The Most Underrated Feedback Channel You're Ignoring: In-App Feedback

93% of customers will likely make repeat purchases with excellent customer service companies - Hubspot

Think about it: if you want to create products that customers love and recommend to others, you must listen to them. They should feel heard and valued. This is why collecting feedback and acting on it is important. While many feedback channels are available, in-app feedback stands out as it provides more context and clarity. 

However, despite its value, in-app feedback is not given due attention and is massively underrated. It’s time to move the spotlight to in-app feedback. 

In this article, we will discuss what in-app feedback offers and how you can fully leverage it. 

TL;DR

Understanding In-App Feedback: In-app feedback is the process of collecting user responses directly within the application. This approach facilitates immediate, contextual feedback, which is crucial for making quick and effective enhancements to your app.

The Benefits of In-App Feedback:

• Increased User Engagement: Easy access to feedback tools boosts user participation.
• Real-Time Insights: Immediate feedback allows for swift problem identification and resolution.
• High Response Rates: Users are more likely to provide feedback that is easy and convenient to submit.
• Enhanced User Satisfaction: Prompt responses to feedback can significantly improve user satisfaction and loyalty.

Types of In-App Feedback:

• General Feedback: Captures broad, overall customer sentiments about the app, useful for gauging general satisfaction.
• Contextual Feedback: Targets specific features or user interactions, providing detailed insights into particular aspects of the app.

Best Practices for Collecting In-App Feedback:

• Incorporate feedback mechanisms that are non-intrusive and appear at optimal times to enhance user experience and not disrupt app usage.
• Automate the feedback process where possible to ensure efficient collection and analysis, reducing manual overhead and focusing on actionable insights.

Innovative In-App Feedback Tool

• Zeda.io enhances in-app feedback strategies with smart widgets that allow for seamless feedback submission directly within the app, including capabilities for users to submit screenshots, videos, and annotations.
• Our platform automates feedback management, from collection to resolution notification, ensuring that every piece of user input is effectively used to enhance the product.

What is In-app Feedback

In-app feedback refers to the practice of collecting user insights directly within the application. This method offers a seamless way for users to communicate their experiences, preferences, and challenges without ever leaving the interface. It’s about getting the right information at the right time, which enables businesses to pinpoint what works and what needs improvement in their application. 

Providing users with the opportunity to voice their thoughts as they use the app not only enhances the relevance of the feedback but also boosts user engagement and loyalty. 

If you are still having doubts regarding the effectiveness of in-app feedback. Here are some reasons why you should use it:

Why Collect Feedback from In-App Feedback

Collecting feedback directly within your app isn't just convenient; it's strategic. Here’s why in-app feedback is a crucial tool for gathering meaningful insights:

• Seamless User Experience: In-app feedback mechanisms allow users to provide immediate input without disrupting their interaction with your app. This seamless integration encourages more users to participate, as the process doesn't pull them away from their activities.
• Accurate Contextual Insights: Feedback given in the context of the user experience is invaluable. It allows you to see exactly what users like, dislike, or find confusing at the moment they encounter it. This real-time context makes feedback more accurate and actionable.
• Increased Response Rates: In-app feedback methods tend to yield higher response rates compared to other channels. Users are more likely to give feedback when it's easy and immediately accessible, leading to a larger data pool and more robust insights.
• Real-Time Feedback: Capture feedback at the moment of interaction, which provides immediate insights into user satisfaction and issues. This rapid feedback loop enables quicker responses and adjustments, significantly improving your product's effectiveness and user satisfaction.
• Automation and Efficiency: Modern in-app feedback tools automate the collection and initial analysis of user responses, saving significant time and effort. This automation helps you focus more on implementing changes rather than on gathering data.
• Building User Trust and Loyalty: When users see their feedback being solicited and acted upon, it builds trust and loyalty. They feel valued and more connected to your product, which can enhance overall user retention and satisfaction.

In-app feedback is more than just a tool for gathering data—it's a bridge between user expectations and your product developments. By integrating this feedback channel effectively, you can transform casual users into loyal customers while continuously enhancing your app’s user experience.

Types of In-App Feedback

In-app feedback can vary significantly in form and function, depending on what insights you are trying to gather. Understanding the different types of in-app feedback can help you tailor your approach to meet your specific needs and goals. Here are the main types you might consider implementing:

General in app feedback

General feedback gathers broad, comprehensive insights about the entire platform, capturing sentiments about overall user satisfaction, usability, and value.

For a product, implementing general feedback might involve sending an email survey to the primary users after they have completed their first quarter of usage. The survey could include questions like, “On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your overall satisfaction with our platform?” or “How likely are you to renew your subscription based on your current experience?”

For instance, a B2B project management tool could deploy an NPS survey both within the app and as part of an email follow-up three months into a new customer's subscription. The survey might ask, “How likely are you to recommend our tool to other businesses?” 

This provides clear feedback on the user's overall satisfaction and the likelihood of recommending the tool to peers, which is crucial for gauging customer loyalty and product advocacy in a competitive market.

Contextual in app feedback

Contextual feedback focuses on specific features or functions within the software, gathering detailed insights that help refine and optimize these elements.

This type of in app feedback can be collected through in-app prompts that appear after a user completes an action related to a new feature. For example, if you've recently updated the dashboard interface, you might trigger a feedback form right after the user interacts with the new dashboard for the first time.

Suppose you run a B2B financial software platform and you've just released a new feature that allows users to generate custom reports. After a user creates their first report, an in-app feedback widget could pop up asking, “Was the report generation process intuitive? What improvements would make this feature more useful for you?” 

This prompt not only gathers immediate, actionable feedback on the new feature but also engages the user in the development process, making them feel heard and valued.

