How to collect customer feedback without promising anything

Collecting customer feedback without making product or service changes

Have you ever got yourself into trouble by asking your customers about their opinion and created high expectations or even disappointed them by not following their suggestions? Or perhaps you just want to test a new product or feature idea.

Discover more possibilities. Get inspired.

Dealing with customer feedback is not always easy. We know that collecting customer feedback is key to meeting their needs and continuous improvement of your product or service. However, I know that some entrepreneurs are reluctant to ask customers about their opinion as they feel they won’t be able to meet their requests but would feel responsible for taking action on the customer survey outcomes. So how to collect customer feedback without promising anything?

How to get customer opinion without committing to anything

Here is how to find out customers’ opinion about your business, product or service without creating high expectations.

1. Ask for advice, not feedback

   When you ask your customers for advice, you can consider what to do with it but don’t have to commit to making any changes. When collecting customer feedback on your product or service, it naturally creates an expectation that the company will take some action, otherwise customers would feel ignored or not listened to. While asking for advice instead, it creates a different vibe, plus your customers feel valued and you show your interest in what they think.  

2. Create a focus group or customer advisory board

   This is a selected group who you can present with your product prototypes, show new products, new adverts etc. The participants need to be the early adopter type and belong to the target group of your product users. 

3. Get feedback from early adopters

   This is especially useful when you want to know where the market is going. The early adopters are also usually very interested in your product and its features, so they are a good group to ask about the details and the usability you provide. 

4. Don’t get mislead by the most vocal customers

   There are always customers who ask lots of questions, complain about something and are louder than others. Pay attention to whether what you hear from them is representative of a large group of your clientele or it’s a minority. 

5. Survey without revealing the name of your company or product

   For example you can create a survey comparing different products with different features to find out about your customers’ preferences. You could even create mock brands for the purpose of testing.

6. Let them know

   If you decide to make any adjustments based on your customer feedback, do let them know about it. Contact the specific people who suggested the changes or pointed out the problems and tell them that the modifications were made based on their advice. You will earn their trust and loyalty. 

Investigate problems to find solutions

These are a few tips on how to collect customer feedback without promising anything. 

What’s your take on dealing with customer feedback and acting on it? How do you decide weather to act on it or not?