How to Allow Customers to Add Feedback on a Site

Customer feedback can help you build a better business. You can allow this feedback to be public (viewable by all visitors to the site), or have it sent directly to you or the customer service department. Just make sure it's clear to customers how they can provide feedback.

Things You'll Need

• Basic HTML knowledge
• Website
• Email address

Instructions

Allow Customers to Add Feedback to Your Site

1. Allow customers to review products they've purchased. This feature is built in to many online commerce software packages. Remember to send email reminders asking for reviews from customers. You may want to moderate the reviews before allowing them on the site.

2. Open a forum (also called a message board) for customers to discuss your products, service or industry. Be sure to respond to all posts and provide solutions to negative feedback. You can also use the community forum to ask direct questions to customers and clear up any misconceptions.

3. Add a survey to your site. Ask direct questions that will help better your business or products. You can choose to post the results on your site for other customers to see.

4. Provide accurate contact information. Allow customers to provide feedback through email or by phone. Add a hyperlink with your email address so customers can easily click through to send you emails.

5. Solicit testimonials from satisfied customers and add these to your website. If a new customer sees that you have previous testimonies on your site, she is more likely to send in her own testimonial. Keep them short, using only excerpts from longer comments.

6. Use quick polls to allow customers to provide instant feedback. Simple polls add interactivity to the site, while providing you with insight into your audience's opinion.

7. Fall back on an old favorite with a guest book. While online capabilities have come a long way since companies used guest books on a regular basis, this may be an affordable and straightforward method for smaller sites to allow customers to add feedback.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider screening comments before they are posted. Public feedback can encourage other customers to buy a specific product or use your service, but if it is negative, it can hurt your company.

• Offer free products or discounts to customers who fill out your survey or questionnaire to encourage more responses.

• Ask permission to publish customer feedback on your site if it comes from an unsolicited email, letter or phone call.