prefer Typeform because of the unlimited customization options, integrations with the other tools, and the overall experience of the product.
Typeform
I came across this tool as a user first. I remember the first time answering the questions; it was such a delightful experience seeing questions one by one and watching my progress smoothly change. They even remembered my name later in the survey! It felt so personal.
Here are the things I liked straight away:
1. Logic jumps
You can ask your users a yes/no question and if they reply no, you just move on to the next topic. It will save you and your users time when analyzing collected data.
2. Hidden fields
If your team is researching where your audience spends their time, you’ll love hidden fields. With hidden fields, you can customize the link to track where your users came from, either from Facebook, Instagram, or your newsletter.
Typeform provides unlimited opportunities to create a unique experience for your users.
3. Design customization
You can change your survey background, use a separate image (ie company logo) for the thumbnail as well as try out different fonts, and preset themes.
Typeform also gives you the option to upload images straight from Unsplash, videos from Pexels, and icons from the Noun Project!
4. Integrations
You can integrate Mailchimp or other content management systems to Typeform easily.
You can tag specific answers, so if you have a follow-up question or email campaign, you can send it to a specific audience with just one click!
5. Personalized email notifications
Doesn’t it feel nice to get a personalized confirmation? You can do that for your users with Typeform. Everything is automated, saving you precious time. You can set self-notifications too!
6. Analytics
Typeform insights will give you the big picture, such as what device your users have, how long it takes to complete, and which questions turned users off.
If you look at the image below, there’s this scary number in red: -37%. It means that 37% (66 people!) closed our survey without even starting it.
We learned our lesson. Our survey asked users to choose between three languages (Russian, Japanese, or English), but the initial welcome screen was only in English. As we shared the link to Russian and Japanese communities, the welcome screen must’ve put them off. Next time we make a survey, I will take this into consideration.
These are just a few of my favorite features so far. I am still exploring this awesome tool!
If you are just getting started, check out their Help section. It’s very detailed, so you won’t get lost!
Google Forms
Google Forms has a more familiar interface and if you consider yourself as non-tech-savvy, start with this.
Some features that I like about Google forms:
1. Themes
The whole color scheme of the survey will change based on what you select. If you are not a designer or just don’t have time to play with colors, this is a pretty handy feature!
2. One-page format
Some users may prefer opening a survey and seeing the submit button straight away. They instantly understand the volume of work required and it doesn’t feel too much.
3. Pie charts
If you need to present the results, you have a pie chart with your survey data ready to go.
As a visual person, I understand the data better when I see the whole picture in one pie.
User feedback tools are extremely important; data-driven decisions are the best forces of change in a project. Try finding what your users want with surveys and you’ll see how impactful it’ll be on your KPIs.
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