Web analytics tools such as Google Analytics are used by nearly every company since they provide valuable quantitative data on site visitor behaviour. No surprise there.
But web analytics systems don't give direct qualitative feedback from site visitors and customers and the surprise to me, is that relatively few companies use these, although their popularity is increasing rapidly. They can be used to support UX improvement projects both on the live site and when getting structured feedback during website redesign.
We believe that qualitative website feedback tools are also essential to take the pulse of your website and improve your UX, but surprisingly they are less widely used despite paid services such as Opinion Labs being available for many years and some incredible free tools.
Thanks for your suggestions in previous comments and via Twitter - I have included UserSnap, Usabilla and GetResponse as more cost-effective alternatives to existing tools. Other comments of the latest tools you have used and those you recommend/don't recommend are always appreciated to update this post further!
So, this is our recommendation on the different types of online customer feedback tools and web services:
These tools are based on our review over the last year or so. If there are more feedback tools which you think would be helpful or you have positive opinions on these - please let us know.
These provide a permanent facility for customers to feedback by prompts on every page.
They are run continuously to enable continuous feedback including ratings on page content, products and services:
These services give ideas on improving a service based on shared opinions of visitors - they are similar to the Dell Ideastorm approach used to gain ideas on improving Dell's products and services.
Some customers will also feedback on the website experience or customer experience offsite in a forum of which GetSatisfaction is the best known. So feedback on relevant third-party sites should also be monitored. Thanks for your suggestions in the comments - have added UseResponse - which seems to be a lower cost version of GetSatisfaction.
Getting direct feedback on the user experience of a new or existing site is one of the most effective ways to get insight about the perceptions of site visitors that just isn't available from analytics. These services arrange for a panel of representative people to give direct feedback on a site by recording a voiceover of their experiences and views based on their completing a task such as finding a particular type of product on a retail site. Their views are recorded and then can be played back on video.
These services rate intent (reasons for visiting a site) and against satisfaction. Not everyone is interested in buying a service immediately or ever, so these Voice of the Customer (VoC) surveys give invaluable insight on the gap between desired and actual experiences on a website or in a mobile app.
Of course many companies use more generic low-cost or free survey tools to research audience opinions.
The four most popular services we recommend to compare are:
Other options more intended for Enterprise use are Fluid Surveys and Confirmit more suited for regular VoC surveys.
Increasingly, we are seeing tools developed across these categories. For our own audience feedback on Smart Insights we now use Hotjar since this offers a range of survey tools across the categories in this post.
By Dave Chaffey
Digital strategist Dr Dave Chaffey is co-founder and Content Director of online marketing training platform and publisher Smart Insights. 'Dr Dave' is known for his strategic, but practical, data-driven advice. He has trained and consulted with many business of all sizes in most sectors. These include large international B2B and B2C brands including 3M, BP, Barclaycard, Dell, Confused.com, HSBC, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, M&G Investment, Rentokil Initial, O2, Royal Canin (Mars Group) plus many smaller businesses. Dave is editor of the templates, guides and courses in our digital marketing resource library used by our Business members to plan, manage and optimize their marketing. Free members can access our free sample templates here. Dave is also keynote speaker, trainer and consultant who is author of 5 bestselling books on digital marketing including Digital Marketing Excellence and Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. In 2004 he was recognised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as one of 50 marketing ‘gurus’ worldwide who have helped shape the future of marketing. My personal site, DaveChaffey.com, lists my latest Digital marketing and E-commerce books and support materials including a digital marketing glossary. Please connect on LinkedIn to receive updates or ask me a question.
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