As the leader of an online community, continuous improvement is something you wish to always be in pursuit of.

Feedback is of the utmost importance to ensure that you foster a dynamic and thriving community. Ensuring that you gain regular feedback from your community is crucial as it can help to provide insights into your community member's needs, concerns and preferences, enabling you to make informed decisions.

Gaining the kind of feedback you require takes more than simply asking, it also involves creating an environment of understanding, trust and active engagement.

Below we give you a guide on how you can ask for feedback effectively to enhance your community as a leader.

1. Cultivate a Culture of Openness

Before you ask for feedback from your community, it is important to foster an environment where your community members feel encouraged and safe to share their thoughts.

This often begins with establishing a culture of transparency and openness and you should regularly communicate the goals of your community, the progress of those goals and the challenges that come with the goals.

Below are some tips to help you cultivate openness:
  • Acknowledge Contributions
Contributions from your community members should be publicly recognized and the members should be appreciated.
  • Encourage Dialogue
Discussion should always be welcomed, you can ensure this by offering regular meetings, creating forums, or creating chat groups to allow your community members to easily provide feedback in a way they prefer.
  • Lead by Example
As a community leader, you should share your own experiences, this should include lessons you have learned on your journey and any failures.


2. Ask the Right Questions

The quality of the feedback you receive from your community will largely depend on the questions you ask them. As a community leader, you should craft questions that are specific to the feedback you are looking for, clear and open-ended to encourage a detailed response.

Effective Question Strategies:
  • Balance Constructive and Positive Questions
Ask your community members what they feel works well within the community and what they feel could be improved to get a holistic view.
  • Be Specific
Be specific when asking your community questions to gain feedback. Instead of saying "What do you think of our community as a whole?" ask them "How do you feel we can improve our community events?"
  • Use Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions encourage more detailed feedback from your community. These questions could be something such as "How can we improve our community?" or "What do you think of our community as a whole?"

3. Choose the Right Timing

When asking for feedback, the timing is critical. You will find that if your community members feel overwhelmed or pushed, they may not provide thought-out responses. As a community leader, you should identify moments when the community is somewhat stable and a time when community members can reflect on their experiences within the community.

Optimal Times for Feedback:
  • At Project Milestones
During projects within your community, you should ask for feedback at key points to ensure that the project has met the needs of your community.
  • After Major Events
Opinions should be gathered post-events to capture the immediate suggestions and reactions from your community.
  • During Regular Check-ins
Regular newsletters and meetings can be used as a platform to help solicit ongoing feedback.

4. Ensure Anonymity When Needed

You may find that some community members are comfortable enough sharing their feedback openly but this may not be the case for all your community members. Other community members may fear repercussions when providing their feedback, ensuring there are options to provide feedback anonymously can lead to more valuable and honest feedback.

Ways to Ensure Anonymity:
  • Anonymous Feedback Forms
Providing feedback forms in which entering a name is optional can provide anonymity. These feedback forms could either be digital or physical.
  • Anonymous Surveys
You can find tools that allow you to provide surveys that allow those using these surveys to stay anonymous. Some tools that we recommend are

  • Google Forms
  • Microsoft Forms

5. Show That You Are Listening

When your community members see that their feedback has led to changes within the community, they are more than likely to continue providing feedback and insights.You should always follow up on any feedback you receive by sharing what actions you will take regarding specific feedback.

Ways to Show You're Listening:
  • Create Feedback Loops
A process in which feedback is continuously gathered, acted upon and reviewed should be implemented
  • Communicate Actions
Any actions and changes that are made to your community based on your community member's feedback should be regularly updated to ensure communication is there.
  • Acknowledge Feedback Publicly
Specific feedback and suggestions and the community members who provided them (with their permission of course) should be highlighted to help show recognition.

6. Encourage Diverse Feedback Channels

Depending on your community members and how they like to provide feedback, some may prefer a different way of communication. Ensuring you offer multiple channels to allow them to provide feedback will ensure a higher response rate which in turn will lead to more comprehensive insights.

Feedback Channels:
  • Suggestion Boxes
Both digital and physical suggestion boxes can help provide your community members with an anonymous way to give their feedback
  • One-on-One Interviews
More personal interviews can allow for an in-depth understanding of the perspectives of each individual.
  • Surveys
Online surveys are great and efficient in helping you collect quantitative data. Any surveys you provide should be kept focused and short to encourage participation.
  • Focus Groups
It is a good idea to give focus groups a try. This will allow a small group to discuss any feedback they have which can help provide qualitative and deep insights.

Feedback should not be something that is a one-time event, collecting feedback should be a continuous process. Community members should be reminded frequently that their feedback and input are not only valuable but always welcomed.

Sustaining Continuous Feedback:
  • Open Channels
Open lines of communication between you, the community leader and your community members should be maintained, this could include dedicated online forms or email addresses where feedback can be provided.
  • Regular Surveys
One of the best ways to gather ongoing feedback is to conduct quarterly or bi-annual surveys.
  • Feedback Sessions
Regular feedback sessions are great to gain continuous feedback from your community, this can be done as part of community meetings.

8. Evaluate and Act on Feedback

Gathering feedback is just the beginning, analyzing and acting upon the feedback you receive is where the real value lies.

Feedback should be prioritized based on potential impact and feasibility, you should then plan to address any key areas.

Steps to Evaluate and Act:
  • Analyze Data
The feedback you receive from your community should be categorized into themes and you should identify common issues.
  • Prioritize Actions
You should focus on any changes you choose to make based on feedback that will have the most significant feedback within your community.
  • Implement Changes Based on Feedback
A plan should be developed and executed to ensure you address the feedback received.
  • Monitor and Adjust Accordingly
Any changes you make based on feedback you receive should be monitored and you should make further adjustments as and when you feel they are needed.

In conclusion, asking for feedback as a community leader is not just about gathering the opinions of your community members, it is about building a more responsive and stronger community.

By fostering a culture of openness, asking the right questions, ensuring anonymity, encouraging continuous feedback, showing that you are listening to their feedback, using diverse feedback channels and effectively acting on the input you receive, you can improve your community significantly.

Always remember, that the goal is to create a space where every community member feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute to the collective success of the community.