If you’re reading this, you probably want to get real feedback from your customers—automatically, not by chasing people down one email at a time. Maybe you just signed up for AskNicely, or maybe you’re stuck staring at the dashboard, wondering what you’re supposed to do next. Either way, this guide is for you: a no-nonsense walkthrough for setting up automated customer feedback surveys in AskNicely, step by step.
I’ll flag what actually matters, what you can skip, and what to watch out for. Let’s make this something you set up once and don’t have to babysit every week.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Survey Goals
Before you even touch AskNicely, figure out what you want from your survey. Seriously, don’t skip this.
Ask yourself: - Are you measuring NPS (Net Promoter Score), CSAT (Customer Satisfaction), or something else? - Who are you trying to get feedback from—new customers, long-time users, or people who just had support tickets closed? - How often do you want to contact people?
Pro tip: If you ask too often, you’ll annoy people and your response rates will tank. Once a quarter is plenty for most NPS.
Step 2: Connect Your Customer Data
Automated surveys only work if AskNicely knows who to send them to. There are a few ways to get your customer list into AskNicely:
Manual CSV import
- Good for a first run or a static list.
- Download your customer list as a .csv, then upload it in AskNicely under People > Import.
- Make sure your columns are labeled clearly—at minimum, you’ll want email, name, and any segments you care about.
CRM or Helpdesk Integration
- AskNicely connects to tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, and Intercom.
- Go to Integrations in AskNicely and follow the prompts for your system.
- This keeps your list up to date automatically.
API or Zapier
- If you’re technical (or have a dev handy), you can push data via API.
- Zapier works if you want basic “when X happens, add to AskNicely” automation.
What matters:
Don’t overthink this. If you’re just testing, a CSV is fine. But for ongoing feedback, set up an integration so new customers get added automatically.
Step 3: Build Your Survey
This is where most people get bogged down. Keep it simple.
Choose Your Question Type
- NPS: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?” (0-10 scale). Industry standard, but not magic.
- CSAT: “How satisfied were you with your experience?” (1-5 or 1-10 scale).
- Custom: Useful if you have a very clear question in mind.
Add a Follow-up Question
After the score, always ask why. This is where the real gold is.
- Example: “What’s the main reason for your score?”
- Don’t ask for too much. One open-text question is usually enough.
Keep It Short
- One or two questions. That’s it.
- Long surveys get ignored.
Ignore the temptation to add: - Demographic questions you already have on file. - “How did you hear about us?” unless you truly don’t know.
Step 4: Set Up Survey Automation
This is the “automated” part.
Pick Your Trigger
AskNicely can send surveys: - On a schedule (e.g., every 90 days after signup) - After an event (like a support ticket closed, via integration) - Manually (not what you want here)
Go to Automations (sometimes called “Workflows”): - Choose your trigger—date-based is easiest to start with. - Specify who gets the survey and when (e.g., “send 60 days after signup”). - Set rules to avoid spamming the same person too often.
Set Frequency Limits
If you’re sending NPS, set a “cooldown” so people don’t get asked more than a few times per year.
- In the automation setup, look for “Contact Rules” or “Survey Frequency.”
- A good default: Don’t survey the same person more than once every 90 days.
Double-Check Your Audience
- Make sure you’re not accidentally sending to unsubscribed or opted-out contacts.
- Test on a small segment first if you’re nervous.
Why this matters:
Nothing ruins goodwill faster than spamming people with surveys. Plus, you want feedback that’s spread out, not a flood from the same folks.
Step 5: Customize Your Survey Email
People ignore boring emails. Take five minutes to make yours stand out.
Edit the Subject Line
- Default: “We’d love your feedback!”
- Better: “Quick question from [Your Company]” or “How did we do?”
Edit the Email Body
- Use your own voice. You don’t need to sound like a robot.
- Explain why you’re asking for feedback (briefly).
- Sign off with a real name, not “The Team.”
Add Branding
- Drop in your logo and brand colors if you want to look legit.
- But don’t get stuck fiddling with fonts for an hour.
Pro tip:
Send a test to yourself first. See how it lands in your inbox and on mobile.
Step 6: Test Everything
Do a dry run before you turn it loose.
- Use the “Send Test” button to email yourself (and a coworker).
- Make sure links work and the survey loads on mobile.
- Double-check that the right data (name, company, etc.) shows up.
If you’re using an integration, make sure new customers are actually getting added to AskNicely and triggering the survey as expected.
Watch out for: - Surveys getting caught in spam (try tweaking your subject line or sender name). - Personalization fields not populating (check your data import and mapping).
Step 7: Launch and Monitor
Once you’re confident, turn your automation on.
- Watch the first batch of responses.
- Check your response rate: 10–30% is typical; less than that means your survey might be too long or your timing is off.
- Read the text feedback. This is where you’ll actually learn something.
If things look off, pause and adjust. Don’t let a broken automation keep running.
Step 8: Set Up Alerts and Reporting (Optional, but Useful)
You can get notified when you get new responses, especially negative ones.
- In Settings > Notifications, set up emails or Slack alerts for low scores.
- Set up a recurring report if you want regular summaries sent to your inbox.
Don’t get sucked into dashboards you never look at. Pick the one or two numbers that matter to you and stick with those.
Step 9: What to Ignore (for Now)
AskNicely has a bunch of advanced features: journey mapping, “driver analysis,” dashboards, etc. They sound cool, but they’re easy to overcomplicate.
My advice:
- Ignore fancy analytics until you have a steady trickle of feedback.
- Don’t chase “industry benchmarks” right away. Focus on improving your own scores over time.
- Skip detailed segmenting unless you have a large, diverse customer base.
Step 10: Iterate, Don’t Overthink It
You’re not going to get everything perfect on day one. That’s fine.
- After a few weeks, check what’s working and what’s not.
- If response rates are low, try a shorter subject line or tweak your timing.
- If you’re not learning anything new, change up your follow-up question.
Keep it simple:
It’s better to have a basic, working feedback loop than a fancy setup nobody responds to.
Wrapping Up
Automated feedback with AskNicely is about making it easy for customers to tell you what’s working—and what’s not—without you having to chase them down. Set it up once, test it, and don’t sweat the fancy features. You can always tweak things later. Start simple, pay attention, and let the feedback roll in.