Creating and Managing Themes in Chattermill
Chattermill gives you the flexibility to follow the topics that are most relevant to your business. If you want to understand how your customers feel about a certain topic, you can do this by adding your own themes.
By entering a theme name, description, and (optional) example snippet, Chattermill can automatically identify relevant feedback in your existing data and apply it to the new theme. On saving your theme, it’ll be applied to your last 90 days of feedback as well as incoming data.
Just select the ‘Add Theme’ button at the top-right of the Themes page to get started.
How to Create a Theme
1. Naming Your Theme
To create a new theme, start by naming it. For example, you might want to create a theme called “Design.” Enter the name into the text box in the top left corner.
2. Categorizing Your Theme
Next, choose a category to save the theme under. Use the drop-down menu to select from the available categories in your organization.
3. Prompting Your Theme
Outline what should be included in your theme by adding a brief prompt. For example:
“Any mentions of satisfaction with the design of the product. Includes stylish, beautiful, ugly.”
Ensure the prompt is specific to your organization, using the same words and phrases that your customers frequently use.
4. Adding an Example Snippet (Optional)
To give Chattermill more context, you can provide an example snippet of feedback that would match the theme. For instance:
“I absolutely love the design of this chair! It’s stylish, sleek, and looks perfect in my living room.”
Keeping the example relevant to real-world feedback improves Chattermill’s ability to identify the theme correctly.
5. Saving and Applying Your Theme
When you’ve completed your name, prompt, and snippet, press Preview to review a sample of feedback included in your theme. If no feedback is found, try adjusting the parameters—your theme may be too specific or cover a topic not frequently mentioned by customers.
Once you’re satisfied, press Save Theme in the top right-hand corner. Your theme will now appear in your theme structure and will be applied to the last 90 days of feedback as well as incoming data. Note that this process can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours, depending on the volume of feedback.
Best Practices for Theme Creation
When creating themes, consider the following recommendations to ensure they are actionable and effective:
• Break Down Large Themes: Divide broad themes into smaller, more specific ones to minimize overlap and avoid duplication in reporting. For example, instead of “Customer Satisfaction,” consider creating smaller themes like “Delivery Experience” or “Product Usability.”
• Be Specific and Relevant: Use prompts and snippets that reflect the language your customers use. This helps Chattermill capture feedback more accurately.
• Provide Examples: Including clear, real-world feedback snippets improves the context and accuracy of your themes.
Example Themes:
“Delivery Timeliness”
• Prompt: “Mentions of delivery being late, early, or on time.”
• Example: “The package arrived two days earlier than expected, which was amazing!”
“Product Usability”
• Prompt: “Feedback about how easy or difficult the product is to use.”
• Example: “The app is so intuitive and user-friendly; I figured out how to use it immediately.”
By following these practices, you can ensure your themes are both meaningful and actionable for your organization.