As business owners in the service industry, we're well aware that feedback from customers matters. With over 95% of customers reading customer reviews before they make a purchase, your online feedback is the decision-maker consumers use to weigh up your business versus the local competition.
Sadly, lengthy feedback forms don't cut it when you want to gain valuable insights and a deeper understanding from your customers. Most don't have the time to fill out long-winded forms, and many simply don't want to.
Fortunately, these days, there are a number of excellent customer feedback tools that take the hassle out of collecting valuable customer insights. Online software like Google Analytics can only go so far; in 2023, local businesses must leverage customer feedback tools to get the most out of their online reviews.
However, not all customer feedback tools are created equal. In this article, we're going to explore the best survey tools for your local business. But first, let's discuss the key features we're looking for in our ideal customer feedback system.
What should you look for in the best customer feedback tool?
Scalability: The ability to expand your operations in line with your business growth.
Customizable surveys: The opportunity to personalize your customer feedback surveys and feedback polls to suit your brand.
User-Centric Approach: An easy-to-use interface that guarantees a seamless experience for you and your staff.
Real-time feedback insights: The chance to gain deeper insights from customer sentiments and customer responses.
Diverse feedback gathering: Collects user feedback from multiple channels, including text, websites, social media, and surveys via email.
Third-party integration capabilities: Must be compatible with all popular POS integrations.
Employee incentive schemes: Has tools to reward employees for providing great customer service.
Great customer support: Offers fast and friendly customer support with quick response rates when unexpected problems arise, including feature request opportunities.
With our metrics set, we're ready to get into the list. Let's explore our top picks for the best customer feedback tools available in 2023.
Let's be honest. Most customer feedback management platforms stop at the bare minimum. They collect feedback and place it in a database for you to view at your leisure. It's practical but not something to get excited about.
Edge flips this expectation on its head, offering a whole host of advanced features to allow franchise owners to collect, analyze, and utilize the valuable feedback they gather.
The best part about Edge is that it goes above and beyond a simple customer feedback tool. The platform also doubles as an innovative employee incentive platform by making it easy for corporate and franchise brands to recognize and reward employees for great customer service.
Edge automates the whole online review process with its nearly 75 Point of Sale (POS) system integrations. Once a customer leaves a review and recognizes a staff member, this employee receives points that they can then use to claim rewards and boost their earnings. You can even set up friendly sales competitions between your frontline staff to better reward your top performers.
This helps your staff earn more money and progress their careers, incentivizing your frontline employees to become advocates for your brand. It's a win for your team and a big win for you.
Why choose this customer feedback tool?
Typeform makes it simpler for businesses to create conversational, aesthetic forms. The platform's intuitive, interactive design allows for easy customization, and the user-friendly interface is excellent for small businesses just starting out with customer feedback tools.
While the platform has limited features when it comes to in-depth data analysis (compared to a platform like Edge or InMoment), TypeForm is a great launching point for new businesses looking to make quirky surveys for their customers. The platform also integrates seamlessly with popular tools like Slack, Mailchimp, and Google Sheets.
Why choose this customer feedback tool?
InMoment is a great customer feedback software for businesses that want to push their data collection capabilities to the limits. The platform allows users to collect information from multiple sources across several locations through a number of different formats, including video, voice, and text.
Once InMoment has collected enough feedback, the platform will utilize advanced AI analytics to provide a complete picture of your customer experiences.
While InMoment may be a step too far for small to medium-sized businesses, this is an excellent platform for those with dozens of locations that want complete control and advanced insights regarding their customer's satisfaction.
Why choose this customer feedback tool?
SurveyMonkey is undoubtedly the most popular customer feedback tool. It's also likely the most polarizing inclusion on this list. The all-in-one customer review software has dozens of enticing features, but many of them are buried beneath layers of clutter and filler content.
The platform comes equipped with a number of pre-prepared question types, examples, and templates, making it easy to put together a serviceable form in minutes.
Sadly, unlike platforms like Edge and TypeForm, you won't find a whole lot of options for customization, and there aren't many ways to inject your brand's personality into your surveys.
That said, for those who want to put together simple surveys quickly, SurveyMonkey is the way to go.
Why choose this customer feedback tool?
Wufoo is primarily used to measure a business's Net Promoter Score (NPS). This is the primary market research metric employed to determine how likely a customer is to recommend your company to a friend on a scale of 1 to 10.
When it comes to this simple measurement, Wufoo handles the task perfectly. The platform makes it simple to create personalized, friendly questions that ask customers about their experience. That said, if you're searching for additional features beyond a basic plan, you're better off opting for a service from Edge or InMoment.
Why choose this customer feedback tool?
Searching for the best user feedback tools? We hope this guide has provided a great starting point. Whether you're looking for simple surveys or advanced analytics, the perfect customer feedback tool must offer options for personalization, great third-party integration opportunities, and easy-to-use features.
If you're searching for the best all-round customer feedback platform, Edge is the choice for your service business. The platform offers the perfect blend of easy-to-use functions and advanced features, making it the ideal choice for local businesses of all sizes. Plus, with the employee incentive scheme, you'll be able to motivate and retain your staff for years to come. Find out more about Edge and its pricing plans.
Motivated employees drive business growth, let us show you how.