Survey template

Beta feedback survey

Beta users are too polite to be useful unless you ask precisely. This template targets what they actually tried to accomplish, the exact point it broke, and the single thing that has to be fixed before launch — then closes with the Sean Ellis question to read whether you're near product-market fit at all.

Best for: Founders and PMs running an early-access or private beta before general availability.

The questions

1. What were you trying to accomplish when you tried the beta?

   Long text

   Anchors every other answer to a real job, so 'it was confusing' becomes 'it was confusing while doing X'.

2. Where did it break or fall short of what you expected?

   Long text

   The specific failure point — far more actionable than an overall rating.

3. If we could fix only one thing before launch, what should it be?

   Long text

   Forces a single priority instead of a wish list, which is what you actually need pre-GA.

4. How would you feel if you could no longer use this product?

   Single select

   The Sean Ellis PMF question. Very disappointed / Somewhat disappointed / Not disappointed — over 40% 'very' is the rough PMF signal.

5. What type of person do you think would benefit most from this?

   Long text

   The people who'd miss it most usually describe your real target user better than your own positioning does.

6. What's the main benefit you've gotten from it so far?

   Long text

   Their words here are your best positioning copy — and they reveal whether the value you intended is the value they feel.

7. How likely are you to keep using it after the beta ends?

   Opinion scale

   Stated intent from a beta user is a soft retention read before you have real retention data.

How to run it well

• Score the Sean Ellis question first: if fewer than 40% would be 'very disappointed' to lose it, you have a fit problem to solve before a polish problem.
• Segment every other answer by the 'very disappointed' group — those users define what your product is actually for; build for them, not the average respondent.
• Treat the 'one thing to fix' answers as a priority vote, not a backlog dump — cluster them and ship the top cluster before GA, ignore the long tail for now.
• Send it after they've hit the core flow at least once, not on day one — feedback from someone who never reached the value measures your onboarding, not your product.
• Pull the 'main benefit' verbatims straight into your launch copy; beta users describe the value in plainer language than any positioning doc.

FAQ

What's the Sean Ellis PMF question and why include it?

It asks how someone would feel if they could no longer use the product. The benchmark: if at least 40% say 'very disappointed', you likely have product-market fit. It's the single sharpest pre-launch signal because it measures attachment, not politeness — and it tells you whether to fix fit or fix polish before GA.

How is a beta survey different from a normal feedback survey?

A beta survey is decision-forcing: you're choosing what must change before launch, so it asks for one priority fix and reads fit directly, rather than collecting open-ended sentiment. The audience is also self-selected early adopters, so weight their answers toward what to build, not whether to build.

Should I survey beta users who dropped off too?

Yes — they hold the most useful answers. The users who quit reveal where it broke for people without the patience your active testers had. Reach them with a shorter version focused on the 'where did it fall short' and 'what would have kept you' questions.

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