How to Ask a Client for Feedback: Emails and Survey Questions

Most clients will tell you what they think if you ask well. The trouble is that "Any feedback?" at the bottom of an email rarely counts as asking well. It's vague, it has no deadline, and it lands at the same time as everything else in their inbox.

This guide covers how to ask a client for feedback in a way that gets a useful answer: when to ask, who to ask, what to ask, and what to do with the reply. It includes email templates you can copy and a set of client feedback survey questions.

Two kinds of client feedback

Before you ask, be clear which kind of feedback you want, because they need different questions:

• Feedback on the work. Comments on a draft, design, report or recommendation, so you can revise it or get it approved.
• Feedback on working with you. How the client feels about communication, quality, timeliness and value, so you can improve the relationship.

Mixing the two in one message gets you a muddled answer to both. Ask for feedback on a deliverable when you send it. Ask how the relationship is going separately, at a milestone or at the end of the project.

When to ask for client feedback

Don't wait for the end of a long engagement to find out a client is unhappy. A short check-in halfway through gives you time to change something.

How to ask a client for feedback, step by step

1. Ask the right person. For feedback on the work, ask the person who approves it. For feedback on the relationship, ask the people who deal with your team day to day as well as the person who signs off the budget.
2. Say why you're asking. One line is enough: you want to get the next draft right, or you want to know what to change before the next phase.
3. Ask specific questions. "Does the pricing page answer the questions your sales team hears most?" gets a better answer than "What do you think?".
4. Keep it short. Three questions in an email, or five to ten in a survey. Every extra question lowers the response rate.
5. Give a date. For feedback on work, say when you need it and what it affects. For a survey, a soft date such as "by Friday if you can" is fine.
6. Make it easy to reply. One link, no attachments to download, and a clear way to respond.
7. Close the loop. Thank them, tell them what you'll change, and later tell them what you changed.

Asking for feedback on a piece of work

When a client reviews a deliverable, open questions produce scattered comments. Guide them to the decisions that matter:

• Does this meet the brief we agreed? If not, where does it fall short?
• Is anything factually wrong or missing?
• Which one or two changes would make the biggest difference?
• Is anyone else reviewing this? Can you send us one combined set of comments?
• Is this approved, or approved with the changes listed?

Agree up front who approves, how long reviews take and how many rounds are included. The client approval workflow guide covers how to set that up.

Client feedback email templates

Copy these and change the details in square brackets. Each one makes a single, specific request.

1. Asking for feedback on a deliverable

Subject: [Deliverable] ready for your review by [date]

Hi [Name], the [deliverable] is ready for you to review: [link]. We'd value your view on three things: [question 1], [question 2] and [question 3]. If others on your side are reviewing it, could you send us one combined set of comments by [date]? That keeps [next step] on track for [date]. Thanks, [Your name]

2. A mid-project check-in

Subject: Quick check-in on [project]

Hi [Name], we're about halfway through [project], so it's a good moment to check how things are going from your side. Is there anything you'd like us to do differently in the second half: how often we update you, how we share work, or anything else? A couple of lines by reply is plenty. Thanks, [Your name]

3. Asking for feedback at the end of a project

Subject: How did [project] go for you?

Hi [Name], thank you for working with us on [project]. Before we close it out, we'd like to hear how it went for you. Our short feedback form takes about five minutes: [link]. We read every answer, and we'll follow up on anything you raise. If you're happy for us to quote any of your comments, there's a question about that at the end. Thanks, [Your name]

4. Sending a client satisfaction survey

Subject: Five questions about working with us

Hi [Name], every quarter we ask our clients a few questions about how we're doing. This one takes about three minutes: [link]. Your answers go straight to [account lead], and we'll share what we're changing as a result. Thanks for your time, [Your name]

5. A gentle reminder

Subject: Re: [original subject]

Hi [Name], a quick nudge on the [feedback form / review] I sent on [date]: [link]. If now isn't a good time, just let me know when would be better, or reply with a line or two instead. Thanks, [Your name]

Send at most one reminder for a survey. For feedback on work that is holding up the project, use the client follow-up email templates, which escalate politely.

