We’re starting a new initiative to get our customers to blog about their experience with Kampyle or on any topic that would interest our readers and customers. If you have an interesting story to tell, and would like to post it on this blog, please feel free to let us know.

One day last week I received feedback from a reader informing me that he was bothered by an advertisement on my blog. The ad led to a landing page that his security system, AVG, had tagged as unsafe.  So I did what every responsible blogger should do: I requested it be removed from my blog and sent a refund to the advertiser.

Why am I telling you this story?  Shortly before my reader had contacted me, I had installed an automated feedback system called Kampyle on my blog. I learned about Kampyle through my summer job working there. Kampyle provides a feedback form that’s accessible from every page on my blog, and is quick and easy for readers to use.  It prompts readers for their type of concern, gives them a space for free form text, and lets them rate the severity of the complaint, compliment, bug or issue.  All feedback is forwarded to me automatically.

If I didn’t have Kampyle’s feedback form, I would never have learned that an ad offensive to my reader was running on my site. To be sure, readers regularly share their opinions, reactions and insight to the content of an article in the comments section.

But bugs, problems with a site’s usability or risky advertisements? Readers have no venue to voice their concern, unless they’re willing to hunt down your contact info and send you an email.  But don’t count on that. It’s a lot of work on the part of the reader, and he or she might not remember the exact page on which the issue occurred, or all of the other myriad of issues you might need to resolve the problem.

I’ve learned that having a reliable and constant source of feedback is critical for my blog, EpicLaunch, and all site owners. Fortunately, adding one to your site couldn’t be easier.  It took me less than 15 minutes to get Kampyle up and running on my site, and now my readers have a simple way to leave feedback.

About the author:

Ben Lang is the founder of EpicLaunch, a young entrepreneur blog. He started an eBay business, at age 14 and was interviewed on Channel 12.

It’s quite simple, really: the more relevant the feedback form, the more relevant the feedback.

But this isn’t true just for the feedback form – it is also highly relevant to the feedback button used on the site. After all, the feedback button is the first contact that your users will have with your feedback form (and we all know the importance of first impressions…).

Kampyle offers all customers several options for their feedback button, with several designs, colors and languages available for all tastes and websites (you can downoad and see them all here). Some of Kampyle’s customers have really understood the importance of making the feedback form “their own” and really integrating it with their website. These customer simply created a feedback form of their own to use on their site – and the results are really great!

We have recently gathered a few examples of customer-created feedback buttons (some of which you can see in this post) which we thought looked really nice, and added them to Kampyle in a new document. We thought that it would be a great way to encourage everyone to do the same and create their own buttons.

Does your site have a customized button? Share your inspiration – leave a comment with your site’s url for everyone to see!

If you would like more information on customizing feedback buttons for your site, visit our forum, or contact our support team.

Thank you,

The Kampyle Team.

The webinar was a great success: 3 businesses told attendees how they managed to use and leverage feedback in different ways to enhance their business processes, improve their site and increase sales.

For those of you who were not able to attend, or those who did and wish to see it again – we’re happy to bring you the recorded webinar here on our blog.

We take this opportunity to thank our speakers:

• Roy Hessel, CEO, EyeBuyDirect.com
• Matthew Niederberger,Web Analyst, TUI Netherlands
• Paul Downs,CIO, citybeach.com.au

thank you all again for sharing your experience and insights with us!

In addition to this latest webinar, Kampyle is now holding weekly webinars on various topics, whose main aim is to help customers learn about Kampyle and how to get the most from it. You can view our available webinars and register in our our new Webinars Page.

Thank you,

The Kampyle Team

Canned messages are meant to allow you to be able to save the most common responses to feedback – those that you find yourself replying to customers time and time again – and re-use them in just a click, instead of needing to write them all over again each time.

There are many uses and benefits to this new feature, but here is a short list that mentions the main ones:

1. Customize a default reply to customer feedback

Until canned messages, when replying to customer feedback, you would get the default response proposed by Kampyle. Naturally, we always made sure that you are able to change and customize this response, but the changes would not  be saved.

