- You're wondering what customers think.
- You pose a question on a blog entry sent out to all customers: "How can we improve?"
- You get back a disappointing @#$ number of answers.
Where'd everybody go, you think?
Here's why you sucked.
How to Dissuade Response
Simple:
- Pose an impersonal question.
- People will assume somebody else will answer it.
- So, nobody answers.
Boo!
That's called a diffusion of responsibility, where people assume no responsibility because they think others will step up.
- "Hey, he didn't ask me directly!"
- "I'm sure somebody else will answer it!"
- "So, I will not answer!"
You end up with nothin', you sad little soul.
If you want mucho feedback, what do you do?
Say NO! to posing a question to the world.
Instead:
- Choose X amount of folks.
- Make your requests personal to the recipient.
- Win.
That's backed by super psychologist Cialdini: "To diffuse the diffusion of responsibility, be sure to individualize your requests."
- "Hey, he's really wants my opinion!"
- "So, I will answer his request with all my heart!"
Yay for you as you increase the number of feedback responses you get to ridicoulsly rock your business like it ain't no thang but a cherry pie on a tie.
Personalize el requesto.
If you enjoyed How to Seek Feedback, get Trizle's popular new articles freshly sent to your inbox.
Norbert
Posted @ 10:15 AM on April 29, 2008
I refuse to give feedback on this post because I assume somebody else will step up and do it. ;)
Just what I needed for my new online venture which I'm about to launch in a pre-pre-pre-alpha state to fail faster and to get to know my users wants better and earlier. I plan to involve them from the very beginning in the building process just like that crazy mofo Chris Anderson (the Wired one, not the TED one) did with his blog when writing The Long Tail in 2006. I guess the post above will at least double the responses so thank you very much!
Please bring back the search and we promise to stop subscribing with fake e-mail addresses looking like keywords on the top of the page ;)