Overview
Iterable, an Email Service Provider (ESP) with a reputation for strong email deliverability, relies on email-driven NPS and CSAT surveys as a channel for users to share candid feedback on their experience with the company as part of their Voice of the Customer program.
Problem
The average monthly NPS response rates were embarrassingly low. After nearly a year of sending surveys, the response rate languished at ~6%, well below the industry standard of 10-15%.
Solution
Introduce a brief, automated “heads‑up” email that appears to be sent from the customer’s CSM. This email alerts the customer of the upcoming survey email and notes the sender, leading to increased visibility, trust, and higher response rates.
Impact
+8%
+20%
Email Open Rate increased from 25% to nearly 45%
3x
The # of Survey Responses increased 3x in the first three months
Here's how I got there
EMPATHIZE
Where was the survey experience breaking down?
My first step was identifying where the survey experience was breaking down.
Survey Deliverability
Were users not receiving the emails?
User Response
Were users receiving the emails but choosing not to respond?
Survey deliverability wasn't the issue
Our surveys were managed through Gainsight, which made it easy to analyze email performance metrics.
97%
Delivery Rate
2.2%
Bounce Rate
25%
Open Rate
Our bounce rate averaged at just 2.2% and our delivery rate was often above 97%. This told me that deliverability wasn't the issue. The surveys were reaching inboxes.
But with open rates at around 25%, it seemed that while users received the email, they weren't opening it.
CSMs revealed that customers don't notice the survey email
To understand why customers weren’t engaging with the surveys, I went to the people who knew them best: our Customer Success Managers (CSMs).
Their feedback revealed clear trends:
Survey emails were being sent from the CSM's Manager
As I dug in, one detail stood out: the survey emails were being sent from the CSM’s manager's email address.
While this setup was meant to encourage more honest feedback, especially about the CSM, it backfired.
Most users didn’t recognize the sender. They either hadn’t met the manager or had interacted with them only once, so the emails came off as random and untrustworthy. Without a clear link to their CSM, the message was easy to ignore.
NPS Survey Email
DEFINE
Opportunity to increase visibility, open, and response rates
To guide ideation, I framed the challenge through a few “How Might We” questions.
Problem
NPS Response Rates remained embarrassingly low as users often did not see or open the survey email.
increase visibility into the survey emails so users are more likely to respond?
ensure users know the survey is coming and why it matters?
improve response rates without adding friction or manual work for the CSM team?
IDEATE
Exploring industry best practices
I partnered with our Gainsight team to research industry best practices and analyze what high-performing survey programs were doing differently. There was a range of strategies that included:
Personalizing the sender and subject line
Testing different days of week and times of day
Explaining the “why” behind the survey request
Using familiar sender names
Prepping customers with a heads-up or follow-up message
We were already doing most of these best practices, but one idea that we weren't already doing stood out: sending a heads-up email before the actual survey.
PROTOTYPE & TEST
Let's make the survey feel more intentional and trustworthy
We decided to test adding a heads-up email.
Our goal with this simple tweak was to make the survey feel more intentional and trustworthy, thus increasing the likelihood of a response.
Starting with an updated to the customer journey
We added a short, automated message at the start of the customer journey that
Looked like it came from a familiar sender name, the customer’s CSM
Let the user know a survey was on its way
Explained why the survey mattered
Told the user who the survey email would be from
Updated Customer Journey
Designing the email to come from a friendly face
The email was designed to look as if it was coming directly from the CSM rather than an automated message. I was proud when I heard customers responded to these emails, believing it had actually come from their CSM. 😊
NEW! Heads Up Email
Results
This seemingly simple change ended up having quite a significant impact!
+8%
Response Rate
more than doubled from 6% to 14%
+20%
Open Rate
increased from 25% to nearly 45%
3x
# of Responses
increased 3x in the first three months
FINAL DESIGN
An optimized NPS survey's Customer Journey
With the new Heads Up email, tailored follow-ups, and behavior-based logic, our survey was optimized to bring us more responses, stronger engagement, and valuable customer insights.
Updated Customer Journey
REFLECTION
Lessons Learned
This project reminded me how much the small, sometimes overlooked parts of a user journey can shape the overall experience.
NPS surveys seem simple on the surface, but when response rates are low, it’s a sign that something’s broken in the experience. In our case, fixing that didn’t require reinventing the wheel. It was about applying a best practice in a way that made sense for our team and our customers. The heads-up email wasn’t flashy, and it didn’t take a ton of work, but it worked because it was simple, personal, and well-timed.