Canned messages allow you to write and save a standard default reply “template” to your customers who submitted feedback. Your new template can include coupon codes, special offers, links, images and other html elements to make sure that each feedback replies from your company are fully branded and looks great.

2. Save time replying to FAQs

Like every business, you probably have some “Frequently Asked Questions” in your feedback. With canned messages, you can save valuable time by simply preparing the answers in advance and choosing them when relevant. You can even mark several feedback items which relate to the same issue, and reply to all of them with the same pre-saved message.

3. Standardize your company’s communications with customers

Whether because you have several employees using Kampyle, or because you want to make sure that all you communications with customers are consistent and useful: addressing  customers in a clear, single voice is an important goal for any company.

Canned messages allow you to pre-save responses for all types of feedback, making sure that your employees reply to it with the same tone and attitude that represents you company’s identity best.

PS: You can also use canned messages when forwarding feedback to colleagues and co-workers…

Technical Guide: Using Canned Messages

Here are step-by-step  instructions on how to use canned messages. The process is simple and intuitive, but we added some numbered screenshots to make sure that it is even easier to understand….

a.  Go to the Canned Messages folder in the Feedback Inbox section of the left menu

b. You can manage your responses by creating new folders that will contain your canned messages. To create a new folder, click on “New Folder” and enter the name of the folder you wish to create. I this example, the new folder is called “Support Replies”. Once the folder is created, click on it and choose “New Message” to start creating feedback response.

c.  A message editor will open. In this editor, you are asked to choose a message name (by which you will be able to recognize it for future use), a subject for the email, and the body text for the actual response. As indicated in the right side of the editor, you can use several dynamic fields: ####USER_EMAIL#### (inserts each user’s email), ####SHORT_URL#### (inserts the company url), ####COMPANY_NAME#### (inserts the company name), ####LOGIN_USERNAME#### (inserts the name of the Kampyle user who is using the selected message). You can also use html code to enter links and images to brand the message to your company’s needs. When you are finished, click “OK”, and your new message will be added in the required folder.

d. Once the message has been added – you can start using it immediately. Just go to the relevant feedback item(s) in the feedback inbox, and choose “Reply to User”(s) either in the feedback item box or in the inbox menu.  The Reply box will open, and the option to use a canned message will appear just above the subject field. Select the relevant canned message, and it will appear in the reply box automatically.

e. The feature also allows you to save a new canned message directly from the reply box. This may come in handy when you would like to save a message that you have just drafted for the first time when replying to feedback, to avoid the need to write again in the future. To do this, simply write your new message, and select “Save as Canned Message” in the reply box.

As always, we will continue to add new features and functionalities (based on your great feedback) in the near future – so stay tuned to for our next updates!

Kampyle will be holding a free webinar this Thursday, July 29th at 1:00 PM ET, in which 3 businesses will discuss how they have leveraged customer feedback collected with Kampyle to:

• Increase online sales by 30%

• Open a new communications channel with visitors

• Identify & address obstacles to conversion

Speakers:

Roy Hessel, CEO, Eyebuydirect.com

Matthew Niederberger, Web Analyst, TUI Netherlands

Paul Downs, CIO, citybeach.com.au

A Q&A session will follow the presentations.

We are happy to invite all of you to join us on Thursday, July 29th at 1:00 PM ET.

All attendees will receive a free copy of Best Practices for Enlisting Website Visitors to Improve your Website.

We hope to see you there!

Feedback Comments

Thanks to this new addition, you can now:
-  add your notes to feedback items
-  notify co-workers of action taken on a feedback
-  add keywords to feedback items for searching, grouping and analysis

You can later find all commented feedback in the new “Commented” folder that we have added to the Feedback Inbox’s left menu.

Adding a new comment is extremely simple. Just choose “Add Comment” in the “more” menu and enter your comment (click on the image below to see each step).

Feedback Status Management

Managing the status of feedback items (new/in progress/completed) allows you to get a quick snapshot of where you stand with your feedback. By consulting the “Feedback by Status” chart in the Feedback Dashboard, you’ll be able to quickly tell whether you are up to date on your feedback, or whether you need catch up on a few items. Keeping the status report up to date is not much easier: have you just read and responded to a group of feedback items? Mark them all as “Read and Completed” in just 1 click in the More Actions menu! By simply choosing the feedback items that have been read and no longer require any action, and marking them as completed (see image below), you can manage your feedback inbox more efficiently for you and your colleagues.

