Auctiva Puts Our Sites to the Test

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Typically, when we develop a new feature at Auctiva, we beta test before we do a major release. This usually means a limited number of our users try out the feature and give us their input so our developers can consider suggestion enhancements before we enable the feature for all users. It’s a good process that has allowed us to create and refine very popular tools for more than 10 years.

However, as operators of more than a dozen different Web sites, we were able to play our own beta testers for an exciting product we recently unveiled called FeedbackForms. FeedbackForms is a feature that allows users to add a snippet of HTML code to generate a “Leave Feedback” icon on any Web page that accepts JavaScript—this includes eBay listings!

It’s a great tool for sellers and site administrators, alike. That’s why we’ve made it so Auctiva users can append the free feedback widget to all of their eBay listings automatically by opening a FeedbackForms account and associating it with their Auctiva account, and that’s why we added the widget to our sites.

“As the saying goes, we’re eating our own dog food,” says Director of Engineering Tom Urbanowicz. “We’re eager to gather insights from those who come to our sites, whether they are long-time customers or first-time visitors.”

There was no shortage of feedback. In fact, in just a short time we received close to 1,000 visitor comments from: many praises, some jeers, but all helpful comments that will aid in our ongoing effort to continually improve.

We learned that visitors to BuyShield didn’t want to have to enter their e-mail address to get a quote on a warranty, so we removed this requirement, and the number of quotes we generate increased. We also learned that some of our buttons weren’t as prominent as they should be, and users were missing them.

“I think it was extremely valuable,” says Cara Ernest, content manager for Auctiva buyer tools she. “It allowed people to quickly leave feedback, in real-time, as they interact with the sites.” Plus, it’s easy for visitors to leave feedback, she notes. They just click the “Leave Feedback” icon on the page and type their comments.

Adding the feedback widget
We should add that the FeedbackForms are customizable. You choose what you want to ask visitors in the FeedbackForms that will appear on your site or on your eBay listings. You can even select what portion of visitors should see the widget.

Adding the FeedbackForms widget to your site is a breeze. You just need to sign up for a FeedbackForms account, customize your form, push a button to generate the snippet of HTML code you’ll need then add this code to your Web site.

And if you’re Auctiva customer, it’s even easier to get add this feature to your listings. You simply turn the feature on in your account settings, and we’ll take care of the rest. So if you don’t have an Auctiva account, you may want to create one and select our Free Tools plan. It costs nothing and gives you access to our Scrolling Gallery, auto feedback, Auctiva Education and, of course, FeedbackForms. Not a bad deal at all!

Imagine all of the things you could learn about your Web store or your eBay listings. You might find that buyers think your descriptions are too brief, you have a broken link, your images need some adjusting, etc. Regardless of which sites you add the widget to, there’s a lot to be gained, Urbanowicz adds.

“One of the greatest features about FeedbackForms is the power it provides Web site stakeholders,” he continues. “For someone who has a small informational site with only light visitor traffic from a local community, FeedbackForms can provide incredible insight. Likewise, an executive VP for an international company could find the data to be a decisive factor in a strategic decision. FeedbackForms is a simple, elegant, flexible and economical way to aggregate that information.”

Change is good
Auctiva Product Analyst and Top-rated seller Rebecca Miller knows how important it is to stay in tune with visitors to your site and listings. That’s why she created Auctiva’s Best Shot photo contest to encourage sellers to take even better photos for their eBay listings. And she thinks FeedbackForms is another great tool for sellers.

“I know I’ve hit the Back button several times when getting to a listing because the listing contained bad photos, an incomplete description, etc.,” she says. “Had they had an easy way for me to leave feedback like a FeedbackForms widget, I would have done it, but since they didn’t, I just left.”

Richard Burks, a quality assurance engineer at Auctiva, recently added FeedbackForms to his personal site.

He says the widget was easy to add and only took about five minutes. “It was as simple as copy and paste,” he notes. “It even worked the first time for me, and nothing is ever that easy.”

One of the aspects Burks likes most about FeedbackForms is that he can change the questions on the form that appears on his site.

“I would definitely recommend this to others,” he says. “There is no down side. It has a free version for a single site, which is what I use. It is easy to install and use, and it looks really cool on the site. Just adding this to our site has made it look more modern.”

So, check out FeedbackForms.com to see how your listings and sites stack up, and let us know what you learn. For more information on FeedbackForms, please read this Auctiva EDU article.