Customer Service: A Two Way Street
October 19, 2005
Selling software is fun. Especially when you have accomplished it all by yourself, mostly between the hours of one and three a.m., and never thought it would amount to much. An added bonus is it lines your pocket with a few extra bills, which comes in handy. But its not all rock star stuff.
Take customer support for instance...
First, let me backtrack. In February, on a whim I threw together a small web application targeted at users of the wildly popular SlideShowPro from Dominey Design. The app, called SSPAdmin, assists users in managing the photo galleries for their SlideShowPro movies.
I remember the first day it was announced on the SlideShowPro site. I had no idea if anyone would buy the thing or not. Then, the first PayPal notification came. It felt remarkably similar to the first time I got paid to do a web site. I could get used to this...
Well, fast forward to 8 months later. A quick look at the PayPal history reveals more than 650 copies have been purchased to date in two versions, Developer ($10) and Personal ($5). The software has progressed through many revisions, updates and patches and now stands firm at version 1.3. And all from the comfort of my home. Life is grand, right? Mostly.
You see the flip side of all that is that SSPAdmin has been standing at version 1.3 for some time now. Version 1.3 hit the shelves, so to speak, on the 27th of June. (In the first four months of existence, SSPAdmin was updated eight times). It's now been three months since a new version has been released, and I am sure some of my users are wondering if I have taken to rolling around in my money Uncle Scrooge style rather than coding away at the next release. Not so...
You see, the hardest part of maintaining software has nothing to do with maintaining software. The hardest part is helping people use your software. In the beginning, it's easy, nay, even fun. You have a small group of early adopters taking the project through its' paces. They help you identify problems, suggest features and generally figure things out on their own. Piece of cake.
Then sales swell a little, and with more people, support requests naturally go up. Things are still going ok, but they aren't much fun anymore. Thankfully some of the early adopters hang around the forums some and help out with easy questions. But more and more, people are jumping in over their heads and when they start to sink, the flail about instead of grabbing the life preserver right next to them, also known as the manual.
Then, you get to the point I am at. Every morning I have 5-10 emails in my inbox related to support inquiries. This is particularly frustrating because it means that someone has bypassed the User Guide and the User Forums and come straight to the source, sometimes for the simplest things that are covered in the manual and in several topics at the forum. Unfortunately, selling software at five or ten bucks a pop does not a career make, at least not at this volume. I simply don't have the time to respond to all these requests, and usually someone feels shorted. So, what's your point, or are you just ranting?
My point is this: I am forever changed as a customer. I cringe now at some of the ways I have approached companies and people whose products I have used. How? Well, here are some things that would help customer and provider streamline support communication.
- Customers - Read the Manual. If the manual is lacking or simply doesn't exist, then move on to other options.
- Developers - Provide a manual. A good one. Take your time, provide screenshots, and write it as if you have never used the program. Can't do that? Pay someone. It's that important and will save you so much time and effort in the long run.
- Customers - Take advantage of the community of users that you are now apart of. If your product has a support forum, register and use it. Don't just take, though. Every time you post a question and get help, try to find a question of your own to answer.
- Developers - Have a forum from the very start. This may seem trivial with a small number of users, but it creates a culture that encourages support to center around a community of users, not you.
- Customers - Discern who is behind the product and respond accordingly. Is this a big company that has a department specifically tasked to handle support or is this a guy in his basement banging away at a project in his spare time? They are two different things, with vastly different expectations.
- Developers - Misrepresenting yourself is so 1999. I remember I used to use "we" and "us" all the time, knowing full well that it was just me. Let people know you are a solo or small team. If you don't, then you have no reason to complain about overwhelming support expectations.
- Customers - When seeking support help, be as specific as possible. Don't filter out things you may think are insignificant. Let the developer decide. I get far to many emails like "This is not working, can you help?". It should read "I am having trouble with feature X in browser A. I am using version 1.3, and the behavior I am seeing is...". With an email like this, I can quickly diagnose the problem or identify it as a new bug. With a contact like the former, it takes a few more emails just to get to the bottom of what is happening.
- Customers - If you are dealing with a small team or solo developer, go to them directly only when you have exhausted all other avenues of support. This is not just for their benefit, but more often than not you will get help quicker through the forums, manuals, etc than you will going to the developer him/herself. This also frees up the developer to focus on the product.
- Developers - Remember that the cheapest and most effective marketing originates from happy (or conversely disgruntled) users. Making the extra effort to make users happy moves product. Don't believe me? Apple has built their brand on this principle.
That's all I have. If we all did this, the world would be a better place and I would sleep more too! Have any of your own?
Filed under Rants, Technology
Comments
Stephanie says:
Oh my gosh! You're alive! I couldn't even remember your address because I didn't put it on my laptop when I got it- of course, back then you hadn't updated in like 3 months.
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Dad says:
But the customer is ALWAYS right! Aren't they??