Gathering Payroll Product Feedback & Social Proof from Alpha Customers
Collect early feedback and social proof to strengthen product quality and GTM.
Gathering Payroll Product Feedback & Social Proof from Alpha Customers
A guide for Check partners launching payroll for the first time
Why this matters
When you launch payroll, your alpha customers are your earliest proof that your product works, delivers value, and is worth paying for. Gathering product feedback and social proof from these early users is one of the highest-leverage actions you can take for a successful payroll GTM launch.
Product feedback helps you:
- Identify gaps early before you scale to dozens of customers.
- Validate your roadmap with real employer workflows, not assumptions.
- Improve onboarding and support processes based on real-world pain points.
- Increase win rate by ensuring the product meets expectations for your ideal customer.
Social proof helps you:
- Build trust instantly with new prospects who may be skeptical of a new payroll provider.
- Strengthen all GTM assets (website, sales emails, webinars, landing pages, demo scripts).
- Accelerate the sales cycle, especially for smaller businesses who buy based on referrals and reputation.
- Showcase measurable outcomes like time saved, ease of use, or cost reduction.
Think of your alpha customers as your co-builders, their stories and experiences become foundational to every future sale.
What to Collect
1. Product Feedback
The goal is to learn what’s working, what’s confusing, and what needs improvement before opening the product to a broader set of employers.
Collect feedback on:
- Onboarding experience
- First payroll run experience
- Ongoing usage (taxes, time tracking, reports, etc.)
- Support interactions
- Missing features
- Unexpected friction points
- Would they recommend it?
2. Social Proof
The goal is to gather assets that you can use in GTM materials.
Collect:
- Short written testimonials (1–3 sentences)
- Quotes about ease of use or time savings
- Before/after stories
- Approval to use business name, logo, and/or photo
- Willingness to be a reference call for future prospects
- Ratings or reviews you can reuse on your website or sales decks
How to Collect Product Feedback
Below is a simple process that any partner can follow, even with no GTM or research background.
Step 1: Schedule a 20–30 minute feedback call
Timing: After onboarding + after their first payroll run
Use a lightweight agenda:
- What worked well
- What was confusing
- What surprised them
- What would make this even easier
- Would you recommend us? Why or why not?
Tip: Record the call (with permission) so your product and support teams can listen later.
Step 2: Send a short follow-up survey
Recommended tools: Google Forms, Typeform, Jotform, or SurveyMonkey
Survey should take < 3 minutes and include:
- “Rate your onboarding experience 1–5.”
- “Rate your first payroll run experience 1–5.”
- “What features did you find most valuable?”
- “What improvements would you like to see?”
- “How confident do you feel running payroll next month?”
Step 3: Observe real usage during their first payroll run
Shadow them on a call or screen share:
- Watch what steps confuse them
- Note where they hesitate
- Identify unclear terminology or missing instructions
- Capture what they say out loud (“I expected this to…”)
This insight is gold, these moments show exactly where your product or onboarding flow must improve.
Step 4: Track themes and action items
Use a shared doc or spreadsheet:
- Categorize feedback (onboarding, reports, taxes, UI, etc.)
- Prioritize high-impact fixes
- Share insights with product, support, and leadership weekly
Your goal: focus on the top 3–5 improvements that deliver the highest value before scaling the product.
How to Collect Social Proof
Social proof is easier to gather than you think, and alpha customers tend to be happy to help because they feel invested in your product’s success.
Step 1: Ask for permission early
In the onboarding call, say:
“As an early alpha customer, your experience is extremely valuable. Would you be open to providing a short quote or testimonial if payroll works well for you?”
Getting early buy-in prevents awkward follow-up later.
Step 2: Capture quotes during feedback calls
When a customer says something positive, pause and ask:
“That’s great to hear, can I use that as a testimonial?”
You’ll end up with natural, authentic quotes rather than forced marketing language.
Step 3: Send a simple testimonial request email
Template:
Subject: Quick favor , your payroll feedback
Body:
Hi [Name],
We’re so glad payroll is working well for your team. If you’re open to it, could you share 1–2 sentences about your experience so far?
Here are prompts if helpful:
- What has payroll helped you save time on?
- What was easier than expected?
- Why would you recommend it to another business?
With your approval, we’d love to use this on our website or sales materials.
Thank you again for being an alpha customer!
Step 4: Ask for specific types of social proof
Try to secure:
- A short testimonial
- Permission to use their logo
- A full success story (2–3 paragraphs)
- A willingness to take reference calls (even 1–2 is hugely valuable)
Step 5: Showcase social proof everywhere
Use your best quotes and testimonials in:
- Payroll landing page
- Pre-sales nurture emails
- Demo video and scripts
- Sales deck
- Webinar presentations
- In-app onboarding pages
- Alpha → Beta product launch announcement
When prospects see “someone like me succeeded,” conversion jumps significantly.
Best Practices
- Ask for feedback early and often.
- Keep surveys and asks short, alpha customers are doing you a favor.
- Celebrate their wins (e.g., “Congrats on your first payroll run!”).
- Always ask before using a logo or quote publicly.
- Share how their feedback is being used, people love seeing their impact.
Last updated on December 16, 2025