If you’re looking for questions to ask for feedback in your online business, you’re in the right place!
Over the years, I’ve honed in on the perfect feedback questions to ask at the end of a project. Not only do these questions allow you to truly get valuable feedback (even if it may not be the easiest to hear), it also allows you to get succinct testimonials that you can use in your marketing.
So, what are you waiting for? Keep reading to learn about the best questions to ask for feedback.
Why bother with feedback?
Feedback is definitely something that I’ve taken very seriously ever since I started Inkpot Creative. Even when I was brand new to the business space, I’ve always been super aware that feedback at the end of the project is the perfect time to both figure out what went well and also what could use some work.
Feedback forms are definitely something that if you haven’t started implementing them yet in your business, you 100% should.
You may be thinking, but KP, isn’t this just the same as a testimonial request? My quick answer, no.
I recommend calling it a feedback form because you are literally asking your client for feedback. By calling it a feedback form, you are welcoming the client to share their thoughts and be conversational with it, without having them stuff up at the word “testimonial.”
My own journey with feedback forms is probably similar to most other online service providers. I used just to message clients after we were done with the projects with a quick, Hey, I’d love if you could hit reply to this email and give me a testimonial.
I would not give any type of prompts at all, which surely put the client on the spot. I know I have personally felt put on the spot in the past, where I had to provide testimonials without any guided questions. Not asking questions also means you will probably get more generic testimonials.
5 Questions to Ask for Feedback
I have a set list of questions that I always ask with every single project that I work on, and I’ve been asking the same ones for over a year and a half, and I’ve really found that this is kind of like my sweet spot.
So there are five questions that I ask, and I highly recommend you use these. Feel free to steal these and use these for yourself!
How did you feel about [project type] before you started working with me?
This question allows the client to think about where they were when they first started their journey. It also will help you to realize what type of clients you tend to be attracting so that you can better market going forward and also use their exact wording in your marketing.
This will help you realize what the tipping point was for them that actually made them reach out to you. Maybe it was because they were so sick of DIYing. Maybe they just honestly didn’t have the time. So then you can focus more on time-saving with your service in the future when you market!
This question also serves as the starting point for the transformation story that you can put in your case study in your portfolio as an example of where a client started versus where they ended up when they started working with you.
How do you feel about [project type] after you started working with me?
Right after asking this question, I immediately ask them, “how do they feel about insert project here after working with me?”
This allows them to basically tell me the exact transformation that they felt that they received. So they’ll tell you how they’re feeling now, how excited they are, and you can use that in a before and after for your transformation on your social posts, your blog, your portfolio, everything like that.
Plus, this question allows you to see if the transformation that you thought you were providing to your clients is actually the transformation that they are receiving! Plus, it’s always good to just kind of hear how you actually helped a client in the long run.
What could have made the process better from start to finish?
Next, go ahead and ask directly what could have made the process better from start to finish!
I always, always ask this question, and then if you can, be sure also to write that you want them to be as honest as possible.
I use this to better my client process going forward just so they know that I am taking it seriously and I’m not just asking them for the fun of it.
This question allows the client to reflect back on the process and also admit if there were any sticky spots or holes throughout.
Also, try not to take this to heart! It’s truly an opportunity. That’s what I like to see things like this as, because your client is literally telling you, like, hey, I received this transformation, but I do think that this could be improved, and then you can just improve for the next client.
If, however, you receive feedback in this answer that you’re like, wow. Every other client I’ve ever worked with has told me that this is actually something that they loved about the process.
It’s definitely something that you can take with a grain of salt because it is one of those things where, if it isn’t something that any other client has ever said to you, and if it’s something that every other client is actually raved about, then it’s not always necessarily a problem with your process.
So really, just try to think through the answers that they give you as well, because sometimes it could be one of those things where it just didn’t work out for that particular client.
What did you like about the process?
So right after that, ask what they liked about the process. It’s always good to just know what is actually working well.
That way, you know that that’s something that you can also use in your marketing. Like, hey, my clients absolutely love this part of my process, and you can really focus on that too in your sales pages, on your website.
It’s just good to have that reassurance! I feel like after a question like the previous one, even though you don’t really want to take that one to heart, I also always like to ask this just to see what part of the process people are enjoying most so that I can also kind of mention it on discovery calls and stuff like that in the future if I’m ever asked.
If you were to recommend [your business name] to a friend, what would you say?
And finally, the very last question that I always ask, and obviously this is the most basic one, I just ask for a testimonial, but I don’t just say, “write a testimonial in this answer box.” I instead pose it as a question.
So I ask, “What would you say if you were to recommend [business name] to a friend?” Then, that lets them also know that they can write in a conversational tone. You don’t have to say anything weird or out of the box or anything that will make you sound like you’re not really talking from your heart.
At the end of that, I also just include a link to our Facebook page for them to copy and paste their testimonial if they want to. I write that like an invitation and hyperlink it to my page: “I would absolutely love it if you could also paste your testimonial directly here.”
So all they have to do is click it and copy and paste while they’re already writing that testimonial. And then that way, too, people can see the testimonial publicly, and it also just adds some social proof for our business.
How should I ask these feedback questions?
I actually just use my CRM, Honeybook. HoneyBook is a tool where you can create contracts, invoices, and also lead capture contact forms. So I just use it for everything!
They have a questionnaire feature in there, so I can just create my own questionnaire, and I send it to clients directly through there. It’s pretty awesome because I also just have a templated version of it which you can do in Honeybook, which makes it very simple.
I can just go into their workspace for that project, click “create new file” and then I just choose the template and swap out whatever the little x’s are. because every project that we do is different.
Sometimes too, if I have to, I will rearrange the questions or add something different if I just feel like it applies to that specific project.
If you don’t have a CRM though, or anything like that, you can definitely just use something like Typeform, Paperform, Google Forms, or even just send it via email. Just make sure you are always asking this at the end of your project.
I think it is so, so important, and it’s often overlooked. Also, even when I receive final files from someone that I’ve outsourced to, I’m always asking that person to send me a feedback form. I want to let them know how amazing their process was.
So just know that your clients are probably really eager to let you know how it all went!
As far as when to send these forms, I have found that the sweet spot is at the very end of the project. So for us, we pretty much do it after our three-day support period ends, after the end of our projects.
As an example, let’s say the project ends Wednesday morning, and we send them their final files Wednesday morning, but they have support until Friday night. Then Friday morning, I would send the form and be like, “Hey, we would love it if you could fill this out. And also, just as a reminder, you have our support through the end of the day today.”
This post was all about the best questions to ask for feedback from your clients. Hopefully, it’s inspired you to start asking for feedback at the end of your projects!
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KP’s design journey began in book publishing, but she fell in love with the truly limitless possibilities that web design presents. Since then, she’s been helping photographers and creatives become the no-brainer option for their dream clients before they even get on a call.
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10/11/22
Published On:
Krystianna Pietrzak
