There's a Customer Out There with a Bullet for You: Understanding Your Customers

There’s a Customer Out There with a Bullet for You

---Understanding Your Customers

Evan HamiltonCommunity Manager, UserVoice

Agenda

1. Listening failures2. Failures of understanding3. Success through understanding4. Best practices5. The importance of saying no6. Q&A

Ideas Can Kill

1. Ideas you ignore2. Ideas you don’t understand

3. Ideas you shouldn’t have listened to

Listening Failures

Listening Failures

Data: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/business/yourmoney/15friend.html

Listening Failures

Customers said: 30-second load times suck

Data: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/business/yourmoney/15friend.html

Listening Failures

Customers said: 30-second load times suck

Friendster focused on: VOIP

Data: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/business/yourmoney/15friend.html

Listening Failures

Customers said: 30-second load times suck

Friendster focused on: VOIP

Result: $30MM to ???

Data: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/business/yourmoney/15friend.html

Listening Failures

Data: http://blog.precipice.org/why-wesabe-lost-to-mint

Listening Failures

Customers said: We don’t want more work

Data: http://blog.precipice.org/why-wesabe-lost-to-mint

Listening Failures

Customers said: We don’t want more work

Wasabe focused on: Effort-heavy features

Data: http://blog.precipice.org/why-wesabe-lost-to-mint

Listening Failures

Customers said: We don’t want more work

Wasabe focused on: Effort-heavy features

Result: Mint $170MM, Wesabe $0

Data: http://blog.precipice.org/why-wesabe-lost-to-mint

Listening Failures

Listening Failures

Customers said: We don’t understand it

Listening Failures

Customers said: We don’t understand it

Google focused on: “Revolutionizing” communication

Listening Failures

Customers said: We don’t understand it

Google focused on: “Revolutionizing” communication

Result: Dead after one year

Failure to Understand

Failure to Understand

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/like_the_grand_canyon/4649102556/ Data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke

Failure to Understand• $4MM research

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/like_the_grand_canyon/4649102556/ Data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke

Failure to Understand• $4MM research

• 200k blind taste tests

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/like_the_grand_canyon/4649102556/ Data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke

Failure to Understand• $4MM research

• 200k blind taste tests

• 55% liked new taste

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/like_the_grand_canyon/4649102556/ Data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke

Failure to Understand• $4MM research

• 200k blind taste tests

• 55% liked new taste

• 40k letters

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/like_the_grand_canyon/4649102556/ Data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke

Failure to Understand• $4MM research

• 200k blind taste tests

• 55% liked new taste

• 40k letters

• 6,000 calls/day

Failure to Understand• $4MM research

• 200k blind taste tests

• 55% liked new taste

• 40k letters

• 6,000 calls/day

• Off shelf in 79 days

Failure to Understand• $4MM research

• 200k blind taste tests

• 55% liked new taste

• 40k letters

• 6,000 calls/day

• Off shelf in 79 days

• Was brand, not taste

Failure to Understand• $4MM research

•200k blind taste tests

•55% liked new taste

• 40k letters

• 6,000 calls/day

• Off shelf in 79 days

• Didn’t understand brand importance

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/like_the_grand_canyon/4649102556/ Data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke

Failure to Understand

Failure to Understand• 500 votes for OpenID integration

Failure to Understand• 500 votes for OpenID integration

• Customers disliked it

Failure to Understand• 500 votes for OpenID integration

• Customers disliked it

• We finally understood that the issue was signing up for a new account

Failure to Understand• 500 votes for OpenID integration

• Customers disliked it

• We finally understood that the issue was signing up for a new account

• Built simpler sign-in

Failure to Understand• 500 votes for OpenID integration

• Customers disliked it

• We finally understood that the issue was signing up for a new account

• Built simpler sign-in

• 7x increase in conversions

Success Through Understanding

Success Through Understanding

Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/tychay/513991272/in/photostream/ Data: Personal interview

• “A stupid idea”

Success Through Understanding

• “A stupid idea”

• 6 months building a camera

Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/tychay/513991272/in/photostream/ Data: Personal interview

Success Through Understanding

• “A stupid idea”

• 6 months building a camera

• Traffic “went off a cliff” after 6 weeks

Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/tychay/513991272/in/photostream/ Data: Personal interview

Success Through Understanding

• “A stupid idea”

• 6 months building a camera

• Traffic “went off a cliff” after 6 weeks

• People said: “I want to broadcast”

Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/tychay/513991272/in/photostream/ Data: Personal interview

Success Through Understanding

• “A stupid idea”

• 6 months building a camera

• Traffic “went off a cliff” after 6 weeks

• People said: “I want to broadcast”

• Now 3MM visitors/monthPhoto : http://www.flickr.com/photos/tychay/513991272/in/photostream/ Data: Personal interview

Best Practices

Best Practices• Email doesn’t scale

Best Practices• Email doesn’t scale

• Wastes your time

Best Practices• Email doesn’t scale

• Wastes your time

• Wastes your customers’ time

Best Practices

Solution: Aggregate and prioritize

• Email doesn’t scale

• Wastes your time

• Wastes your customers’ time

Best Practices

Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/28096801@N05/4581041971/in/photostream/

