Lesson learned - How to get feedback

How I learned how to get feedback from my visitors

[Jack_Hughes]

I've been a webmaster for around a year now and I have to say it has been an interesting experience.

One thing I used to think is that people visiting websites give feedback on the site automatically. This is not true.

Our first attempt to get feedback was to put our email address in the company section...result: no feedback.

Our second was to put our email & a feedback page link on every page somewhere prominent....result: some feedback but very little.

Our latest attempt has been to place the feedback form right there on the page with the article or whatever...result: we get a rating for our article and sometimes some comments on how we can improve our efforts. priceless!

we are always striving to move up to the next level, how do you guys n galls do it?

[grandpa]

Besides the Contact Page (rarely used) I put up a feedback/questionaire page that produces a steady stream of information. The page clearly states that the results are confidential and will not be posted, and I believe that helps. Then there are the public comments, a page that is linked well throught the site.

I think now the focus is to manage the feedback more efficiently. Something new I've done is to provide shipping status directly from my site. In a few more days I'll be able to take comments directly about any specific order. Everything I need to know, including the customers comments will be sent home.