Complete Feedback Workflow

How to get there: Manage feedback from All Posts in the sidebar. Configure statuses in Settings → Boards (separate page).

Learn the end-to-end process of gathering, organizing, and analyzing customer feedback in ProductLift, from widget installation to actionable insights.

What is the Feedback Workflow?

The feedback workflow in ProductLift encompasses the entire customer feedback journey: collecting ideas through widgets, moderating submissions, organizing with categories and tags, analyzing feedback by user segments, and identifying high-priority requests through votes and engagement. This workflow is the core purpose of ProductLift.

This guide shows you how to implement a complete feedback management system that helps you understand what your customers truly need and make data-driven product decisions.

The Complete Feedback Journey

Widget Setup → Feedback Collection → Moderation → Organization → Analysis → Action

Step 1: Set Up Feedback Collection Widgets

Install Widgets on Your Website:

The first step is making it easy for customers to submit feedback directly from your product or website.

Choose Your Widget Type:

• Floating Widget Button - Persistent "Feedback" button on every page
• Embedded Feedback Board - Full board embedded in a dedicated page
• Inline Form - Feedback form embedded in specific locations

Navigate to Settings → Widgets and select your widget type.

[Screenshot: Widget configuration page showing three widget types with preview images and code snippets]

Configure Widget Settings:

<script>
  window.ProductLiftConfig = {
    workspace: 'yourcompany',
    position: 'bottom-right',  // Widget position
    color: '#5469d4',          // Brand color
    labels: {
      button: 'Feedback',      // Button text
      title: 'Share Your Ideas' // Widget title
    },
    defaultBoard: 'feedback',    // Default board to show
    categories: ['feature-request', 'bug-report', 'improvement']
  };
</script>
<script src="https://app.productlift.com/widget.js" async></script>

Customize Widget Fields:

• Enable/disable specific fields (title, description, category, attachments)
• Make fields required or optional
• Add custom fields for your workflow (platform, version, URL)
• See Customizable Widget Fields for detailed configuration

[Screenshot: Widget field customization interface with toggles for Title (required), Description (required), Category (optional), Attachments (enabled), and custom fields]

Widget Best Practices:

• Place the floating button in bottom-right corner (familiar pattern)
• Use clear, inviting button text ("Share Feedback", "Request Feature")
• Pre-fill fields when possible (logged-in user email, current page URL)
• Test widget on mobile devices for responsive design

See Install Widgets for comprehensive widget setup instructions.

Step 2: Collect Feedback from Customers

Multiple Collection Methods:

ProductLift offers several ways customers can submit feedback:

1. Widget Submissions - Customers submit ideas through embedded widgets
2. Direct Portal Access - Customers visit your portal and create posts
3. Email Integration - Forward customer emails to create posts automatically
4. Manual Entry - Team members create posts on behalf of customers
5. Import - Bulk import existing feedback from CSV/Excel or other tools

[Screenshot: Feedback submission form showing title input, rich text editor, category dropdown, optional tags, and submit button]

Submission Workflow:

• Customer fills out feedback form (title, description, category)
• Optional: Customer adds attachments (screenshots, mockups, files)
• Submission goes to moderation queue (if enabled) or appears immediately
• Customer receives confirmation email with link to track their idea
• Customer automatically follows the post to receive updates

Encourage Quality Submissions:

• Provide clear instructions in widget ("Describe the feature you'd like to see")
• Show examples of good feedback posts
• Ask guiding questions in the form ("What problem does this solve?")
• Limit submission rate to prevent spam (e.g., 3 posts per day per user)

Step 3: Moderate Incoming Feedback

Understanding the Moderation Queue:

New submissions appear in your moderation queue where you can review before publishing.

Navigate to Moderation → Pending Posts to access the queue.

