Launch optimized website copy overnight (and actually get more conversions)? Yes, if you've got reliable feedback loops to run in the background
How SaaS startups can ask questions with surveys and forms at key touchpoints to get newsletter inspiration, optimize their website copy, and snag customer testimonials
Landing page templates are awesome. Until you realize that you still need to replace "List the top 3 benefits of using your product. Keep it short and sweet" with actual words.
Or, when you follow the "better done than perfect" rule to build your product and don't come back to your website copy, until you realize that your homepage bounce rate is way too high... and now you want to replace it with something more relevant for your personas. Fast.
Except that you still don't have any voice-of-customer data. And without that data, it’s pretty hard to rewrite your copy in a way that'll bring in more signups:
their problems
the desired outcomes of solving their problems
your product
specific product features
Most likely, you're already gathering customer feedback, having conversations with your users, conducting demos, or checking in with your existing customers.
And then those insights are lost somewhere along the way, or are reduced to tl;dr summaries retold by interviewers (which isn't what VoC is all about).
But if you set up a system for gathering and analyzing responses from your customers and prospective customers (including list subscribers), you won't have to scramble to gather feedback when you need to update your website, just as you won’t have to struggle with highlighting key customer benefits, or deciding which customer success stories to focus on.
Setting up surveys and forms can help you overcome these stumbling blocks on the road to creating converting webpages:
figuring out how to phrase your value proposition so it resonates with your audience
turning product features into customer benefits
describing the problem your product is solving, in words that make your readers gasp in recognition
making your calls to action more persuasive by connecting the action to a recognizable desired outcome in human-speak
It doesn't have to be a multi-step monster with the goal to ask *all* the questions.
Instead, you can focus on the key points and ask as many questions as you need to focus on one or all of the following:
better understanding your target audience to improve messaging and copy
gathering testimonials without having to remember to ask for them
understanding what your audience wants - in your product, but also in content and educational materials
These 3 buckets can overlap, and some questions may be repeated in different feedback-gathering flows.
If you plan to set up more than one feedback loop, make sure to avoid redundancies when mapping out the questions, unless you have a good reason to ask everyone the same question.
Example: you suspect your newsletter subscribers and your free trial signups are two very different audiences, and need to verify - or for some reason you're building a newsletter for a broader audience and want to track your list makeup.
Sometimes there's no good way to embed a form, in which case you can create demo scripts to make sure that all team members ask the same questions, and share the responses with the rest of the team.
Key touchpoints and questions you can ask your subscribers, prospects, and customers
Signing up for product news, blog updates, or a newsletter
Confirmation page form embed
"Why are you interested in our product?"
"What brought you to our website?"
"What's your biggest challenge when it comes to [blog topic / industry]?"
Welcome email sequence (or email)
"Tell us more about yourself / describe your role"
"What are the topics you're interested in?" (segmentation + identifying topics of interest)
Product demo signup
Signup form (yes, it can be done without creating unnecessary friction)
Describe your role / industry
"What brought you to our website?"
"What almost made you decide not to sign up for a demo?"
"Do you have any questions we haven't answered?"
Questions to ask during product demo (more here)
"What’s your biggest challenge in solving [problem you're solving]?"
"What have you tried to do to solve this problem in the past?"
"Why didn't it work?"
"What are some other alternatives you’re considering to solve [problem]?"
Product sign-up
Registration form
Describe your role / industry
What do you plan to use [product] for? (drop-down or open question)
Post-registration page (so many amazing things can be done with thank-you pages)
What do you plan to achieve with the help of [product]?
What was happening in your life that led you to decide to sign up for [product]?
Customer success team check-ins
Email check-ins
Any questions / challenges / need for help?
Invitation to leave a review / testimonial
Check-in calls / interviews
What have you been able to achieve?
What has been challenging?
Any before / after results that can be shared?
Any surprising / unexpected benefits?
Up for a video testimonial?
What next? Making sure that VoC data is used, not ignored
Once you set up these systems, you'll start getting responses whenever a specific event happens. The next step is not drowning in data, and making sure you put it to good use.
Analyze open-ended questions to pull out trends and themes (or you'll end up cherry-picking quotes that resonate with you - here's a Hotjar how-to post with a template)
Have one storage space open to everyone, from transcripts to call summaries to survey results. I'm trying out Tetra Insights to tag interviews - might also work for you
Track website performance and heatmaps to see what you should focus on
Not sure which questions to ask to move the needle on your copy and ignite your growth?
Check out these amazing resources:
I help B2B SaaS startup founders and marketers get more traction with research-driven conversion copy — without slowing down their growth initiatives.