Don’t Lead the Witness: How to Get Better Feedback from Your Audience
Yesterday, I was in one of my networking groups, trying to be more present and less of a lurker. You know, banishing my creepy.
I came across a post from a fellow business owner looking for mompreneurs (a word that, for some reason, makes my ears twitch in discomfort—I don’t know why, but it just rings all sorts of bleh to me). Anyway, despite my distaste for the term, I am one of those people-who-shall-not-be-named, and the post wasn’t getting much love, so in I went.
The ask was simple: fill out a survey. Easy. Plus, getting to be on the other side of market research for once? Hell yes! I love a good peek into what people are trying to figure out.
So, I did the thing. Got a thank-you. Moved on with my life.
Then, in the shower this morning—you know, that magical place where the hot water seeps into your brain and suddenlyyou have the best ideas? Yep, that place—it hit me.
That survey was still bothering me because... it was all wrong.
The Problem With Leading the Witness When Capturing VOC
These business owners weren’t marketers. They were trying to understand their ideal clients—what they wanted, what they’d pay for. In my world, we call this Voice of Customer research (or VOC).
I do this all the time. And honestly? It’s one of my favorite parts of my job.
They had a survey. Which, depending on how you got onto my list, you might have seen that I, too, use the occasional survey. But here’s the difference:
→ I use them to gather details at specific moments with my peeps.
→ To gauge shifts in my audience’s needs.
→ To keep my ear on the pulse of what my people actually want and say.
Surveys are great—if they’re written well.
If they aren’t? You’re just leading the witness.
The Shower Courtroom Epiphany
The survey I took yesterday was mostly multiple-choice—click as many boxes as apply.
The catch? Not one single box actually hit the mark. All of them were kind of right but mostly off.
The best I could do was pick the least wrong answer. But would I ever type those phrases into Google looking for a solution? Not a chance.
And all I wanted to do was stand in the imaginary courtroom of my shower and yell:
“Objection, Your Honor—Leading the Witness!”
Here’s why that’s a problem:
1️⃣ I’m not their ideal client.
And that’s fine. But if their boxes weren’t resonating with anyone, they’re getting the wrong data and making the wrong assumptions.
2️⃣ I don’t feel seen or heard in their brand.
Even if their final offer would be a great fit, I already feel like they don’t get me. And if I don’t feel seen, I’m not buying.
3️⃣ They’re feeding people information instead of learning from them.
This isn’t an exam. You don’t want people choosing between “meh” options—you want their words, their frustrations, their ideas.
How to Fix It
This is so simple:
💡 Ask people open-ended questions and shut the hell up while they answer.
💡 And when they do, ask them to share more.
Dive deeper. Get curious. Listen.
Then, once you have real, raw responses, if you want to validate those answers with a larger audience? Sure! Then use a multiple-choice survey—but use their words.
For example, if these awesome moms were running a class, here’s what a good exit survey might look like:
✅ What was awesome about this class?
✅ What was less than awesome?
✅ What would you change?
✅ What’s another class that would be an immediate HELL YES for you?
See the difference? Instead of guessing, you’re letting them tell you exactly what they want.
Don’t Lead the Witness—Let Them Speak
If you’re writing a survey, a launch campaign, or even just trying to figure out what to post on social, stop assuming and start listening. Your best marketing material is already in your audience’s words—you just need to capture it.
And hey—if you need help pulling actual Voice of Customer data instead of just playing a guessing game, I live for this stuff. Let’s talk. 😉
