What is Real-Time Customer Feedback?

Customer feedback is crucial for offering deep insights into your SaaS product. This is especially true if your feedback process allows you to capture user opinions in real-time.

According to a Microsoft study, 77% of customers view a business more favorably if it actively seeks out and acts on user feedback. Therefore, collecting real-time feedback helps you not only improve your product but also earn your customers’ trust.

In this guide, we will explore real-time feedback in detail and how you can start collecting it to build better products. 👇

Summary:

• Definition: Real-time customer feedback is collecting user opinions and reactions immediately as they interact with your product, providing the most up-to-date and actionable insights.
• Benefits: Real-time feedback helps you build customer trust and loyalty, improves engagement and response rates, and allows immediate issue identification and quick improvements.
• Collection methods: Effective methods for gathering real-time feedback include in-app surveys, feedback widgets, and live chat options, each offering unique advantages for passively capturing customer sentiment.
• Best practices: Focus on collecting both qualitative and quantitative feedback, ensure you close the feedback loop by acting on and responding to feedback, and keep feedback asks short and relevant to the user’s experience.

What is real-time customer feedback?

Real-time customer feedback is the immediate collection of user opinions and reactions as they interact with your product. 

So, instead of waiting a few days or weeks to send a survey, your team captures customer feedback on the spot while the memory is still fresh in the customer's mind.

Real-time feedback, whether right after an online transaction or at the end of a chat with customer support, offers the most accurate description of a user’s thoughts. This is because the experience is fresh in their minds, allowing for an honest reaction.

A real-time feedback system will help you immediately address user concerns and gain valuable customer insights.

✨ Collect real-time feedback with Featurebase for free →

Top 5 benefits of real-time customer feedback

Real-time customer feedback is super important for businesses in just about any industry and vertical. Here is why setting up a real time feedback mechanism is beneficial for your business.

1. It builds customer trust and loyalty

Real-time feedback demonstrates that you value your customers' opinions. When users see that their input is quickly acknowledged and acted upon, it fosters a sense of trust and loyalty.

Your responsiveness shows that you are committed to providing an exceptional user experience. As a result, you boost customer satisfaction and retention, leading to business growth.

2. Accurate and immediate

Real-time feedback is captured when the user’s experience is fresh, so the information is accurate and up to date. For example, if you ask a customer about their experience with your checkout process two weeks after the purchase, they probably won't remember much.

And this leads to another issue: recall bias. Over time, customers add or remove crucial details about their experience, so it's out of context and incomplete.

3. Boosts customer engagement and response rates

A real-time customer feedback system, including in-app widgets or chat support, improves the customer experience and engagement.

The convenience of these readily available feedback methods results in higher response rates. This is because users are more likely to provide thoughtful feedback when it doesn’t interrupt their workflow. Even online surveys can be placed into your product in an unintrusive way.

4. Enables you to identify issues right away

Real-time feedback helps you to catch and address issues as they occur. When you get instant feedback about an issue, you can address customer concerns early on, before they become issues that lead to high churn rates.

For example, a small bug in your dashboard may not be a huge if it happens once to a handful of users. But if it happens consistently, it can lead to negative reviews online, bad press and a hole in your revenue.

5. Helps you make quick improvements

Instant user feedback provides actionable product insights that you can implement quickly. When you implement this type of feedback collection process, you can make changes on the go, instead of waiting for the next sprint to apply the changes.

Let's say that customer sentiment is showing how confusing it is to get started with your product, which is the very beginning of the customer journey. You'll gain valuable insights after just a few customers who report the same thing, so you can get started on it before it turns into a nightmare.

How to collect real-time customer feedback

Real time feedback collection doesn't require complex tools and workflows. Here are some of the most effective ways to capture feedback quickly.

1. In-app surveys

In-app surveys are short, simple feedback forms within your product that users can fill out immediately. You can trigger them right after certain events, like support chats, onboarding completion, etc.

Their most significant advantage for users is convenience. Since customers don’t have to leave your app and visit a third-party site, they are more likely to provide feedback, and you can collect user and visitor feedback without disrupting their day.

As a real time feedback tool, surveys have one significant advantage: they can be used to collect qualitative and quantitative feedback, so you can get the full idea of what the customer experience is and what you can do to improve it.

You can ask many different types of surveys and questions to measure different things. But some of the most common ones for SaaS are:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Customer loyalty metric that measures how likely a user is to recommend the product to others. Satisfied customers will give you higher scores.
• Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSAT): Measures immediate customer satisfaction, typically by using emojis. You can also queue a follow-up text field to collect additional qualitative feedback.
• Customer Effort Score (CES): Measures the perceived effort from customers in using a specific aspect or feature of your product. For example, inviting their team members to join. It operates on the principle that the less effort a customer puts in while using your app, the more satisfied they will be.

Customer feedback surveys are infinitely customizable with just a few tweaks, you can collect contextual customer feedback in just about any point in the customer journey.

