Voice of the customer surveys are the backbone of understanding what your SaaS customers truly need, and asking the best questions for SaaS can make or break your product strategy.
With this guide, I'll walk through the most effective questions for different feedback moments and show how AI transforms the way you craft and analyze surveys.
We’ll cover top questions for onboarding, pricing, and feature gaps—plus see how AI can help you dig deeper and engage every type of SaaS user.
What makes voice of the customer questions effective
Great voice of the customer (VoC) questions go far beyond surface-level feedback. I’ve seen too many SaaS teams fall into the trap of vague or uninspired prompts—those rarely get to the real story. When we ask direct yet open-ended questions, we invite rich conversations instead of checkbox responses.
The best questions are open enough for users to share what’s on their mind but still focused on a specific step, pain point, or goal. Let’s see how traditional survey questions stack up against effective VoC questions:
Traditional survey questions | Voice of customer questions |
|---|---|
How satisfied are you with our product? | What almost made you give up during your first experience with our product? |
Rate our pricing from 1 to 5. | When considering our pricing, what made you hesitate before purchasing? |
Context matters: Different user segments need different questions. What confuses a new user won’t faze a longtime customer. Know who you’re talking to and adjust accordingly.
Timing is crucial: Asking the right question at the right time in the customer journey is everything. A well-timed nudge post-onboarding or right after a support ticket captures the freshest, most actionable insights.
AI follow-ups take it even further. Instead of ending on the first answer, real-time probing (think "why?" or "what would help?") turns any question into a genuine two-way conversation—what makes conversational surveys so powerful and effective.
AI-powered conversational surveys have a clear edge—completion rates often hit 70-80%, compared to just 45-50% for traditional survey forms, and abandonment rates drop to 15-25%[1]. This is exactly why I recommend going conversational if response quality and volume matter to you.
Essential questions for onboarding feedback
Onboarding is a make-or-break moment for any SaaS product—a single confusing screen can lead to instant churn. That’s why onboarding feedback surveys deserve priority attention.
Here are my favorite onboarding VoC questions (with a quick note on why each one matters):
1. Set expectations: Find out what users hoped to achieve before even starting.
Before signing up, what did you expect our product to help you accomplish?
2. Capture first impressions: Early sentiment is invaluable because you’ll never get this moment back.
What was your very first reaction when you started using the product?
3. Uncover confusion points: If a step tripped users up, you need to know—not guess.
Was there any part of the setup process that confused or frustrated you?
4. Spot missing features: Onboarding is often when users first notice something’s missing.
Did you notice any features or actions you expected but couldn’t find?
AI follow-ups for onboarding: This is where things get interesting. When users mention confusion or friction, AI-powered surveys can immediately probe for details—“What about that step was unclear?” or “What could we change to make this easier?” Specific’s AI follow-up questions feature automatically digs deeper by asking “why” and “what would help?” so you don’t miss the story hiding behind their initial answers.
Strategic questions for pricing insights
Pricing feedback can feel high-stakes, but if you phrase questions with care you’ll reveal blockers and opportunities you’d never see from analytics alone.
Some of the best pricing VoC questions I rely on:
1. Understand value perception: Find out if users see your product as worth the money.
How do you feel about the value you receive for the price you pay?
2. Comparison shoppers: Learn how you stack up in the competitive landscape.
Did you compare our pricing to any alternatives? If so, what stood out to you?
3. Willingness to pay: Get visibility into elasticity without being pushy.
If our pricing changed by 20%, how would that affect your decision to use our product?
4. Identify upgrade barriers: Figure out what’s stopping free or lower-tier users from moving up.
What’s stopping you from upgrading to the next plan?
Targeting by user type: The pain points of a new user evaluating your pricing are rarely the same as those of a power user who knows every feature inside out. In-product conversational surveys give you the power to deliver targeted pricing surveys to the right cohorts at the right moment—read more on in-product conversational surveys.
It’s easy to configure AI to avoid direct discount talk, but still understand price sensitivity and the true reasons behind purchase hesitation. Use this to stay strategic, not reactive.
Questions to uncover feature gaps and opportunities
Feature gap surveys are one of the fastest ways to prioritize your roadmap with confidence—users will tell you exactly where your product falls short, and what they’re hacking together as workarounds.
Here are the questions I reach for to spark those deeper insights:
1. Spot workflow friction: The little headaches become the big reasons for churn.
Is there any part of our product that slows you down or feels awkward?
2. Discover workarounds: Users will often invent clever workarounds without you realizing.
Have you figured out any workarounds or hacks to solve your needs?
3. Explore competitor features: No shame in asking! If another tool offers something you don’t, you want to know.
Is there a feature you’ve seen elsewhere that you wish we had?
4. Understand the job-to-be-done: Step back and ask about the core outcome, not the button or widget.
What’s the biggest job you’re trying to accomplish with our product?
Power user insights: Some of the best feedback comes from your most engaged customers—the ones pushing your product’s boundaries. Use advanced targeting to ask deeper questions just for this group.
AI follow-ups can explore “what’s next?” every time a user hints at pain points or ambition. And once you’ve collected responses, run AI-powered response analysis to surface patterns and hidden opportunities by segment or role—AI makes it possible to spot trends in minutes instead of weeks[1] [2].
Using AI to generate customer-specific question sets
Let’s be real—crafting perfect VoC surveys for every cohort is time-consuming. AI survey generators can build high-quality, targeted question sets based on your goals, segment, or topic in seconds. Specific’s AI survey generator is designed to understand B2B SaaS use cases as well as onboarding, pricing, and feature research for all sorts of customers.
If you want to see what this looks like, here are some example prompts for generating VoC surveys:
SaaS onboarding survey prompt:
Generate an onboarding feedback survey for new SaaS users. Include open-ended questions about initial expectations, first impressions, confusion points, and feature requests.
Pricing research survey prompt:
Create a pricing feedback survey for both new users and existing customers. Focus on value perception, price sensitivity, alternatives, and upgrade barriers.
Feature request survey prompt:
Draft a survey to identify missing features and workflow pain points for power users of a SaaS analytics tool. Include questions about workarounds and desired improvements.
Editing on the fly: The benefits don’t end with survey generation—Specific’s AI survey editor lets you refine and update questions instantly by chatting with the AI. If early results reveal new themes, you can pivot fast, keeping your survey relevant and targeted.
Putting voice of customer surveys into action
Here’s what I’ve found works best for getting the most out of VoC surveys in a SaaS product:
Choose the right timing: Reach users at meaningful moments—like post-trial, before renewal, or after they contact support.
Mix formats: Use a blend of in-product surveys, email links, and dedicated conversational survey pages for maximum reach and context.
Target smartly: Customize questions for new users, power users, and churn risks based on behavior or account type.
Survey timing best practices | When to use |
|---|---|
Post-trial survey | Immediately after a new user’s free or paid trial ends |
Pre-renewal check-in | Before annual or monthly subscription renewals |
After support interaction | Directly following a resolved support ticket or chat |
Continuous improvement: Regular VoC surveys are a feedback loop—they keep your roadmap, onboarding, and pricing in sync with real user needs. And the more conversational and natural they feel, the richer your responses will be.
Ready to hear directly from your customers and uncover what really matters? Start now and create your own survey—the best questions are just a few clicks away.