Client feedback survey questions

A client feedback survey works best with five to ten questions chosen from the groups below. Use the same rating scale throughout, and keep the questions the same each time so you can compare results.

Overall satisfaction

• Overall, how satisfied are you with our work? (1 = very dissatisfied, 5 = very satisfied)
• How likely are you to recommend us to a colleague? (0–10)
• How likely are you to work with us again? (1–5)

Quality of the work

• How well did the work meet the brief? (1–5)
• How would you rate the quality of what we delivered? (1–5)
• Was there anything you had to correct or chase before it was usable?

Communication

• How clear and regular were our updates? (1–5)
• Did you always know what we needed from you, and by when? (Yes / Mostly / No)
• How quickly did we respond when you got in touch? (1–5)

Process and delivery

• Did we deliver when we said we would? (Always / Mostly / Rarely)
• How easy was it to give feedback and approve work? (1–5)
• Was anything about our process frustrating or unclear?

Value and outcomes

• How would you rate the value for money? (1–5)
• Did the work achieve what you hoped? Why or why not?
• What has changed in your business as a result, if anything?

Open questions

• What do we do especially well?
• What is one thing we should do differently?
• Is there anything you'd like help with that we don't do for you today?

Permission and follow-up

• May we contact you about your answers? (Yes / No)
• May we quote your comments on our website or in proposals? (Yes / No)

For ready-made versions, use the client satisfaction survey template for a regular pulse during the work, or the client feedback form template at the end of a project. Both download as editable Word files.

Tips for better survey answers

• Ask one thing per question. "How were our communication and timeliness?" can't be answered with one score.
• Pair each rating with an optional "why?". The comments are usually more useful than the numbers.
• Put open questions near the end, after the quick ratings.
• Say how long it takes, and keep that promise.
• Decide before you send it who reads the answers and when.

What to do with client feedback

Asking is the easy part. What you do next decides whether clients bother answering next time.

• Reply to every response within a few days, even if it's only to say thank you.
• Call about low scores. A client who rates you 2 out of 5 and leaves a comment is giving you a chance to fix it. Take it.
• Fix what you can now, and tell the client when you have.
• Track scores over time. One survey is a snapshot. The same questions every quarter show a trend.
• Ask before you quote. Only use comments publicly with the client's explicit permission.

The client feedback glossary entry explains how firms collect and use feedback more broadly, and client retention strategies covers how acting on it helps keep clients.

Mistakes that put clients off giving feedback

• Asking only at the end. By then it's too late to change anything for this client.
• Long surveys. Twenty questions signals that you haven't decided what matters.
• Leading questions. "How much did you enjoy working with us?" assumes the answer.
• Feedback that disappears. If clients never hear what changed, they stop answering.
• Feedback scattered across channels. Comments in email, chat and calls are hard to collect and easy to miss.

Keeping feedback on the work in one place

Feedback on deliverables is easiest to act on when it sits next to the work it refers to, not in a chain of emails.

Angelwood gives each client a portal where your team publishes reviewed updates. Clients approve or reject work there with a comment and record decisions against the work they cover, and portal activity shows who needs a follow-up. For satisfaction surveys, use the templates above in the form tool you already have.

FAQ

How do you politely ask a client for feedback?

Explain why you're asking, ask two or three specific questions, say roughly how long it will take and make it easy to reply. Thank them afterwards and tell them what you changed.

What should I write in an email asking a client for feedback?

What you want feedback on, a link to it, the specific questions you'd like answered, when you need a reply and what happens next. The templates above cover deliverables, check-ins, end-of-project feedback and surveys.

When is the best time to ask a client for feedback?

Ask about the work when a deliverable is ready for review. Ask about the relationship at milestones, every quarter on a retainer, and within a week of the end of a project.

What questions should a client feedback survey ask?

Overall satisfaction, how likely they are to recommend you, ratings for quality, communication, timeliness and value, one or two open questions about what to improve, and permission to follow up or quote them.

How many questions should a client feedback survey have?

Five to ten. Short surveys get more responses, and you're more likely to act on what you learn.

Should client feedback be anonymous?

For end-of-project feedback, usually not: you want to be able to follow up. Anonymity can help when you survey many contacts across many clients and want franker answers.