2. Feedback collection forms

Placing feedback forms at various customer touchpoints in your app will help you passively collect user insights. Since they are readily available, they allow customers to provide feedback on their own time and share their thoughts about customer experience.

The biggest advantage of such “always-on” feedback collection methods is that customers don’t suffer from survey fatigue. Instead of feeling obliged to fill out a questionnaire, they provide immediate feedback and share their thoughts as they occur to them on your app.

As a result, you get higher response rates and a realistic picture of your customers’ opinions.

3. Customer support chat

The live chat option is a great way to engage customers in dialogue while helping them resolve their problems.

During support interactions, users often provide valuable insights into their experiences, preferences, and pain points.

Your team can use these insights to gain a deeper understanding of what your customers are looking for. Meanwhile, your customers feel heard and valued, which boosts their loyalty to your business.

Feedback tools, like Featurebase, help you consolidate this feedback into one easy-to-manage place. Users will also be automatically updated about the status of their feature requests and more.

For instance, if users request “dark mode”, they’ll be subscribed to the relevant feature post on the feedback board.

Here’s how Featurebase lets you push feature requests to voting boards for an easier overview.

This automatically creates an issue for your developers to implement. And the user will get an automatic email notification when their request is live, helping you close the feedback loop.

Best practices for collecting real-time customer feedback

Collecting real-time feedback is not rocket science, but there are a few best practices. Let’s look at a few of the most important ones:

1. Focus on both qualitative and quantitative feedback

Collect a mix of qualitative and quantitative data to gain a comprehensive understanding of user experiences.

Qualitative feedback provides in-depth insights (e.g. interviews, customer service calls), while quantitative data (e.g. surveys, feedback forms) offers measurable and actionable metrics.

Quantitative data helps you identify trends, and qualitative data provides an explanation of those trends and patterns. Both types of feedback combine to help you make informed decisions about improving your product.

2. Close the customer feedback loop

Always respond to the feedback you receive. Inform customers about the actions taken based on their input. This closure reinforces that you value their feedback and are committed to improving their user experience.

The customer feedback loop is exactly that: showing customers that you acknowledge their valuable insights and that you've done something with their suggestion. Even if you don't end up fulfilling their requests, the feedback loop can improve customer satisfaction because they'll know you're listening to them.

Changelog tools are excellent for consistently updating customers on the status of their valuable feedback.

Featurebase, for instance, lets you intuitively publish product updates and automatically send users emails about it to help keep everyone in the loop. For example, if you launched a new feature, customers immediately get notified through email, helping you increase engagement and product awareness.

But the best way, again, is to bring those updates inside your app. This is where your users are most active and engaged.

3. Keep feedback requests short and relevant

Your questions should be short and easy to understand to encourage more users to provide real-time customer feedback. Plus, the closer your feedback request is linked to their recent interactions with your app, the more likely they are to respond.

In Featurebase, you can trigger surveys right after a dedicated action. For example, if you get negative feedback about a particular feature, you'll get it right at the source, helping you solve the problem and improve customer experience.

When to ask for real-time customer feedback

Collecting customer feedback is largely about timing, and we're not talking about real-time. It's also about knowing when to ask for precious customer data. These are some of the best instances.

1. Immediately after a purchase or transaction

• Customers’ experiences are fresh, making them more likely to provide accurate and relevant feedback.
• Works well for e-commerce checkouts, subscription sign-ups, or software purchases.

2. Right after customer support interactions

• Asking for feedback immediately after a chat, call, or email support session helps gauge satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.
• Commonly done via post-interaction surveys or CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) ratings.

3. During product or service usage

• In-app surveys or pop-ups while a customer is using a product can capture feedback about usability and features.
• Ideal for SaaS platforms, mobile apps, and self-service portals, where it's easy to collect feedback across different touchpoints.

4. After a key milestone in the customer journey

• Example: After a user completes onboarding or achieves a major goal within your product.
• Helps assess ease of use and overall user experience.

5. When a customer shows signs of disengagement

• If a user hasn’t logged in for a while, visits the cancellation page, or stops using a feature, asking why can provide critical insights.
• Useful for preventing churn.

6. At the end of a free trial or before renewal

• Understand why a user is (or isn’t) converting to a paid plan and find out how you can improve their customer experience.
• Helps optimize pricing, onboarding, and retention strategies.

7. After a website or app redesign

• If you’ve launched a new interface, real-time feedback can highlight usability issues or user preferences. It also works well when introducing major features or other aspects of your product that can impact customer engagement.
• Use on-page surveys or heatmaps to collect insights.

8. Post-event or webinar

• Collect feedback immediately after a virtual or in-person event to measure satisfaction and improve future events. While the memory is still fresh, you can get more detailed responses compared to asking a few days later.
• A short survey works best.

9. Following a delivery or service completion

• For industries like food delivery, logistics, or home services, asking for feedback right after delivery ensures you capture real-time experience details.

