Tips on how to collect member feedback
How do you know if your members are happy with your services? Are they getting true value from your content? What benefits do they find most useful? There’s no way to know the answers to these questions unless you ask your members.
Feedback is the best way to find out what your members like, don’t like, and what they want more of. Member comments, views, and opinions are like gems to your organisation. They help you take the guesswork out of what’s going well and what isn’t, and you can use this feedback to eliminate problems and focus on what your members actually want.
Listening to feedback increases loyalty and satisfaction as members feel as though their voices are being heard, valued, and taken on board. However, it’s not always easy to get feedback because it requires time and effort on the members’ part. So unless they have a serious concern or there’s something in it for them, the chances of them giving feedback are quite low.
That’s why it’s logical to mix it up and have several different ways of collecting feedback. Of course, not everything will work for your organisation and you need to maintain a balance so that you’re not bombarding members either. It’s down to you to experiment and use the right methods.
To help you, here’s a list of nine different methods to collect member feedback.
Email surveys
Email surveys are the obvious first choice. They’re straightforward to send out, and it’s simple to analyse the results. The most popular online feedback tools used for email surveys are Survey Monkey, Google Forms, and Type Form. Depending on your objectives, you can ask open-ended questions, closed-ended questions or both. But bear in the mind, that the shorter your surveys are, the more responses you’ll get. Let members know how many minutes a survey will take and offer incentives such as entry into a prize draw, a gift card or exclusive access to a gated eBook.
Email newsletters
Surveys don’t have to be the only way you collect feedback via email. When sending out your newsletters, have a “Survey of the month” or “Question of the week” section which links to a feedback tool. Ask questions related to the content mentioned in the newsletter to make it relevant. This drip-feed method breaks up the collection of your feedback, making members more likely and willing to respond as it takes less time.
Social media polls
If your organisation is active on social media, it’s an effective means to get quick, casual feedback. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (Stories) all have easy-to-use poll features that are open to everyone. These might be useful if you’re looking for feedback from prospective members as well as current ones. Thanks to the nature of social media, you can get creative and have fun but still collect useful information.
Social media mentions
Don’t forget to monitor mentions, comments, and reviews of your organisation on these networks too – you don’t want to leave anything unnoticed in the public eye, especially if someone isn’t happy. You can reply to members, take note of their feedback and then either address this instantly or propose changes to your internal roadmap.
Website/app forum
Not only are forums great for members to interact with each other and build a community but also for you to engage with them and get a conversation going. Chances are if members are wondering about it on a forum, they have some spare time to delve into the information you’re looking for.
Website/app feedback form
Use feedback form widgets that are triggered when members land on certain pages on your website/app. You want to limit how many questions you ask here and keep them short. Focus these questions on the website/app experience or the content that they’re viewing.
Event surveys
Whether it’s at your monthly luncheons, your regional meetings or your annual conference, make the most of talking with your members. With most communication done online, having face-to-face interaction is a treat you don’t want to miss out on. When members are networking, eating or waiting for a presentation to start, hand out tablets with online surveys or you can stick to traditional pen and paper questions.
Event interviews
What’s even better at events (if time allows) is to schedule one-to-one interviews with members to pick their brains. Doing so will also help you build deeper, more meaningful connections, which isn’t possible over the Internet or phone. Again, offer incentives and follow up with a personalised thank you.
LoveAdmin forms
It’s possible to collect feedback via LoveAdmin too. There are two ways to do this – you can either create a group with a customised form or create an optional extra with a customised form. As there is the option to select a free-type field or multiple choice field you can ask both open-ended and close-ended questions. Members can access and complete the form via their online account or mobile app and you can analyse the results by exporting them.
If you have any questions around using LoveAdmin forms to collect member feedback, get in touch with us help@loveadmin.com.
Remember, feedback is not a one-off thing. Always stay curious, keep your communication channels open, and regularly touch base with your members. Although no one particularly likes negative feedback, it’s important to use this to make positive changes that will lead to better member experiences. And happier members equal higher renewal rates and more people spreading the good word about your organisation.
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