You can't trust your customers or your data. But a combination will yield amazing results. Originally presented at the Startup Product Summit.
Learn more about how UserVoice can help you understand your customers at http://www.uservoice.com
Photo credits:
WTH dude - http://www.flickr.com/photos/porphyria/3206687773/
Groupon data - http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/02/groupon-growth-2-6-billion-revenue-run-rate-charts/ & http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/08/groupons-q3-2012-earnings/
Crowd - http://www.flickr.com/photos/anirudhkoul/3786725982/in/photostream/
Boys - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mutrock/8259688450/in/photostream/
Prince - http://ryanhoover.me/post/43545454717/test-something-crazy
13. People don’t tell the whole story.
“Wow, maybe we should build this. Let’s ask for more
feedback first...”
14. People don’t tell the whole story.
Oh. So they want this feature because they’re not
responding to customers. Next.
15. There’s always more context.
• What is the pain point?
• Are these paying users? Freeloaders?
• Are these people using your product in the
intended way?
• (We had someone using our forum to name their baby.
Cute, but not our target market.)
• Are they using your main features?
• Early “adopters”?
• (Robert Scoble is not your target market. He is fickle.)
23. Data still has to be interpreted.
Requests can lead you astray.
24. Data still has to be interpreted.
Requests can lead you astray.
Combine data + customer stories.
25. Combine data + customer stories.
Back when we just had UserVoice Feedback, we’d lose
lots of customers after 1 year. So we asked them why
they were leaving.
26. Turns out they were growing up. New staff, new
department heads...& feedback forums didn’t have a
definitive place in the organization.
27. So we built a customer service tool into our product. Not
what we necessarily planned to build...but what customers
wanted.
28. It increased retention immensely. We now have a place in
the organization.
We got here because data alerted us to something, & user
stories filled out the details.
33. Tried this yet? If not, go do that
before trying another shade of blue.
34. Tips, tricks, and tools
• (At least) Google Analytics
• Hell, even Bit.ly links give you a basis to work from
• Mixpanel
• The ol’ fake button
• How many people click a (fake) “calendar” button in your app? If 40% of
users do, you should build it!
• Test with segments
• Try tests on nonpaying users if you don’t want to scare off paying users
• Talk to customers (constantly)
• UserVoice