10. During seasonal or peak usage periods

• If your business sees a surge in customers during certain seasons, gathering feedback helps optimize service quality and efficiency. For example, an e-commerce brand can collect continuous feedback all year round, but you'll get the most insights during peak periods such as Christmas or Black Friday sales.

Top tools for collecting real-time customer feedback

Collecting real-time customer feedback manually is impractical and, in many cases, impossible. These are some of the best platforms you can use instead.

1. Featurebase ✨

Featurebase is a real-time feedback and feature voting tool designed for SaaS companies. It helps businesses gather, prioritize, and act on customer suggestions efficiently. Users can submit ideas, upvote requests, and track development progress through a public roadmap. The tool also enables businesses to engage with users via status updates, keeping them informed about feature releases.

Key features:

• Feature voting boards – Customers can submit ideas and vote on their favorite suggestions.
• Customizable feedback boards – Private or public boards allow businesses to manage feedback visibility.
• Roadmap and changelog – Users can track development progress and see which features are being worked on.
• Automated status updates – Businesses can notify users when their requested features are implemented.
• Integrations – Connects with Slack, Zapier, and other tools to streamline feedback collection.

✨ Start collecting & managing feedback with Featurebase for free →

2. Zonka Feedback

Zonka Feedback offers multi-channel surveys with real-time notifications and analytics. It supports website pop-ups, email, and in-app surveys for instant feedback collection. The platform also provides sentiment analysis and automated follow-ups.

3. Qualaroo

Qualaroo specializes in website and in-app feedback with its unobtrusive "Nudges." It allows real-time insights through targeted questions based on user behavior. Advanced AI-powered sentiment analysis helps interpret responses.

4. Hotjar

Hotjar combines real-time surveys with heatmaps and session recordings to analyze user behavior. Instant feedback widgets enable users to express concerns while browsing. The tool provides visual insights to optimize user experience.

5. UserTesting

UserTesting enables real-time usability testing with video-based customer feedback. Businesses can watch users interact with their products and receive spoken insights. This tool is ideal for live customer experience research.

6. Survicate

Survicate offers in-app and website surveys for real-time feedback. It integrates with CRMs and marketing tools to automate feedback collection. Advanced targeting ensures surveys reach the right users at the right time.

7. Typeform

Typeform provides interactive, conversational surveys that encourage higher engagement. Real-time analytics help businesses track responses as they come in. The tool integrates with popular platforms for seamless feedback collection.

8. Intercom Surveys

Intercom Surveys enable businesses to collect customer feedback within chat conversations. It allows companies to trigger questions based on user activity. The tool supports automation to follow up on feedback instantly.

9. Delighted

Delighted focuses on tracking real-time customer sentiment through NPS, CSAT, and CES surveys. It supports email, SMS, and web surveys for instant response collection. AI-driven insights help businesses understand trends quickly.

10. InMoment

InMoment is a real-time customer experience platform that gathers feedback across multiple channels. It provides AI-powered text analysis and sentiment tracking. Businesses can act on insights immediately with automated alerts.

11. SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey offers real-time survey responses with live analytics dashboards. Businesses can create quick polls, customer satisfaction surveys, and NPS surveys. Integrations with CRM and email tools help automate feedback collection.

12. Mopinion

Mopinion provides real-time feedback tools for websites, mobile apps, and email. It includes sentiment analysis, custom survey triggers, and visual dashboards. Businesses can act on insights instantly with automated workflows.

13. Feedier

Feedier is a gamified feedback tool that enhances response rates. It offers real-time insights through interactive surveys and reward-based incentives. Businesses can analyze trends instantly with advanced reporting features.

14. AskNicely

AskNicely specializes in real-time NPS and customer feedback collection. It automates follow-up actions based on responses. The tool integrates with CRM and customer service platforms for seamless workflow management.

How we collect real-time customer feedback

One way we at Featurebase collect real-time customer feedback is through Intercom's support chats. We channel feature requests to voting boards using our Intercom integration.

But I think the more interesting example is what we do on our Integrations marketing page.

The problem is that users come to research our tool and may look for specific integrations that we don't have. Then, they usually skip to the next competitor without considering it.

However, we added a survey popup asking users what integrations they would like to see us add next. 👇

It offers a nice overview of what integrations we might be missing. But the best thing about this feedback system is that it engages potential customers we can respond to and nurture, helping us manage customer feedback effectively.

Final thoughts

Real-time feedback from users is powerful for SaaS products. It provides immediate and actionable insights that improve the customer experience and the quality of your product. It also helps you build stronger customer relationships and make timely improvements.

Featurebase is one of the best tools for collecting real-time feedback, with features like in-app feedback forms and surveys. We have tools for collecting, managing and analyzing feedback across different user interactions.

The onboarding process is incredibly simple, and it comes with a Free Plan that allows for unlimited feedback, so there's no downside to trying it. 👇

✨ Start collecting real-time feedback with Featurebase today →