[Screenshot: Moderation queue showing list of pending posts with preview, user info, submission time, and Approve/Reject buttons]

Manual Moderation Workflow:

For each submission:

1. Review the post:

   • Read title and description for clarity
   • Check if it's a duplicate of existing posts
   • Verify it's appropriate (not spam, offensive, or off-topic)
   • Assess if it's actionable feedback

2. Take action:

   • Approve - Publish to your feedback board
   • Reject - Hide from board (with optional rejection reason sent to user)
   • Edit - Improve title/description before approving
   • Merge - Combine with existing duplicate post

[Screenshot: Post moderation interface showing post preview, user details, Approve/Reject/Edit buttons, and merge option]

3. Add context when approving:
   • Assign appropriate category
   • Add relevant tags
   • Set initial status (e.g., "Under Review")
   • Optionally add internal comment for team

AI-Powered Auto-Moderation:

Enable AI to automatically review and approve/reject posts based on your criteria:

• Navigate to Settings → AI Moderation
• Train AI with examples of good and bad submissions
• Set auto-approval threshold (High confidence / Medium / Low)
• AI handles obvious approvals, flags uncertain posts for manual review

[Screenshot: AI moderation settings showing training examples, confidence threshold slider, and auto-approval toggle]

Benefits of AI moderation:

• Instantly approve clear, high-quality feedback
• Automatically reject spam and inappropriate content
• Reduce moderation workload by 60-80%
• Maintain quality standards consistently

See Post Moderation and Setting Up AI Auto-Moderation for detailed instructions.

Moderation Best Practices:

• Moderate daily to keep feedback flowing
• Be consistent with approval criteria
• Provide constructive feedback when rejecting
• Merge duplicates to consolidate votes
• Use internal comments to coordinate with team

Step 4: Organize Feedback with Categories and Tags

Categorize by Feature Area:

Categories help you organize feedback into logical groups (e.g., "Mobile App", "Billing", "Integrations").

Create Categories:

• Navigate to Settings → Categories
• Click "Add Category"
• Define category name, color, and icon
• Assign categories to posts during moderation or afterward

[Screenshot: Category management page showing list of categories with colors, post counts, and edit/delete options]

Apply Categories to Posts:

• Select post(s) on your feedback board
• Use "Change Category" action
• Choose category from dropdown
• Apply to single post or bulk update multiple posts

Tag for Flexible Filtering:

Tags provide additional metadata for cross-cutting themes (e.g., "enterprise", "quick-win", "technical-debt").

Create and Apply Tags:

• Tags are created on-the-fly when you type them
• Add tags to posts individually or in bulk
• Use tag input field on post edit form
• Filter board by tags to see related ideas

[Screenshot: Post with multiple tags displayed as colored badges, plus tag filtering sidebar]

Organization Best Practices:

• Use categories for broad buckets (10-15 categories max)
• Use tags for flexible, overlapping themes (unlimited tags)
• Create consistent tagging conventions ("platform:ios", "priority:high")
• Review and consolidate tags periodically to avoid tag sprawl

Step 5: Enable Customer Voting and Engagement

Voting System:

Votes help you identify which features customers want most.

How Voting Works:

• Each user can vote once per post (upvote/downvote or single vote, depending on settings)
• Vote count displays prominently on each post
• Posts sort by votes (Most Voted, Trending, Recent)
• Voters receive notifications when status changes

[Screenshot: Post card showing vote button with count (142 votes), post title, status badge, and comment count]

Viewing Voters:

• Click on vote count to see who voted
• View voter avatars and user segments
• Analyze voters by MRR, plan type, or custom segments
• Identify high-value customer requests

[Screenshot: Voter list modal showing user avatars, names, email addresses, and MRR values]

Encourage Voting:

• Add clear "Vote for this feature" calls-to-action
• Send email to existing customers when new posts are published
• Highlight top-voted features in newsletters
• Show voting count in widgets to encourage participation

Comments and Discussion:

Enable comments for customers to add context and discuss ideas:

• Customers comment to provide use cases and context
• Team members ask clarifying questions
• Votes + comments indicate strong customer demand
• Use comment moderation for quality control

[Screenshot: Post comments section showing threaded comments with user avatars, reply buttons, and upvote counts]

See Voting and Commenting for detailed engagement features.

