Your customers already know what they want you to sell next. You just do not have a system to collect their ideas. A suggestion board fixes that.
Instead of guessing what to stock, you let shoppers submit product ideas and vote on each other’s suggestions. The most popular ideas rise to the top. You get free product research. Your customers feel heard.
Here is how to build one using tools you already have.
What You Need
You need three things:
- A page on your store (Shopify, WooCommerce, or any platform that lets you add custom HTML)
- A free Typeform, Tally, or Google Forms account for submissions
- A free Upvoty or Featurebase board (or a simple embedded Google Sheet)
Total cost: zero. Total time: about 45 minutes.
Step 1: Create Your Submission Form
Open Tally (free, no account needed) and create a form with these fields:
- Product suggestion (short text): “What product do you wish we stocked?”
- Why you want it (long text): “What problem would this solve for you?”
- Your email (email): so you can notify them when it launches
- Your name (short text): optional, for a personal touch
Publish the form and copy the embed code. You will need it in Step 3.
Step 2: Set Up Your Voting Board
Create a free account on Upvoty or Featurebase. Both have free plans that handle up to 150 votes per month, which is plenty for a small store.
Create a board called “Product Ideas” and set it to public. Configure these settings:
- Allow anyone to submit ideas without an account
- Let users vote with a single click
- Display vote counts publicly
- Sort ideas by most votes automatically
Copy the embed code for the board.
Step 3: Build Your Suggestion Page
Create a new page on your store called “Suggest a Product” or “What Should We Stock Next?”
Write a short intro at the top:
“We stock what you actually want. Suggest a product below, vote on other people’s ideas, and we will bring the most popular ones to life.”
Below the intro, embed your voting board. Below the board, add a section called “Submit Your Idea” and embed your Tally form.
The page now has two parts: a voting board where people browse and upvote, and a submission form where they add their own idea.
Step 4: Promote It
A suggestion board only works if people find it. Add links in three places:
- Your website footer: “Suggest a Product” link next to your contact and FAQ links
- Your post-purchase email: “Got an idea for our next product? Tell us here.”
- Your thank-you page: a small banner above the order summary
You can also pin it to your social media bios. One link, permanent placement.
Step 5: Act on the Data
Check your board every two weeks. Look for ideas with 10 or more votes. Those are your signals.
When you decide to stock a suggested product, email everyone who voted. Upvoty and Featurebase both let you export voter email lists. Send a short message:
“You voted for this. It is here. Here is your early access link.”
That one email turns voters into buyers on launch day.
What to Avoid
Do not moderate suggestions before they appear. People want to see their idea instantly. If you gate submissions, participation drops by 80 percent.
Do not let the board go stale. If you never act on suggestions, people stop submitting. Commit to reviewing monthly and stocking at least one customer-suggested product per quarter.
Do not make it complicated. No login walls, no captcha, no multi-step forms. One click to vote, one form to submit.
Why This Works
A suggestion board does three things at once:
- It tells you what to stock next, removing the guesswork from product development
- It builds a waitlist before you even order the product, because voters have already raised their hand
- It makes customers feel like they are part of your brand, not just a transaction
The stores that do this well never run out of product ideas. Their customers hand them the roadmap.
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