How In-App Feedback is more Customer Friendly

If you want customers to talk to you, you have to make it easy

Imagine you just downloaded the best app you’ve ever used for your smartphone. The app does more than advertised, the user interface is clean and easy to use, you get happier using it – it’s just a home run. It’s so good you feel compelled to write a positive review because, let’s face it, an app this good deserves a bit of review love.
better ratings

This thought flits across your mind and then you think about what it’ll take to act on your impulse: you have to quit the app, visit the app store, write your review and then (hopefully) return to the app.

Did this experience make the app any less impressive and productive for you? Absolutely not. But, it was a bit inconvenient and it took you away from the app. Sadly,  because you had to go through those extra steps you:

• Were a bit annoyed so your tone and language didn’t truly express your admiration for this app and what it does
• You forgot the exact name of the feature you liked best about the app
• In your annoyed haste, you forgot to tell them that there was one area of text that was too hard to read

This is not the outcome a developer wants

Now, imagine you are the one who developed that app. You know it kicks ass because you have heard it from a lot of people in your testing process but you want to see what the rest of the world else thinks.

As most app developers do, your first step is to check out the reviews and ratings. Just as you thought, there are some really high ratings but the comments are limited and somewhat muted, saying things like:

• “Great app!”
• “Thanks bro, your app rules!”
• “I like it and use it every day.”

Those comments are encouraging, but they’re not exactly specific or actionable. They don’t tell you what you did right and they don’t address the things you can do to make the app better. To make things better for your customers you need feedback that can actually make your app better and that can help you truly understand the customer’s experience and their needs.

Generic quips that people leave when they are in a hurry or simply not interested in leaving something that takes a bit more effort are, unfortunately, more filler than substance.

The Answer: grab consumers at their moment of inspiration, in your app

In-app feedback forms really boost customer input

For both the person using an app and the app’s developer, in-app feedback is the way to go. It allows the end consumer to provide immediate and uninterrupted feedback when they are actually using the app.

Instead of hoping that the consumer will get around to leaving feedback a few days later (which many don’t), capturing a consumer’s feedback at the moment they think about it ensures that you the feedback you get from customer is:

• More detailed
• Not tainted by the experience of seeking out a method to give feedback
• Fresh and top of mind, rather than modified by the challenges of memory

As an app developer, you have a big challenge: making an app that is easy to use and love by consumers. While there are many ways to try and guess about how to accomplish this goal, the ultimate test is consumer sentiment – without truly understanding what people think, you’re just guessing.

By making it easy for your consumers to give feedback and ensuring that the feedback is as raw, honest and real-time as possible, you’re telling your customers that you care enough about their opinion to give them the tools to express it in a quick and easy manner. The results are astounding: more feedback, better ratings, more honest input and a significant number of customer relationships that are spawned through simple conversation. So, be more customer friendly and enable your customers to talk to you in your app.