Step 6: Analyze Feedback by User Segments

Understanding User Segments:

ProductLift allows you to segment voters and feedback by customer attributes:

• MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) - Filter by customer value
• Plan Type - Free, Starter, Pro, Enterprise tiers
• User Status - Active, Trial, Churned
• Custom Segments - Define your own criteria

Integrate with Stripe:

Connect your Stripe account to automatically sync customer data:

• Navigate to Settings → Integrations → Stripe
• Connect your Stripe account
• ProductLift syncs customer MRR, plan type, and subscription status
• View segment data on posts and in analytics

[Screenshot: Stripe integration settings showing connected account, sync status, and data mapping options]

See Stripe Integration for setup instructions.

Segment Analysis:

Filter your feedback board to answer key questions:

• "What are our enterprise customers requesting?" (Filter by Plan: Enterprise)
• "Which features would have the highest revenue impact?" (Sort by total MRR of voters)
• "What do trial users need to convert?" (Filter by Status: Trial)

[Screenshot: Feedback board with segment filters applied showing MRR range slider, plan type checkboxes, and filtered results]

High-Value Request Identification:

• Sort posts by "Total Voter MRR" to see revenue-weighted priorities
• Create saved query for "Enterprise customers" to review regularly
• Analyze voting patterns: do high-value customers want different features?

See User Segments for advanced segmentation strategies.

Step 7: Identify Top Requests and Priorities

Prioritization Views:

Use ProductLift's built-in views to identify priorities:

Sort by Votes:

• View → Sort by → Most Voted
• Shows features with broadest customer demand
• Consider both vote count and voter value (MRR)

[Screenshot: Feedback board sorted by votes showing top posts with vote counts: 287, 156, 142, etc.]

Trending Posts:

• View → Sort by → Trending
• Shows posts gaining momentum recently
• Identifies emerging customer needs

Advanced Filters:

• Combine multiple filters to find specific patterns
• Example: "Category: Mobile App + Tag: enterprise + MRR > $5000"
• Save queries for regular review

See Advanced Filtering and Search for all filter options.

Create Saved Queries:

Save frequently-used filter combinations:

• Apply filters (category, tags, segments, date range)
• Click "Save Query"
• Name your query (e.g., "High-Value Mobile Requests")
• Load saved queries with one click for regular reviews

[Screenshot: Saved queries sidebar showing "Enterprise Customers", "Q1 Priorities", "Mobile App Bugs", etc.]

See Saved Queries and Filters for details.

Step 8: Use Feedback Data for Decision-Making

Analytics Dashboard:

Access analytics to understand feedback patterns:

• Navigate to Analytics → Dashboard
• View key metrics:
  • Total posts, votes, comments
  • Active users and engagement rate
  • Top categories and tags
  • Submission trends over time

[Screenshot: Analytics dashboard showing metrics cards, line graph of submissions over time, and category breakdown pie chart]

Funnel Analytics:

Track how users engage with feedback:

• Funnel: View → Vote → Comment → Follow
• Identify drop-off points in engagement
• Understand which features drive highest engagement

See Funnel Analytics for detailed tracking.

Export Data for Analysis:

Export feedback data for deeper analysis:

• Posts → Export → CSV/Excel
• Includes all fields: title, votes, MRR, comments, tags, status
• Analyze in spreadsheets or BI tools
• Share with stakeholders in familiar formats

Make Data-Driven Decisions:

Combine quantitative and qualitative signals:

1. Quantitative: Vote count, voter MRR, number of comments
2. Qualitative: Use cases in comments, problem severity, strategic fit
3. Context: Customer churn risk, competitive pressure, technical feasibility

Prioritization Frameworks:

Use structured frameworks to prioritize feedback:

• RICE Scoring - Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort
• ICE Scoring - Impact, Confidence, Ease
• Impact/Effort Matrix - Visual quadrant approach
• AI Prioritization - Let AI score based on your Product Vision

See Using Prioritization Methods and AI Prioritization.

Step 9: Take Action on Feedback

Move to Roadmap:

Promote prioritized feedback to your roadmap:

• Select post(s) to build
• Change status to "Planned"
• Post automatically appears on Roadmap board
• Voters receive notification of status change

[Screenshot: Post status change from "Under Review" to "Planned" with automatic notification checkbox]

Notify Customers:

Keep customers informed of progress:

• Status changes trigger automatic email notifications to voters
• Customize notification email templates
• Add personal notes when changing status ("Thanks for the suggestion! We're starting work on this next month.")

See Follower Notifications for email customization.

Close the Loop:

When you ship a feature:

1. Change status to "Released" or "Completed"
2. Post moves to Changelog board
3. Voters receive "We shipped your idea!" email
4. Create Knowledge Base article for documentation
5. Thank customers for their input

This completes the feedback loop and shows customers you're listening.

Real-World Example: Feedback Workflow in Action

Scenario: You want to collect feature requests from your SaaS users and prioritize your roadmap.

Week 1 - Setup:

• Install floating feedback widget on your web app
• Set up AI auto-moderation with approval threshold: High
• Create categories: Mobile, Web App, Integrations, Billing, Other
• Invite team members to help moderate

Week 2-4 - Collection:

• Customers submit 47 feature requests via widget
• AI auto-approves 32 high-quality posts
• You manually review 15 flagged posts (approve 12, reject 3 duplicates)
• Team members add tags and categories during moderation

Month 2 - Analysis:

• Sort by votes: "Dark Mode" (156 votes), "Slack Integration" (142 votes), "API Access" (127 votes)
• Filter by MRR: Enterprise customers ($5k+ MRR) heavily vote for "SSO/SAML"
• Create saved query: "Enterprise Priorities" (Plan: Enterprise + MRR > $5000)
• Use RICE scoring to prioritize top 10 requests

Month 3 - Action:

• Move top 3 requests to roadmap (change status to "Planned")
• 423 customers receive "We're building this!" notification
• Start development on "Dark Mode" (highest votes)
• Update progress weekly (status: In Progress → Testing → Released)

Month 4 - Ship & Close Loop:

• Ship "Dark Mode" feature
• Change status to "Released" → post moves to Changelog
• 156 voters receive "We shipped your idea!" email
• Create Knowledge Base article: "How to Enable Dark Mode"
• Customer satisfaction increases, churn decreases

Tips and Best Practices

Collection:

• Make feedback submission frictionless (minimal required fields)
• Ask for feedback at the right moments (after positive interactions)
• Allow anonymous feedback for honest input
• Provide examples of good feedback to guide customers

Moderation:

• Enable AI moderation to handle 70-80% automatically
• Moderate daily to maintain momentum
• Be transparent when rejecting (explain why)
• Merge duplicates immediately to consolidate votes

Organization:

• Keep category structure simple (10-15 categories max)
• Use tags for cross-cutting themes
• Review organization monthly and refine as needed
• Document your tagging conventions for team consistency

Analysis:

• Don't just count votes - weight by customer value (MRR)
• Read comments for qualitative context
• Look for patterns across multiple requests
• Consider strategic fit, not just popularity

Action:

• Close the feedback loop - always notify when shipping
• Update status regularly to show progress
• Be transparent about what you won't build and why
• Thank customers for participating

Common Challenges and Solutions

Challenge: Too Much Feedback to Process

• Solution: Enable AI auto-moderation, set up bulk operations, delegate moderation to team

Challenge: Duplicate Ideas Cluttering Board

• Solution: Merge duplicates regularly, use search before approving, train AI to detect duplicates

Challenge: Low-Quality Submissions

• Solution: Add required fields to widget, provide submission guidelines, use AI to filter spam

Challenge: Difficulty Prioritizing Requests

• Solution: Use RICE/ICE scoring, weight votes by MRR, focus on strategic alignment

Challenge: Customers Not Voting

• Solution: Email customers about new posts, highlight voting in widget, show vote counts prominently

Challenge: Losing Track of High-Value Customer Requests

• Solution: Create saved query for high-MRR voters, set up admin notification filter for enterprise accounts

Related Articles

Next Steps:

• Building and Sharing a Roadmap - Turn feedback into a roadmap
• Feature Launch Workflow - Ship features and close the loop

Detailed Feature Guides:

• Post Moderation - Moderation workflow details
• Setting Up AI Auto-Moderation - Configure AI moderation
• Bulk Post Operations - Manage posts at scale
• Advanced Filtering and Search - Find exactly what you need
• User Segments - Analyze by customer attributes
• Voting and Commenting - Engagement features

Setup and Configuration:

• Install Widgets - Widget installation guide
• First-Time Portal Setup - Initial portal configuration