8 Essential Questions for Feedback That Drive Growth in 2025

1. The Likert Scale Question

How to Use It Effectively

• Be Consistent: Use the same scale length (e.g., 1-5) throughout a single survey to avoid confusing respondents.

• Force a Choice (or Don't): Use an odd-numbered scale (1-5, 1-7) to allow for a neutral middle option. Use an even-numbered scale (1-4, 1-6) if you want to force respondents to lean one way or the other.

• Pair with "Why": A Likert scale tells you the "what," but not the "why." Always pair it with an open-ended follow-up question like, "Could you tell us a bit more about why you chose that rating?"

Pro Tip: Use Likert scales at the beginning of a feedback request to segment users. For instance, you could ask for a satisfaction rating and then, using Testimonial.to’s conditional logic, direct satisfied users to provide a video testimonial while asking less satisfied users for detailed written feedback.

2. Open-Ended Questions

How to Use It Effectively

• Be Specific: Avoid vague questions. Instead of "Any feedback?" ask "What is one thing we could do to make our onboarding process smoother?"

• Prompt for Stories: Encourage narrative answers by asking questions like, "Can you describe a time when our product really helped you succeed?" or "Walk me through how you solved [problem] using our platform."

• Balance with Closed Questions: Use open-ended questions strategically. Pair them with Likert scales or multiple-choice questions to get both quantitative data and qualitative context without overwhelming the user.

• Leverage Video: Text is great, but video captures tone, emotion, and nuance. A prompt like "Could you share your story on video?" turns a written answer into a powerful, authentic testimonial.

Pro Tip: Use Testimonial.to to prompt users for specific video answers. You can set up a "Wall of Love" with a question like, "What problem were you trying to solve when you found us?" This guides users to provide focused, story-driven testimonials that are perfect for marketing. For help scripting these prompts, you can explore ideas with our video testimonial script generator.

3. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) Question

How to Use It Effectively

• Always Follow Up with "Why?": The most crucial step is pairing the NPS question with an open-ended follow-up, such as, "What is the primary reason for your score?" This qualitative data is where your most actionable insights will come from.

• Track Trends Over Time: A single NPS score is a snapshot. The real power comes from tracking it monthly or quarterly to see how product updates, policy changes, or customer service initiatives impact customer loyalty.

• Segment Your Results: Analyze your NPS data by customer segment (e.g., new vs. tenured, free vs. paid plan). This can reveal that a feature beloved by one group might be causing friction for another.

Pro Tip: Use the NPS score to create targeted automated workflows. With a tool like Testimonial.to, you can automatically send Promoters (your happiest customers) a request to leave a glowing video testimonial or a positive review. You can see how this works by integrating with Google review requests.

4. The Multiple-Choice Question

How to Use It Effectively

• Ensure Options are Mutually Exclusive: Each response option should be distinct to avoid confusion. If a respondent could logically select more than one, consider using a "select all that apply" format instead.

• Include an "Other" Option: You can't predict every possible answer. Including an "Other (please specify)" option provides a valuable safety net to capture insights you may not have considered.

• Keep it Manageable: Limit the number of choices to between 3 and 7. Too few options can be restrictive, while too many can cause decision fatigue.

• Avoid Bias: Phrase options neutrally. For example, instead of asking "Which of our amazing new features do you like best?", ask "Which new feature are you most interested in exploring?"

Pro Tip: Use multiple-choice questions in your Testimonial.to requests to pre-segment customers. For example, ask "What do you use our product for most?" with options like "Marketing," "Sales," or "Support." Then, use conditional logic to ask for testimonials specifically related to that use case, resulting in more relevant and targeted social proof.

5. The Ranking or Prioritization Question

How to Use It Effectively

• Limit the Options: Keep your list manageable, ideally between 5 and 7 items. Asking someone to rank 15 items is cognitively demanding and can lead to poor-quality responses.

• Use Clear Descriptions: Ensure each item being ranked is described in a simple, unambiguous way. For example, instead of "API integration," use "Ability to connect with your accounting software."

• Provide Context: Explain why you are asking for the ranking. A brief intro like, "To help us decide what to build next, please rank the following potential features in order of importance to you," sets the stage and improves engagement.

• Pair with an Open-Ended Question: Follow up by asking, "What was the most important factor in your decision for your #1 choice?" This provides invaluable qualitative context to the quantitative ranking.

Pro Tip: Use ranking questions to identify your most impactful product features. Once you know what users value most, you can collect testimonials specifically about those high-priority features. This targeted approach ensures your social proof highlights the aspects of your product that are most likely to convert new customers.

6. The Matrix or Grid Question

How to Use It Effectively

• Group Logically: Only include items that belong to the same core topic. Do not mix questions about product features with questions about customer service in the same grid.

