The perks of being collaborative (when gathering feedback)

Feedback is a compass for any company. That's as true now as it was half a century ago. In the internet age, we've mainly relied on online surveys to hear what customers think. Remember dot-com pioneer SurveyMonkey, which launched back in 1999? It's still alive and kicking, along with newer options like Typeform. 

These tools have evolved – they're sleeker, faster and smarter – but their core concept remains the same:

1. You draft a set of questions

2. You send out a link to a large segment of customers

3. Typically, about 10-15% respond 

4. You sift through responses to pull out insights

This works well for some use cases, like if you need quantitative feedback at scale (i.e. if you're looking to understand patterns across 1000+ users or want to track your NPS score). 

But what if you're after richer, more nuanced feedback? For that, traditional surveys fall short.

Groupthink that works

Picture this: you walk into a room where 15 customers are waiting to discuss your latest product launch. What's your move? Do you: a) pull each person aside and quietly ask them a list of questions, or b) keep everyone together and chat with the group?

Most would opt for the group.

Two heads (or ten) are better than one

Group feedback sessions come with a host of benefits.

• A group vibe boosts engagement and encourages participation.

• Participants can riff on each other's thoughts and comments, cultivating ideas and insights that might have otherwise gone unspoken.

• Conversations are two-way and flexible. At any point, moderators can dig into context or shift the discussion. "What do you mean? Can you give an example? Say more about that." 

But gathering customers together in person is challenging, and organizing group calls isn't much easier (not to mention general Zoom fatigue).

So what can teams do? More companies are turning to messaging platforms and inviting customers to communities on Slack, Discord, or even WhatsApp, with the goal of sparking conversation and gathering feedback.

Is it working? Sometimes.

Ping overload

Throwing a group of customers into a Slack group all at once might seem like a good idea at first, but it can quickly turn into a free-for-all. You might find yourself in the middle of overwhelming, tangled conversations.

You could organize things with a #feedback-requests channel, but then what? What kind of feedback are you asking for? And if you don't check in for a few days, you might as well be trying to find a needle in a haystack.

An always-on community can work well for certain types of products and customers. If you're dealing with highly technical stuff, for example, having a place where users can chat all the time might be super helpful. But it's not the perfect solution for everyone.

Making collaborative feedback work for you... and you… and you

The challenge lies in crafting an environment where feedback is encouraged, easy to submit, structured and meaningful. 

Here are some pointers that have helped our team:

Find the right platform: You need something less siloed than traditional surveys but more organized than a free-for-all chat. Take Medley, for instance. You can post specific questions in a shared space, guiding the conversation but still allowing everyone to bounce ideas off each other.

Keep it cozy: Remember those smaller, more engaging classes in college? Aim for that vibe. Smaller groups mean better conversations. Stick to around 10-15 participants who share something in common, like your most engaged beta testers or key users from a specific account. It’s perfectly reasonable to have multiple feedback sessions with different groups.

Set the stage: Right from the start, make it clear what kind of feedback you're after. Outline context and guidelines. This will help keep the conversation focused and constructive. Welcome screens in Medley can help.

Embrace flexibility: People are giving you their time, so respect that. Leverage a platform that allows for discussions that can be picked up anytime, making it easy for everyone to contribute when they can.

Moderate wisely: Having someone to guide the discussion is crucial. A good moderator keeps things on track, clarifies any confusion, and highlights key points, all while keeping the atmosphere friendly and productive.

Keep an eye on the clock: Open-ended discussions can drift and lose focus. Set a clear timeline for the feedback process to keep everything on point and productive.

Get started with Medley

We're building Medley to help teams accomplish the above—collaboratively capture feedback from their customers. It's free to use while in beta, so go ahead and sign up today.