Goodwill is the budget
Your users are the best people to interview and the easiest to annoy. Every invitation spends a little of their patience. Spend it well and they say yes again next quarter. Spend it badly and your next study starts with a lower response rate and a few unsubscribes.
Ask the right people
The fastest way to burn goodwill is to ask people about something that has nothing to do with them. Invite people whose history matches the topic: the ones who raised a ticket about exports, not everyone on the account list. They are more likely to say yes, and they have more to say.
Say why you are asking them
A good invitation refers to something the person already told you. “You mentioned exports were slow in March. Could we ask you about it for six minutes?” reads as a follow-up, not a campaign. It also tells them their earlier feedback was read, which is often the first time they have heard that.
Ask less often than you think
We suggest no more than one invitation per person per quarter, across all studies. ProductSignal keeps track, so two teams running studies at once do not ask the same people twice.
Close the loop
When a study changes something, tell the people who took part. A short note saying what you heard and what you did about it costs almost nothing. It is also the main reason people say yes the next time.