• Keep It Concise: To prevent cognitive overload, limit your matrix to a maximum of 7-8 rows. If you have more items, consider splitting them into multiple grids.

• Ensure Mobile Compatibility: Matrix questions can be difficult to view on small screens. Always test your layout on mobile devices to ensure it’s responsive and easy to use.

• Label Everything Clearly: Both the rows (the items being rated) and the columns (the scale points) must have clear, unambiguous labels.

Pro Tip: Use alternating row colors or shading to improve readability and help guide the respondent’s eyes across the grid. This simple design tweak can significantly reduce the chances of someone accidentally selecting the wrong response for a given row.

7. The Sentiment or Emoji Scale Question

How to Use It Effectively

• Keep It Simple: Limit your selection to 3-5 universally recognized emojis or icons. A simple happy, neutral, and sad face is often all you need.

• Provide Context: Ensure screen readers can interpret the options by using appropriate alt text for each image (e.g., "Happy Face Icon for 'Good'").

• Always Follow Up: The emoji provides the "what" (the emotion), but not the "why." Use conditional logic to ask a follow-up question. For a negative response, ask, "Sorry to hear that. What could we do to improve?"

Pro Tip: Use an emoji scale as an engaging first step in a more detailed feedback request. Within Testimonial.to, you can ask for a quick emoji rating. If a user selects the happiest emoji, you can then immediately route them to a prompt asking for a more detailed review or a video testimonial to capture that positive energy.

8. The Comparative or Paired Comparison Question

How to Use It Effectively

• Limit the Set: When comparing multiple items, try to keep the total set small (ideally 5-7 items) to prevent respondent fatigue, as the number of pairs grows quickly.

• Visualize the Choice: Whenever possible, present the two options visually next to each other, such as two different UI mockups or product images. This makes the comparison more concrete.

• Randomize Pair Order: To eliminate order bias, ensure the sequence in which pairs are presented is randomized for each respondent.

• Include an Escape Hatch: Sometimes, there is no real preference. Including a "No Preference" or "About the Same" option can prevent skewed data from respondents who feel forced to choose.

Pro Tip: Use this method in the early stages of product development to prioritize a long list of potential features. For example, if you have six features, you can create a series of paired comparison questions. You can then direct users who consistently choose a certain type of feature to provide more detailed feedback on that category, perhaps through a video testimonial using Testimonial.to, explaining why it’s so valuable to them.

8 Feedback Question Types Compared

From Questions to Action: Turning Feedback into Your Greatest Asset

Key Insight: The goal isn't to ask more questions; it's to ask the right questions. Strategic selection, thoughtful phrasing, and a clear objective for each inquiry are what transform feedback from a passive data point into an active driver of growth.

Synthesizing Your Feedback Strategy

• Define Your "Why": Before you even think about phrasing, pinpoint your objective. Are you trying to measure overall satisfaction (NPS, Likert), prioritize a feature roadmap (Ranking Questions), or capture a compelling customer story (Open-Ended Questions)? Clarity of purpose will guide you to the perfect question format every time.

• Mix and Match for Richer Data: Don't rely on a single question type. The most powerful feedback flows combine quantitative and qualitative methods. Start with a quick NPS or Sentiment Scale question to get a baseline, then follow up with a targeted Open-Ended question to uncover the "why" behind their score. This layered approach provides both the "what" and the "why."

• Context is Everything: The same question can yield vastly different results depending on when and where you ask it. A Multiple-Choice question about onboarding is most effective right after a user completes that process, not six months later. Timing your requests to align with specific touchpoints in the customer journey dramatically increases the relevance and quality of the responses.

• Empower, Don't Interrogate: Frame your questions for feedback as an invitation, not a demand. Use collaborative language, show genuine appreciation for their time, and make the process as frictionless as possible. When customers feel like valued partners, they are far more likely to provide thoughtful, honest, and detailed feedback.

Your Next Steps: From Learning to Launching

1. Identify a Goal: Do you want to improve a specific feature? Understand the post-purchase experience? Gather powerful social proof for your marketing? Choose one clear objective.

2. Select Your Tool: Based on that goal, select the most appropriate question type from this guide. For feature improvement, a Ranking or Matrix Question might be best. For social proof, a series of Open-Ended video prompts is unmatched.

3. Craft and Launch: Write your question(s) using the phrasing tips we've discussed. Use a tool that makes collection easy for you and your customers, then launch your request to a relevant segment of your audience.

4. Analyze and Act: Once the responses come in, don't let them sit in a spreadsheet. Analyze the data, identify the patterns, and, most importantly, take action. Close the loop by letting your customers know you've heard them and are making changes based on their input.