Often hard to get with try-before-you-buy software, but it is invaluable. A recent article by Eric Sink brought it into focus in a very surprising way. Here’s how FutureWare approaches getting customer feedback to improve our products.

Eric Sink’s blog article, Product Parenting, described a ‘typical’ software lifecycle as having six stages. Presented in the context of raising a child, his article is well worth reading by anyone interested in how software products are developed, marketed or used by a real customer.

Eric calls the third stage Listen, something that every producer should always be doing. How to do that presents some challenges for try-before-you-buy software. We don’t know who downloads our products for a test drive unless they tell us, either optionally before the download, or with an EmailUs menu item on the product after it’s been installed and used. We’re in the process of adding a SkypeUs menu item as well, which will be incorporated in all existing products as part of the automatic update process.

Like most software companies who offer try-before-you-buy, we have random nag screens during the test drive period, which include a link to a review page on our website, where the customer can anonymously critique the product, good or bad.

All of our products do an automatic update check when they are started, or when a local midnight boundary is crossed. We use these to pop a one-time message asking for direct feedback by clicking a link that goes to a questionnaire on our website than can be filled out anonymously.

We do get emails from customers, and where possible we try to schedule a time to call them and answer their questions, listen to gripes, and occasionally do some direct training with GoToMeeting.

We make it as easy as possible for customers to give us feedback, while preserving their anonymity, but we can always use more contact. We’re working on how to improve feedback, and will certainly welcome any suggestions anyone may have on how to accomplish that.

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Tags: customer feedback, eric sink, GoToMeeting, Skype, software product lifecycle

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 15:42 and is filed under Software That Works. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.