• Avoid the vocal minority

Best Practices

Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/28096801@N05/4581041971/in/photostream/

• Avoid the vocal minority

• Not representative

Best Practices

Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/28096801@N05/4581041971/in/photostream/

• Avoid the vocal minority

• Not representative

•May not be your best or stickiest customers

Best Practices

Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/28096801@N05/4581041971/in/photostream/

• Avoid the vocal minority

• Not representative

•May not be your best or stickiest customers

Solution: Limit votes so everyone is at the same volume

Best Practices• Avoid the J-Curve

Photo & Data: http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/08/ratings_bias_effects.html & http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/09/five-stars-dominate-ratings.html

Best Practices• Avoid the J-Curve

• Y! properties: average 4.5 out of 5 stars

Photo & Data: http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/08/ratings_bias_effects.html & http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/09/five-stars-dominate-ratings.html

Best Practices• Avoid the J-Curve

• Y! properties: average 4.5 out of 5 stars

• YouTube tried like/dislike, still had the J-curve

Photo & Data: http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/08/ratings_bias_effects.html & http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/09/five-stars-dominate-ratings.html

Best Practices• Avoid the J-Curve

• Y! properties: average 4.5 out of 5 stars

• YouTube tried like/dislike, still had the J-curve

• (Almost) nobody rates badly

Photo & Data: http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/08/ratings_bias_effects.html & http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/09/five-stars-dominate-ratings.html

Best Practices• Avoid the J-Curve

• Y! properties: average 4.5 out of 5 stars

• YouTube tried like/dislike, still had the J-curve

• (Almost) nobody rates badly

Solution: Only allow up votes, don’t default to top ideasPhoto & Data: http://buildingreputation.com/writings/2009/08/ratings_bias_effects.html & http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/09/five-stars-dominate-ratings.html

Best Practices• Avoid steep on-ramps

Best Practices• Avoid steep on-ramps

• Domain aliasing: 12% engagement increase

Best Practices• Avoid steep on-ramps

• Domain aliasing: 12% engagement increase

•Logo: 25%

Best Practices• Avoid steep on-ramps

• Domain aliasing: 12% engagement increase

•Logo: 25%

•Custom design: 55%

Best Practices• Avoid steep on-ramps

• Domain aliasing: 12% engagement increase

•Logo: 25%

•Custom design: 55%

•SSO: 124%

Best Practices• Avoid steep on-ramps

• Domain aliasing: 12% engagement increase

•Logo: 25%

•Custom design: 55%

•SSO: 124%

Solution: Integrate your ideas tool completely

The Importance of Saying No

The Importance of Saying No• Don’t forget your vision

Data: UserVoice internal & http://mixergy.com/stack-exchange-joel-spolsky-interview/#transcript

The Importance of Saying No• Don’t forget your vision

• StackOverflow had a clear vision

Data: UserVoice internal & http://mixergy.com/stack-exchange-joel-spolsky-interview/#transcript

The Importance of Saying No• Don’t forget your vision

• StackOverflow had a clear vision

• Completed 30% of ideas, declined 62%

Data: UserVoice internal & http://mixergy.com/stack-exchange-joel-spolsky-interview/#transcript

The Importance of Saying No• Don’t forget your vision

• StackOverflow had a clear vision

• Completed 30% of ideas, declined 62%

• 0 to 6.5MM monthlies in 2 years

Data: UserVoice internal & http://mixergy.com/stack-exchange-joel-spolsky-interview/#transcript

The Importance of Saying No• Don’t forget your vision

• StackOverflow had a clear vision

• Completed 30% of ideas, declined 62%

• 0 to 6.5MM monthlies in 2 years

• “educating customers”

Data: UserVoice internal & http://mixergy.com/stack-exchange-joel-spolsky-interview/#transcript

The Importance of Saying No• StackExchange let anyone create a StackOverflow

Data: http://mixergy.com/stack-exchange-joel-spolsky-interview/#transcript

The Importance of Saying No• StackExchange let anyone create a StackOverflow

• For every 1 successful site, there were 20 sites with 3 users

Data: http://mixergy.com/stack-exchange-joel-spolsky-interview/#transcript

The Importance of Saying No• StackExchange let anyone create a StackOverflow

• For every 1 successful site, there were 20 sites with 3 users

• The vision was missing

Data: http://mixergy.com/stack-exchange-joel-spolsky-interview/#transcript

The Importance of Saying No• StackExchange let anyone create a StackOverflow

• For every 1 successful site, there were 20 sites with 3 users

• The vision was missing

• New sites have to prove themselves before launching now

Data: http://mixergy.com/stack-exchange-joel-spolsky-interview/#transcript

Conclusion

You have the tools to win:

Conclusion

You have the tools to win:

1. Actively solicit feedback

Conclusion

You have the tools to win:

1. Actively solicit feedback2. Avoid the vocal minority and the J-curve

Conclusion

You have the tools to win:

1. Actively solicit feedback2. Avoid the vocal minority and the J-curve3. Spend the time understand what people

are really saying

Thanks!

@evanhamiltonevan@uservoice.com

understanding.uservoice.com