These new features are the result of the need to effectively manage feedback from the feedback inbox, which was communicated to us by our users. Thanks to your ideas and suggestions this task will now be significantly easier!

Keep sending us your great feedback and let us know what you think about these new features!

thank you,

the Kampyle Team

Connecting with the users who create that content was a key goal from the beginning, said GetApp.com co-founders Manuel Jaffrin and Christophe Primault.  Primault and Jaffrin implemented Kampyle into their Web site before officially launching the company.  Within two days of its debut, GetApp.com had more than 100 pieces of feedback from early users.

That direct input from GetApp.com visitors enabled the company to quickly identify bugs and design hiccups, such as browser compatibility issues.  The result was a smoother launch that set the stage for GetApp.com to grow.  The company now lists more than 2,300 applications across more than 300 categories.

“The backbone of GetApp.com is user-generated content,” said Primault.  “So, the importance of getting and capturing user feedback was key from day one.”

In addition to enabling GetApp.com to monitor feedback in real-time, Kampyle provided the company with a means to engage in direct conversations with users and build a transparent business.  GetApp.com is also pleased with Kampyle’s scalability and analytics capabilities, both critical features as GetApp.com continues to grow.

Want to learn more about GetApp’s success story? Read our case study with GetApp, or watch the  GetApp video testimonial to learn more:

These improvements are a great opportunity to discuss Kampyle’s individual feedback items, in which all the data on a single feedback is displayed. Every feedback item is, after all, the heart of our system, and understanding its structure can be a great help to better understand you users’ feedback.

So here is a detailed description of Kampyle’s “feedback item”, for your benefit. We would love to hear your feedback!

1. Summary Line

The summary line of the feedback item displays a summary of the feedback in 5 rows:

Feedback status: a feedback item’s default status is “new”. You can change the status (to “In process”, “Completed” or “Confirmed”) by clicking the “edit” button at the bottom of the item.

Email: the email of the user who submitted the feedback, when available.

Description: the feedback description text.

Time & Date: the feedback’s submission date and time.

Flag: Flag mark. You can mark an item as “flagged” by clicking on the flag icon (or unmark a flagged item in the same way).

Tip: when the column width is too small to display the entire feedback description, just hover over the feedback summary line with your mouse cursor, and you’ll be able to view the full description without opening the item.

2. Feedback Data

The Feedback Data section provides details centered on the feedback information submitted.

These details include:

Description: the full text of the feedback description submitted by the user.

Feedback form: the name of the feedback form through which the feedback was submitted.

URL: the exact website URL in which the feedback form was opened and submitted.

Category: the category and sub-category selected by the user and submitted in the feedback item.

Grade: the grade selected by the user and submitted in the feedback item as an answer to the opening question -  “1″ being the lowest grade and “5″ being the highest.

3. Contact Details

The contact details section displays the contact information, if submitted by the user, in the last section of the feedback form. These contact details may include:

Email: the email of the user who submitted the feedback, when available.  If your site uses a login section, Kampyle allows you to collect emails automatically by recognizing the open session. This feature is called “User Integration” – read more about it here. 

Phone (New): the phone number of the user who submitted the feedback, when available.

Name (New): the name of the user who submitted the feedback, when available.

Address (New): the address of the user who submitted the feedback, when available.

Tip: Kampyle allows you to choose which contact fields you wish to display to your site’s users. In the feedback form customization page, click on “Contact  Fields” link to the right of each feedback form instance and select the contact fields you want to use.

4. User Info

The user data section displays several details that relate to the specific user who submitted the feedback, such as his location and technical configurations. In this section you will find the following information:

Browser: the name and version of the browser in use by the user who submitted the feedback.

OS Platform: the name and version of the user’s operating system.

IP Location: the geographic location of the users who submitted feedback, based on the IP address.

