How to get there: Voting is available on any post page. Configure voting settings in Settings → Boards by selecting the relevant board.
Learn how to create polls on posts to gather structured feedback, validate assumptions, and help customers voice their preferences on implementation details.
What are Polls in ProductLift?
Polls are admin-created voting mechanisms attached to posts that let customers choose between specific options. Unlike general post voting (upvote/downvote), polls ask targeted questions and provide multiple-choice answers.
Polls help you gather structured feedback beyond "do you want this?" to understand "how do you want this?"
When to Use Polls
Use polls to:
- Validate implementation approach ("Which design do you prefer?")
- Prioritize between variations ("Which integration is most important?")
- Gauge feature usage ("How often would you use this?")
- Gather preferences ("Dark mode: Auto-detect or manual toggle?")
- Measure satisfaction ("Are you using the new feature?")
Don't use polls for:
- Yes/no questions (use regular voting)
- Open-ended questions (use comments)
- Complex multi-part questions (break into separate polls)
Creating Polls
Poll Basics
Admin-Only Feature:
- Only admins can create polls
- Customers can vote on polls
- Optionally allow customers to add their own options
Access Poll Creation:
- Open an existing post or create new post
- Click "Add Poll" button
- Poll creation interface appears
[Screenshot: Post detail page with "Add Poll" button highlighted]
Poll Creation Steps
Step 1: Write Poll Question
Enter clear, specific question:
Good Questions:
- "Which authentication method do you prefer?"
- "How often would you use bulk export?"
- "Which platform should we prioritize?"
Bad Questions:
- "What do you think?" (too vague)
- "Should we build this?" (use regular voting)
Step 2: Add Poll Options
Provide 2-6 answer choices:
Example Poll:
Question: "Which Slack notification is most important?"
Options:
- Status changes on followed posts
- Daily digest of new feedback
- Mentions in comments
- Weekly roadmap updates
Option Best Practices:
- 2-6 options (not too many)
- Mutually exclusive choices
- Clear, concise labels
- Cover main scenarios
Step 3: Allow User-Added Options (Optional)
Toggle: "Allow users to add options"
When enabled:
- Customers can add their own answer choices
- Useful for discovering options you didn't consider
- Moderate new options before they appear
When disabled:
- Fixed options only
- More controlled
- Clearer results
Step 4: Publish Poll
- Click "Create Poll" or "Publish Poll"
- Poll appears on post immediately
- Users can start voting
[Screenshot: Poll creation form with question input, option inputs, "Allow users to add options" toggle, and Create button]
Voting on Polls
Customer Poll Voting
How Customers Vote:
- View post with poll
- See poll question and options
- Click radio button or option to vote
- Vote registers immediately
- See updated results
One Vote Per User:
- Each user votes once
- Can change vote later
- Cannot vote multiple times
[Screenshot: Poll on post showing question, four options with radio buttons, vote counts, and percentages]
Poll Results Display
Results Shown:
For each option:
- Vote count
- Percentage of total votes
- Voter avatars (first 10-20 voters)
- Option highlighted if you voted for it
Example Results:
Question: "Which integration is most important?"
- Slack: 47 votes (34%)
- Jira: 38 votes (28%)
- Zapier: 32 votes (23%)
- Salesforce: 21 votes (15%)
Total votes: 138
[Screenshot: Poll results showing bars with percentages, vote counts, and voter avatars]
Viewing Poll Voters
See Who Voted for What:
- Click on poll option
- See voters for that option
- View voter details:
- Name and avatar
- MRR (if available)
- Plan type
- Email
Analyze by Segment:
Understand which segments prefer which options:
- Enterprise customers prefer SSO
- SMB customers prefer Zapier
- Informs implementation priorities
[Screenshot: Voter list modal showing avatars, names, and MRR for "Slack" option voters]
Managing Polls
Edit Poll
Modify Existing Poll:
- Go to post with poll
- Click "Edit Poll" (admin only)
- Modify question or options
- Save changes
What You Can Edit:
- Poll question text
- Existing option text
- Add new options
- Toggle user-added options
What You Cannot Edit:
- Remove options with votes (preserve voter intent)
- Votes already cast (permanent)
Delete Poll Option
Remove Unpopular Option:
If option has no votes:
- Click "X" icon on option
- Option removed immediately
If option has votes:
- Cannot delete (preserves voter data)
- Can hide from future voters
Delete Entire Poll
Remove Poll from Post:
- Edit poll
- Click "Delete Poll" button
- Confirm deletion
Warning: All votes lost, cannot be recovered.
