Don’t ask shoppers to “take a survey.” Invite them to a “subscriber quiz.”

How many emails have you’ve received in the last 60 days with the word “feedback?”

Search ‘feedback’ in your email and count.

For me, it’s about 25 — once every two days or about 180 times a year.

If your inbox is anything like mine, then you know how prosaic these requests sound: “How was your experience?” “Your voice matters” “We value your feedback” “We value your experience” “Please share your feedback.”

Many of the brand dishing out these solicitations don’t need to worry about open-rates. If you have millions of subscribers, who cares about wearing out your list?

The ecommerce brands I work with don't have the scale of Walmart or P&G. They can ask for feedback, but only occasionally, and they aren’t eager to hand out coupons or discount codes.

If that’s you, avoid the words ‘survey’ or ‘feedback’ and platitudes such as “We value your feedback.” (There’s nothing less convincing than a faceless corporation telling you that your voice matters, right?)

Instead, try to design a survey that doesn’t look like one. Call it a “Subscriber quiz.”

Need an example? Check out this “quiz” I received from the Australian accessories brand Bellroy.