These examples demonstrate how general and contextual feedback can be strategically used in a B2B SaaS environment to enhance the product based on direct user insights. These feedback loops are essential for continuous product improvement, ensuring that the software evolves in alignment with user needs and industry standards

How to Collect Feedback In-App

Implementing an effective in-app feedback strategy in a B2B SaaS environment can significantly enhance how you gather and utilize user insights. Here are some best practices to ensure that your feedback collection is as efficient and user-friendly as possible:

1. Spot favourable time

What to do: Capture feedback at moments when users are most engaged with your application. This could be after completing a significant action, such as submitting a report or finishing a setup process.

Why it matters: Collecting feedback right when users complete an interaction ensures that their experience is fresh in their minds, providing you with the most accurate and actionable insights.

2. Keep it Non-Intrusive

What to do: Use minimally invasive feedback forms that don’t disrupt the user's workflow. Pop-ups should be small, easy to dismiss, and should not appear during critical tasks.

Why it matters: Keeping the feedback process simple and respectful of the user’s time encourages more responses and preserves a positive user experience.

3. Visibility and Accessibility

What to do: Ensure that your feedback tools are easily accessible but not in the way. A feedback button or a small widget that is consistently visible can be a good approach.

Why it matters: When feedback tools are visible and accessible, users are more likely to use them spontaneously to share insights or report issues, increasing your data collection.

4. Act on the Feedback

What to do: Make a visible effort to act on the feedback you receive. Update users on the changes you've made based on their input through update logs, emails, or in-app notifications.

Why it matters: Showing that you value and act upon user feedback builds trust and encourages continued engagement. Users feel part of the development process, fostering a deeper commitment to your product.

5. Automate Where Possible

What to do: Automate the collection and initial analysis of feedback using AI and machine learning tools. This can help in sorting feedback into categories, identifying common issues, and prioritizing them based on urgency or frequency.

Why it matters: Automation helps manage large volumes of feedback efficiently, ensuring that no critical insight is missed and that your team can focus on making informed improvements.

6. Open-Ended Opportunities

What to do: Include open-ended questions or leave space for free-form comments in your surveys.

Why it matters: While structured data is great for analytics, open-ended feedback can reveal nuanced insights and innovative ideas that predefined options might miss.

By following these best practices, your company can optimize the way it collects and uses in-app feedback to continuously enhance user satisfaction and product functionality. 
Remember, the goal of in-app feedback isn't just to collect data but to create a dynamic loop of communication that drives your product forward.

Why is In-App Feedback Underrated?

Despite its clear advantages, in-app feedback often doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Many companies still rely on traditional methods like email surveys or external feedback forms, which can detach the feedback from the context of the app usage and lower engagement rates. 

In-app feedback, on the other hand, is integrated directly within the user’s journey, making it far more convenient and contextually relevant. This method not only boosts response rates but also yields richer, more actionable insights.

Here’s why embracing in-app feedback, especially through intelligent tools like Zeda.io, is crucial for any business looking to genuinely understand and serve their users better:

1. Frictionless Experience: Zeda.io's widgets integrate seamlessly into your app, providing a frictionless experience for users to submit feedback. This ease of use encourages more users to share their thoughts and experiences as they interact with your app, leading to a higher volume of feedback.

2. Rich Media Communication: With the capability to take screenshots, annotate, and record videos, Zeda.io allows users to clearly communicate their feedback. This is particularly valuable for explaining complex issues or suggestions that are difficult to convey through text alone.

3. Streamlined Collaboration: Feedback collected via Zeda.io is directly accessible from the product team’s workspace. This centralization simplifies how teams track, prioritize, and act on user feedback. It ensures nothing gets lost in translation and that every piece of feedback is considered in product development planning.

4. Closing the Feedback Loop: One of the most critical yet often overlooked aspects of collecting feedback is closing the loop with users. Zeda.io automates this process by notifying users about the status of their feedback and any related updates, such as bug fixes or new feature releases. This ongoing communication fosters a strong relationship and keeps users engaged and informed.

Best In-App Feedback Tool You Need - Zeda.io

If you are confused why you should choose Zeda.io, here’s why:

It manages feedback on autopilot. From automatically creating company and contact details when feedback is submitted, to tagging specific feedback for easy tracking—every process is streamlined. Once a feature linked to feedback is completed, Zeda.io automatically updates the feedback status as resolved across customer portals and widgets.

Moreover, automated emails keep all stakeholders in the loop about feedback status changes, ensuring continuous communication without additional effort from your team. This level of automation and integration makes Zeda.io not just a tool but an essential partner in your product management strategy, helping you to harness the full power of in-app feedback effectively and effortlessly.

Check out Zeda.io’s in-app feedback and more here!

Conclusion

 In-app feedback is a powerful tool that brings you closer to your users, allowing you to hear their voices clearly and respond promptly. Yet, despite its immense benefits, this feedback channel remains largely underrated.

With Zeda.io, you have the opportunity to transform this overlooked channel into one of your strongest assets. By integrating Zeda.io’s smart widgets into your app, you provide users with a seamless way to communicate their feedback, whether it's through text, screenshots, or video. This not only enhances user experience but also deepens user engagement, providing you with rich, actionable insights that are directly applicable to your app’s enhancement.

Don’t let the invaluable insights that in-app feedback offers slip through the cracks. By leveraging the power of in app feedback, you’re embracing a comprehensive approach to user engagement and continuous improvement. Start leveraging the full potential of in-app feedback today and see how it can propel your product to new heights.

Remember, understanding your users is the key to your app’s success. Let us help you unlock this understanding with ease and efficiency.