Pin Poll to Top
Highlight Important Poll:
- Click "Pin Post" button on post with poll
- Post stays at top of board
- More visibility = more votes
- Useful for time-sensitive decisions
Unpin when voting complete.
Poll Best Practices
Writing Good Poll Questions
Be Specific:
- ❌ "What do you want?"
- ✅ "Which mobile feature is your top priority?"
Single Focus:
- ❌ "Which features should we build and when?"
- ✅ "Which feature should we build first?" (separate poll for timing)
Neutral Phrasing:
- ❌ "Don't you think dark mode is important?"
- ✅ "How important is dark mode to you?"
Designing Poll Options
Mutually Exclusive:
- Options shouldn't overlap
- Each voter can choose only one
- Clear distinctions between choices
Comprehensive:
- Cover main scenarios
- Include "Other" if allowing user-added options
- Don't miss obvious choices
Balanced:
- Similar level of detail for all options
- Don't bias toward one option
- Neutral wording
Timing and Duration
When to Add Poll:
During Planning:
- Feature is planned but implementation details TBD
- Need customer input on approach
- Before starting development
After Launch:
- Measure adoption and satisfaction
- Gather feedback for iteration
- "Are you using the new feature?"
Duration:
- Leave poll open: 2-4 weeks typically
- Pin for first week (visibility)
- Gather sufficient responses (target: 20+ votes)
Interpreting Results
Look Beyond Percentages:
- 60% prefer Slack (47 votes) but...
- 70% of Slack voters are SMB customers
- 80% of enterprise voters prefer Jira
- Decision: Build Jira first for enterprise, Slack for SMB later
Combine with Other Data:
- Poll results
- Post votes
- MRR of voters
- Comments context
- Strategic priorities
Don't Just Build the Winner:
Polls inform, don't dictate:
- 51% voted for option A
- But option B serves higher-value segment
- Build option B first with strategic reasoning
Poll Use Cases
Implementation Decisions
Poll: "Dark mode: Auto-detect or manual toggle?"
Options:
- Auto-detect (follow system)
- Manual toggle
- Both options
Result: 67% want both → Build both features
Prioritization Between Features
Poll: "Which dashboard widget is most important?"
Options:
- Recent activity
- Top posts by votes
- User analytics
- Custom metrics
Result: Recent activity (45%) → Build first
Poll: "Which mobile platform should we support first?"
Options:
- iOS
- Android
- Both simultaneously
Result: iOS (52%), but 70% of enterprise votes for both → Build both for enterprise segment
Feature Adoption
Poll: "Are you using the new export feature?"
Options:
- Yes, frequently
- Yes, occasionally
- Tried once
- Not yet
- Didn't know it existed
Result: 40% didn't know it existed → Need better feature announcement
Advanced Poll Techniques
Multiple Polls on One Post
Create series of polls:
For complex features, add multiple polls:
- Poll 1: "Which feature variation?"
- Poll 2: "What pricing tier?"
- Poll 3: "Which platforms?"
Each poll addresses different aspect.
User-Added Options
Discover Options You Missed:
Enable user-added options:
- Users suggest options you didn't think of
- Reveals edge cases
- Community-driven choices
Moderate New Options:
- Review before displaying publicly
- Reject duplicates or off-topic options
- Approve creative alternatives
Segment-Specific Analysis
After Poll Closes:
Export voter data:
- Analyze by MRR
- Analyze by plan type
- Understand segment preferences
- Target communication by segment
Troubleshooting
Issue: Low Poll Participation
Solution:
- Pin post to top
- Share poll in email newsletter
- Add poll to status update emails
- Simplify poll question/options
Issue: User-Added Options Are Spam
Solution:
- Disable user-added options
- Enable moderation for new options
- Clean up spam options
Issue: Poll Results Inconclusive
Solution:
- Options may be too similar (consolidate)
- Question may be unclear (reword)
- Need more responses (promote poll)
Issue: Can't Edit Poll After Publishing
Solution:
- Most edits allowed except deleting voted options
- Create new poll if major changes needed
- Add comment explaining poll update
Related Articles
Customer Engagement:
Analysis:
Post Management: