In the previous post we introduced the topic of feedback. We talked about five keys to feedback, now we will look at how you can implement some for cheap or free.

Five key methods to collect feedback and how to implement them

1. Publish your contact details
This is the most basic and fundamental of all feedback methods; it may seem obvious or scary to some.

There are lots of online communications tools, like websites, that don't have any contact details. This seems a little crazy to me given that generally speaking, in most cases you want a transaction to take place with the user. Well how are they meant to make a transaction if you don't give them a variety of ways to get in touch with you.

Make sure that every email, website, Facebook and iPhone application etc. has your contact details. There can be nothing worse than a user who wants to buy but can't contact you.

There will always be a risk of getting spam if you publish your email address but there are ways to minimise this. A good development company should be able to advise on what currently works. Also a good spam filter will help you avoid having to read most of the spam that may arise. Take a look at this as well if you want to hide your email address http://www.auditmypc.com/free-address-finder.asp

When publishing your contact details, make the contacts generic i.e your reception phone rather than your personal phone but DO give a name for them to contact. This goes for all other contact details. If the best person for them to contact is the sales manager, then tell the users who they should be talking to. Also remember that people may try and contact you from overseas so give them all the relevant contact details they will need. Include the country and area code for overseas calls. It's a big world out there, you don't want to miss out on business just because they couldn't call you. Get an answering service set up for those that call outside normal working hours.

Heres an example:
Contact:

Hayden Sanders - Account Manger
+64 (04) 831 1289

+64 (027) 3164 809

A final note: People hate contacting organisations when they don't have a name to put in the salutation line. Give them a real name to address the email to "Hi Hayden, I would like to know..." is so much easier for someone to right than "Hi whoever gets this, I would like to know..."

2. Contact form with categories
The next best thing is to allow them to contact you right then and there with a form. There is debate about whether contact forms work for the user or not. I personally have had good results with them and think that if you offer a contact form and other relevant contact details like phone and email with names, you can't go to wrong - you could do better though and we'll get to that.

If you are likely to have multiple types of contacts, then let the user select who they want to contact, and again try give them a name to contact. A list like this will help to personalise and categorize the types of contact:

Sales - Hayden Sanders - Sales Manager
Technical support - Jeff Smith - Technical team leader
Billing and invoices - John Smith - Financial Controller

[Koders has a great feedback form that allows feedback to be sent to the right place with catogories]

Obviously it will depend on how large you are and how many staff you have working in each area. You will need to make this work for you obviously. Apple may have got a little over excited with their feedback form [below] for OS X but then I'm sure the form works just as they need.

[Apple has a heap of categories and classifications for their OS X feedback form]

A contact form doesn't need to be complicated. In fact the simpler you can make it the better. All you should need at the most basic level is:
    •    email address
    •    category for contact (sales, technical, accounts etc)
    •    body of your message

You can throw in there a few extras like name, phone, location if you really want but it's not critical and might just annoy the user if they don't see the point is providing it.

Wufoo provides an excellent free form building service and will collect all the results for you - http://wufoo.com/

[Stats NZ feedback form]

Stats NZ also has a good form that uses categories. Perhaps they are trying a little to hard to get all the info they want in one form. I personally think asking about the site and how it functions should be seperate from unsolicitated feedback. The risk is distracting the site visitor from the feedback they actually wanted to give you.

3. Content feedback loop on every page
My personal favorite way of getting feedback from users. Provide a method for the user to tell you what they think of each and every piece of content.

• Did that page answer their questions?

• Was the content complete?
• What else could be added?
• How would they make this content better? maybe the middle part didn't make sense?

Ask your users for thier personal feedback and see what you get.

There are a million and one ways to get this feedback. You could:
    •    put a link 'feedback' at the top and bottom of every page that opens a form the user fills in.
    •    A box could be placed on the bottom of every page asking for feedback once the user has read to the bottom.
    •    A pop-up could ask the user to provide feedback once they have left the site.
    •    A forum would allow of an active discussion about your product or service.
    •    An online chat could engage users at tricky points on your site; this would help you figure out how to make it easier to use.
This is can be either passive or active by providing a link or having a pop up requesting feedback.

Good examples

[Google works hard to gather feedback. They place their feedback loop high on every page, just under the content you've just read]

[Wet Paint go to the lenghts of providing different streams for the feedback and making it a stand out object on their pages]

Poor example

[This site doesn't seem to want feedback. They've hidden their link so far down it's nearly impossible to find]

What tools to use:
http://www.kampyle.com/ - This is a great tool if you can't afford the upfront development cost.
http://getsatisfaction.com/ - Another awesome tool but it does cost

4. Allow comments on content like blogs and media releases
If you are serious about engaging users online, then allow them to have their say on your content. This might mean allowing them to comment on media releases, latest news, blog posts, public forums etc. You users will provide you with the best and most honest feedback you will get. Combine this with other research and development you do and your services and products will be the best in the market.

Many organisations find the idea of allowing users to comment on their site and content a scary idea because it means letting go of control. The truth is that users will value your willingness to hear from them and will value your brand if not a specific product.

I know that recently I was looking to purchase a product from Apple. I found the product on their online store and read the client reviews. From the reviews I concluded the certain product wasn't right for me and I didn't purchase but I did find the experience valuable and pleasant. Next time I was thinking about buying something, I went back to the Apply site, found the product, read the honest reviews, and bought the product because the reviews told me it was a great product and would do what I wanted it to.

Life isn't all about the dollar. There is more to business than making money. Engaging users by letting them have their say is a valuable way to find out what they are thinking. You may not like what they think, but in the end they are the ones who will pay your or someone else.

5. Online chat
There are times when a user gets so stuck, confused, or tired that they just wish they could ask a real person and get a straight answer. They get sick of reading through the perfect vague wording and they just want to know. Maybe it's on the pricing page, or maybe it's the invoice and they don't understand a line item. Maybe its trying to find the shopping cart again. What ever it is, they can't do it alone and would like some help. This is where you need to be ready to answer their questions on the spot of lose that user to another site.

[Example of on-site chat feature]

An online chat feature doesn't have to cost a lot and doesn't mean you have to site there waiting for someone to contact you. It can be a tool that sits ready and waiting in the background while you do other work, or you can sign our while you take a lunch break or are in a meeting. It is as available as you are, just it's an online chat box rather than the phone.

There are a number of options. Your technical person or developer should be able to help you set this up quickly. if not drop us a line and we can help you out. Check some of these out

What tools to use:
    •    Google talk Chatback http://googletalk.blogspot.com/2008/02/google-talk-chatback.html
    •    Userplane Webchat 2 http://www.userplane.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=apps.webchat

Can you think of any other great ways to gather feedback? or other tools you have found useful?