Put simply, it’s basic customer service. If a developer can build up a good feedback loop of customer critique, act on it, and hand back something even stronger to the customer base, the loop builds up in intensity, with more customers, more buzz and knowledge getting involved, and a positive feeling about the company starts building up online.
The application market in the mobile space is more crowded and cut-throat than ever before. With more titles available every day, the majority of users turning to monolithic app stores, and prices racing towards commodity status, it’s important to build up a direct relationship with both your existing and potential customers.
You must make sure your customers can get in touch with you easily. That’s not just restricted to a contact button on your website, you need to be where your customers are. You can’t ignore social network sites like Facebook and Twitter, you need to have a presence on both of them, and remember to frequently check what activity there is on the sites. At the very least set up a search for your company name and application name so you can see the brickbats or bouquets.
Do watch the internet in general, and blogs in particular, for mentions of your product. The easiest way to do this is to set up a Google Alert which will send you a regular email when a phrase or URL is mentioned online.
Customer support is just as important online (pic by Archie McPhee Seattle)
As well as listening to your customers, you should be making sure that your customers know you are listening to them. Take time to do a personalised response – even if it’s a one line answer - don’t leave it to a bit of software to churn out an automatic “we have received your message, it means a lot to us.”
The best contacts are those where people have taken the time to suggest new features or have found bugs and errors in the application. Take time to address those and say thank you. And don’t forget that when you do update an application with bug fixes and additional features, do tell your users (especially if they were the one to suggest the changes) about the new version.
Your customers are one of your most vital resources. Once you’ve done your best with the programming and marketing, it’s time to keep up that effort with your customers.
-- Ewan Spence, May 2010.