Collecting Quality Feature Feedback with Targeted In-App Surveys

Stan

02 Mar 2025

You shipped the new feature. The release went smoothly, crash rates are stable, and adoption numbers look promising. But there's a question no dashboard can answer: do your users actually like it? Without direct feedback from the people using the feature, you're flying blind.

Traditional user research — interviews, focus groups, beta panels — gives you deep insight, but it's slow. What if you could get honest, structured feedback from real users within days of a feature launch, without pulling anyone into a meeting? That's exactly what targeted in-app surveys enable when paired with event-based targeting.

Why Generic Surveys Don't Work

Most in-app survey implementations show the same popup to every user after a fixed time. A user who has never touched your new feature has nothing meaningful to say about it. Worse, interrupting them with an irrelevant question erodes trust.

The quality of feedback is directly proportional to the relevance of the question to the person being asked.

The Targeted Feedback Pattern

  1. Track a specific event each time the user interacts with the feature.
  2. Set a targeting rule: show the survey only when the event count reaches a threshold (e.g., >= 2).
  3. Trigger a custom popup via deeplink with clear, actionable response options.
  4. Send the response as a structured event to your analytics platform.
  5. Limit impressions so each user is only asked once per feature.

Targeting Real Users with Event Thresholds

With Amply's HasEventTargeting system, you define audience rules based on how many times an event has fired:

// Track every interaction with the new feature
AmplySDK.track("NewFeatureUsed", mapOf(
    "feature" to "smart_search",
    "session" to 3
))

Amply supports two event count strategies:

  • GLOBAL

    Counts the event across the user's entire lifetime. Ideal for features that take time to evaluate.

  • SESSION

    Counts the event within the current session only. Good for self-contained experiences like a new search.

Setting Up Feedback Campaigns with Amply

Define the Audience

Use HasEventTargeting to create a rule: NewFeatureUsed count >= 2 (GLOBAL strategy). This ensures only users with real experience see the survey.

Configure the Action

Set the campaign action to Custom Popup via Deeplink. When the targeting rule matches, Amply triggers a deeplink that your app intercepts and uses to display a native survey UI.

Set Impression Limits

Configure an impression limit of 1. Each user sees the survey exactly once for this feature, preventing survey fatigue.

Code Implementation

// Handle the feedback deeplink triggered by Amply
AmplySDK.setDeeplinkHandler { url ->
    if (url.contains("feature-feedback")) {
        showFeedbackSurvey(
            question = "How do you like Smart Search?",
            options = listOf(
                "Love it!",
                "It's complicated",
                "Didn't find what I needed"
            ),
            onResponse = { response ->
                // Send feedback as a structured event via Amply
                AmplySDK.track("FeatureFeedback", mapOf(
                    "feature" to "smart_search",
                    "response" to response
                ))

                // Mirror the event to your analytics platform
                analytics.track("FeatureFeedback", mapOf(
                    "feature" to "smart_search",
                    "sentiment" to response
                ))
            }
        )
    }
}

The three response options are deliberately simple and action-oriented: positive ("Love it!"), confused ("It's complicated"), and unmet expectation ("Didn't find what I needed"). Each maps to a clear product action.

Acting on Feedback Data

  • "Love it!" dominates — The feature is landing well. Consider promoting it more prominently.
  • "It's complicated" is high — The feature has value but the UX needs work. Prioritize usability improvements.
  • "Didn't find what I needed" is high — There's a gap between user expectations and what the feature delivers.
You don't need a research team to understand if a feature works. You need the right question, asked to the right people, at the right time.

Conclusion

Shipping a feature is only half the job. Understanding whether it works for your users is the other half. Targeted in-app surveys, powered by event-based targeting and impression limits, give you structured, high-quality feedback from the people who matter most: users who have actually used the feature.

Start with your next feature launch. Track the event, set the threshold, ask the question, and let the data guide your next move.