How to Gather Feedback to Improve Your Subscription Box

Discover 4 ways to gather subscriber feedback and improve your subscription box experience for happier subscribers and long-term success!

What do your subscribers like best about your subscription box? What are their favorite types of items to receive? Do they have favorite themes or colors? Do they like to be surprised by what’s in your box or know ahead of time what’s coming their way? You can find out the answers to all these questions by asking subscribers for feedback. 

As a small business owner, you can build relationships with your customers in a way no corporation or big box store can. One huge advantage of those relationships is the ability to reach out to your customers and subscribers directly and ask them what they think. 

We all love to be asked for our opinions. To feel part of a community. To feel seen, heard, valued, and understood. Simply asking your subscribers for feedback achieves all of that and more. 

Involving subscribers in your process by asking for their feedback and applying it has a positive impact on retention. Not sure what your retention rate is? Grab our retention calculator and find out, and keep finding out – every month. 

Wondering how to go about gathering subscriber feedback? I’m sharing 4 ways to find out what your subscribers are thinking and feeling… so you can do something about it! 

1. Gather Subscriber Feedback with a Post-Purchase Survey   

One of the best ways to get feedback from subscribers is with a post-purchase survey. 

Wait to survey subscribers until after they’ve received at least 3 subscription boxes. They’ll be familiar with the experience you provide and you’ll get much more valuable feedback than if you ask after the first box. 

Your survey can be as simple as a Google form or you can use a survey tool like Typeform or Survey Monkey. All are easy to create and require no coding! 

It’s important to keep your survey short and sweet. Make it quick and easy for subscribers to complete the survey if you want to get a good response. 

I suggest using dropdown menus rather than having subscribers type in their responses. Again, make it quick and easy for them. 

Ask questions that will give you the info you need. 

Survey questions to ask can include: 

• What did you love most about this box? 
• What would you like to see in future boxes? 
• What was your least favorite item from this box? 

Aim for 5-8 questions. That should be enough to give you valuable information to work with without being so long that subscribers won’t complete it. 

Attach an incentive to boost survey response rates. 

Your goal is to get as many responses as possible. Attaching an incentive to fill out the survey is a great way to boost that response rate. 

Possible incentives include getting a free gift in the next box or a coupon code for your shop with the completion of a survey. 

Let subscribers know you value their feedback and appreciate the time they took to provide it by offering an incentive. 

2. Use Social Media Polls to Get Feedback on Your Subscription Box 

I talk a LOT about using social media to get social. To engage with your audience, including your subscribers. 

Social media is a great way to get feedback about your subscription box. 

Use social media polls – Facebook polls and Instagram story polls – and ask the same types of questions you asked in your email survey, with one exception. 

Since your social media pages are a public forum, positively spin your questions. Ask what your subscribers’ favorites are or what they’d like to see more of. Stay away from questions about things they don’t like. 

A fun, scroll-stopping idea is to create a graphic with the four most recent boxes and ask, “What was your favorite item from the last 4 boxes?!” 

Remember to monitor the comments on these posts, gathering valuable feedback and interacting with subscribers and non-subscribers who engage with the post. 

3. Create a VIP Subscriber Focus Group    

Your long-term subscribers are your ultimate VIPs. They are your most loyal customers and biggest raving fans. Seeking out their feedback and involving them in box curation is a great way to show them how much you value them. It’s also a smart retention strategy!

Invite a select group of long-term subscribers to join your private VIP focus group. Gather specific feedback from them about their subscription box experience and use this feedback to continue to improve your box. 

You can even involve them in the curation of future boxes, asking their opinions about themes or specific items you’re considering. 

4. Actively Seek Subscriber Feedback All Year Long    

Don’t wait for the end of the year or a sudden increase in churn to ask for feedback on your subscription box. 

Subscriber feedback helps you put the right thing in front of your subscribers, continuing to evolve and improve their experience. 

Having subscribers means you have a loyal customer base. You just need to keep giving them more of what they want. As subscription box owners, our vision can get skewed. Keep soliciting subscriber feedback and listening to it. 

There is one caveat when it comes to subscriber feedback. When you receive negative feedback from one person, take it in, but don’t overreact to it. Similar feedback from several subscribers needs attention, but don’t let one person overshadow a high retention rate and positive feedback from many. 

Feedback from subscribers is incredibly valuable. Consistently gather feedback, analyzing and using it to improve and plan future subscription box experiences. The result will be happier subscribers who stay with you for a long, long time. In other words, a healthy, thriving subscription box business!