IP Address: the full IP address of the user who submitted the feedback. In certain countries collection if IP numbers is not allowed. You can disable the collection of this data by checking the appropriate box in the account settings page.

Cookies enabled: this field states whether cookies are enabled in this user’s browsers (yes/no)

Browser language: the default language of the user’s browser.

Screen Resolution: the screen resolution of the user who submitted the feedback.

Color Depth: the color depth configuration of the user who submitted the feedback.

Flash Version: the flash version in use by the user who submitted the feedback.

Tip: you can compare the user data of specific feedback items, in order to find common technical characteristics. Simply select the relevant feedback items (using the checkboxes on the left), and choose “Explore User Info” in the “More Actions” menu, just above the inbox (screenshots below).

5. Details

Kampyle’s feedback contains more information that can be extremely useful. These additional details can be found in the details section:

Adwords: using Kampyle’s integration with Google analytics, this field reveals the information about the Adwords Campaign which brought the user to your website.

Keywords: using the same integration with Google Analytics mentioned above, this field displays information about the keywords which brought the user to your website.

Submission: this field refers to the method by which the feedback form was opened by the user – either when the user clicked on the feedback button (“Feedback Button”), or through Kampyle’s pop-up mechanism (“Active Request”).

Item ID: the item ID is a unique identifier of a feedback item. Each feedback item has its own feedback ID.

Priority: the priority of the feedback item is a field that can help you to manage your feedback more efficiently. By default, the priority of new feedback is “Medium”. You can change the priority (to “Low” or “High”) by clicking the “edit” button at the bottom of the item.

We hope you will have found this information helpful. If you have more questions or comments about individual feedback items, don’t hesitate to comment on this post, send us feedback, or contact our support team!

thank you,

the Kampyle Team

After a number of recent, widely reported stories of companies getting slammed on Twitter and Facebook for poor customer relations, businesses are learning that the cost of not engaging with customers is great, and it is public.

Nestle is the latest brand to see consumers mobilize online, most recently in response to corporate policies regarding deforestation and destruction of orangutan habitats. Protesters have taken their complaints to the company’s Facebook page, and the whole matter is playing out on a worldwide stage.

Social media has given the customer a voice, and organizations that fail to listen do so at their peril.

But waiting for an angry tweet or Facebook post is a passive way to manage customer relationships. Back in February, we wrote about The 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study, which detailed the ways in which customers use social media to engage with companies. We noted that 61 percent of the new media users surveyed said they expect companies to solve problems and provide product or service information via social media networks

Perhaps it’s time that companies start to view their own Web sites as social platforms to ensure stellar customer service and closer engagement with users than can be fostered on networks like Twitter or Facebook. Kampyle Feedback Analytics enable organizations to have conversations with customers in real-time, within the location relative to the discussion. It’s a perfect opportunity for businesses to implement a social customer relationship management (CRM) strategy.

Social CRM based on feedback analytics offers enormous value for businesses and their customers. Our solutions are easy and inexpensive to implement, and foster a collaborative, mutually beneficial conversation between companies and their prospects.

By the time someone is screaming on Twitter or a corporate Facebook page, the company involved has already failed in its customer service responsibilities. Long before that occurs, forward-thinking organizations are using their own technology resources to build internal social platforms that let customers know their experiences and input matter.

Twiddy & Company, an online vacation rental provider for the Outer Banks of North Carolina, has been in business for more than 30 years. It would have been easy for Twiddy to lean on its long history rather than looking for new ways to engage directly with customers, but the forward-thinking company wondered whether it could improve customer experience by soliciting direct feedback.

Twiddy integrated Kampyle with Google Analytics and quickly saw a correlation between specific customer input and high bounce rates on certain pages of its site. Within just the first few days of its Kampyle implementation, Twiddy made changes in its Web site’s color, layout and functionality.

The ability to see not only what customers do, but also to learn why they do it has inherently changed this e-tailer’s business, increasing rental sales and repeat customer visits. Feedback analytics, now part of Twiddy’s strategic marketing plans for the future, help this Kampyle customer learn what its users are thinking and put that information to work.

Read Twiddy & Co.’s great case study, and watch their video testimonial on Kampyle: