If you’re building SaaS, you know how easy it is to think you know what users want—until you actually ask them. The catch: most feedback processes are either ignored, overcomplicated, or just plain annoying for everyone involved. This guide is for SaaS folks who want real product feedback, not just noise, using Tally.so (or Tally for short). No buzzwords, just what actually works.
Step 1: Get Clear On What Feedback You Need
Before you even touch a form builder, decide what you're actually trying to learn. “Product feedback” is vague. Are you looking for bug reports? Feature requests? General vibes? The more specific you are, the more useful your feedback.
What works: - Targeting one question per form. Example: “What’s confusing about our onboarding?” instead of a laundry list. - Focusing on recent experiences. People remember what just happened, not what bothered them last year.
What to skip: - Giant, 20-question forms. No one fills these out unless you pay them (and even then…). - “Any other comments?” as your only question. It’s too open-ended and rarely actionable.
Pro tip:
If your team isn’t sure what to ask, have a quick Slack poll or coffee chat first. Clarity here saves you hours later.
Step 2: Build Forms That Don’t Annoy People
Tally is popular because it’s simple and looks decent out of the box. But even the best form tool can be abused. Here’s how to keep your Tally forms user-friendly:
- Keep it short. One to three questions max. Anything longer is a survey, not a feedback form.
- Don’t ask for info you don’t need. If you don’t really need someone’s email, don’t ask.
- Use plain language. “How can we improve X?” beats “What is your overall sentiment regarding X’s feature set?”
- Make it anonymous—when it makes sense. People are more honest when they don’t feel watched, but for bug reports, sometimes you do want follow-up.
What Tally gets right (and where it doesn’t)
Tally forms are slick and easy to embed. You can set up conditional logic (like showing extra questions if someone’s unhappy), which is handy. But don’t overdo it—if your form starts branching like a choose-your-own-adventure, it’s probably too much.
What to ignore: - Every single template. Most are too generic. Start from scratch or strip it down. - Over-styling. Default Tally forms are fine. Don’t burn time on fonts and colors unless you have a very good reason.
Step 3: Put Forms Where Users Will Actually See Them
You can have the world’s best feedback form, but if it’s buried three clicks deep, you’ll get tumbleweeds. Placement matters more than perfection.
Best bets: - In-app modals or tooltips after a key action (“You just finished onboarding—any feedback?”) - A “Give Feedback” button in your app’s footer or help menu - Triggered emails after a feature is used (but don’t spam)
What to avoid: - Random pop-ups that interrupt users mid-task. If you’re annoying, your feedback will reflect that. - Relying on your website’s “Contact Us” page. It’s a dead zone for most SaaS products.
Pro tip:
Test your form as a user. If you find it annoying, so will your customers.
Step 4: Make It Dead Simple To Submit
The more hoops you make users jump through, the less feedback you get. This isn’t a job application—speed matters.
- No forced sign-in. Unless you’re collecting sensitive info, keep it open.
- Auto-fill if you can. If you must collect emails (for B2B, for example), pre-fill them for logged-in users.
- Mobile-friendly. Luckily, Tally forms are responsive, but always double-check.
What to skip: - CAPTCHAs. Unless you’re drowning in spam, don’t bother. - Required fields for everything. Only make questions required if you truly can’t use partial feedback.
Step 5: Actually Read (and Use) the Feedback
This sounds obvious, but most SaaS teams are terrible at it. Collecting feedback is pointless if it just sits in a spreadsheet.
- Set up notifications. Tally lets you get instant email or Slack pings. Route feedback to the product team, not just a generic inbox.
- Tag and group responses. Most feedback falls into a few buckets: bugs, UI confusion, feature ideas, etc. Even a quick spreadsheet with tags helps.
- Share what you’re hearing. Surface trends in your team standup or roadmap meetings. Don’t let it become a black hole.
What doesn’t work: - Replying to every single response manually. You’ll burn out fast. - Waiting for “statistical significance.” If three users say the same thing, it’s probably a real issue.
Step 6: Close The Loop (Without Overpromising)
People like to know their feedback went somewhere, but you don’t have to update everyone personally.
- Add a thank-you screen. Tally lets you customize the confirmation message—use it.
- If you fix something, tell your users. A quick release note or in-app message goes a long way.
- Be honest. If you’re not planning to build a requested feature, say so (if they ask). Don’t string people along.
What to ignore: - Surveys about the survey. Don’t ask people how they felt about giving you feedback. It’s meta and no one cares.
Step 7: Review And Tweak Regularly
Feedback collection is a process, not a one-time setup. What works today might flop in six months.
- Quarterly check-ins. See if you’re getting useful input, or just complaints about the same thing.
- Prune old forms. Outdated questions confuse people. Keep it fresh.
- Ask your team. Your support and success folks usually know what’s missing from your forms.
What not to stress about: - Chasing “perfect” response rates. Most users won’t fill out forms, and that’s fine. Focus on quality, not quantity.
Real Talk: What Makes Feedback Actually Useful
A few truths that might save you some headaches:
- Most feedback will be about obvious pain points. That’s good—fix them first.
- You’ll get weird, off-topic responses. Just ignore them.
- You can’t please everyone. If you try, you’ll build a mess of a product.
If you’re getting actionable, honest feedback from even a handful of users, you’re ahead of most SaaS teams.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
You don’t need a “feedback strategy” doc or a fancy automation setup. Start small, use Tally for what it’s good at—simple, low-friction forms—and pay attention to what you hear. When things stop working, tweak them. That’s it.
The key is to actually act on what you learn, not just collect data for the sake of it. If you keep your process lightweight and honest, you’ll get more signal, less noise, and build a better product. And isn’t that the whole point?