Why Every Mobile Product Manager Needs an In-App User Feedback Tool

One of the most important steps in the mobile development process is gathering app user feedback. Getting in touch with the client’s point of view is crucial to building an app with happy users. And for product owners, finding that viewpoint is essential to your success.

But what’s the best way to hear from your audience?

There are plenty of channels for gathering comments, but here are six great reasons why in-app user feedback is going to help you nail your product positioning and move your roadmap in the right direction, faster.

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Get improved responses with in-app feedback, both in quantity and quality

To your users, an in-app feedback tool is the path of least resistance between you and them. Typical response rates for mobile web surveys are as low as 1-3%—it’s simply more effort than the average user is willing to make. But when you reduce the barrier between you, the number of responses you receive increases.

When a survey or request for feedback is quick, easy, and painless, your users are much happier to answer your questions. Well-timed and placed proactive prompts perform better than “Contact Us” buttons that rely on users to take the first action, which are often ignored. By making it easy to respond, you’re widening your data pool. And the data you’ll get won’t only be higher in quantity—it’ll also be better quality.

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Understand your customers’ pain points with in-app user feedback

Knowing your customer is crucial to building a successful app beloved by its users. The easiest way to understand their needs and desires is by speaking directly to them. You could (and should!) ask your sales and customer support teams about your customers… but for a sophisticated and well-rounded understanding of your audience, ask your own questions and get your own answers.

In many cases, you’ll find that the answers you get cover points that are overlooked by the product team.

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Okay, but why does it matter that the feedback comes from the app?

For starters, you can ask open-ended survey questions and allow your users to respond. Having this option is great for when you need qualitative data about what you can do better and how you can do it. For more quantitative analysis, you have the option of sending net promoter score (NPS) surveys or questions with numerical answers. When you use these type of questions, you get measurable feedback that’s simple to analyze and share with your team members and stakeholders.

Instabug’s NPS surveys do the dual duty of collecting data and helping you build your reputation: you choose the segment and timing, and promoters will be directed to the app store to write you a positive review. Detractors will be asked for improvement suggestions, rather than leaving you a negative review.

Getting user feedback straight from the app also gives you contextual information about a user’s segment and usage habits. Context can help you find out why a particular suggestion was made, as well as how customers use and perceive your product. When you get the full picture, data is less likely to slip through the cracks.

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Have a happier, more engaged user base with in-app feedback

This goes hand-in-hand with understanding your customers’ needs. In the process of learning about what problems they’re trying to solve, you’ll also build personal, emotional connections with your users. Instabug connects feedback with specific user profiles, so you know who you’re talking with and can always get in touch with them.

A two-way communication channel will make your users feel acknowledged and valued. You’re giving your customer a chance to feel like their voice has an impact on the product. This is a powerful driver for boosted satisfaction and engagement rates. You’ll connect more quickly with your users in-app, and can easily follow up on their comments and dig deeper. Fast, seamless communication sends the message loud and clear: we care about what you have to say.

A feature-packed feedback tool also builds a sense of community around your product. Instabug’s feature request system introduces voting and (optional) comments to the mix, so your users feel involved and listened to, and can share ideas.

One other important benefit of two-way customer feedback is that your team can lasso problems before they start, calm unhappy customers, and collect their complaints before they slam your product with negative reviews.

A proactive communication strategy not only controls and reduces churn; it makes your product stronger.

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See patterns faster with organized data from in-app feedback

One of the biggest challenges associated with collecting user feedback (other than the challenge of getting it) is picking out patterns from multiple sources of input. A good feedback tool will streamline your data analysis process. You’ll get clear, uniform answers to specific questions, and they’ll be organized and easily accessible—without extra work on your part. No more compiling spreadsheets from various disconnected feedback channels or trying to find patterns in jumbled data.

Not only will a feedback tool slow the chaos of a disorganized backlog, but it’ll also get you more usable data. When conducting research, uniform data obtained under the same conditions is always more reliable. You’ll measure your success more accurately with easy-to-parse results. When you send in-app surveys, you’ll receive standardized answers in the format you specify, and spend less time combing through unrelated sources trying to piece information together. It’ll be easier for you to find trends in your customer needs by identifying patterns in their responses.

Your feedback tool will also help keep your team on the same page. Instabug’s dashboard allows for multiple team members to access and tag feedback with notes and completion status. You’ll all be able to effortlessly keep your eyes on the big picture by keeping your data grouped and trackable.

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Continuously validate your mobile product roadmap

Now that you’ve collected your data, it’s time to analyze it. Product strategy shouldn’t be based on speculation, and continuous feedback allows you to avoid that pitfall. Feedback from surveys and feature requests give you opportunities to regularly review your strategy.

Here are a few good questions for product managers to ask about their feedback:

• Are these responses in alignment with my original product vision?
• Are my customers using its features for their intended purposes?
• Is the customer perception of my product in line with its positioning?

If any of the answers you get surprise you, then you’ll know it’s time to adjust your product strategy and either make some small changes to your roadmap or even consider pivoting. When you use the right feedback tool, you’re empowering yourself to make informed choices about what should be done and when; all based on real data.

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A mindset of continuous discovery allows you to stay on top of what your users are thinking and feeling, without fielding any major research. Running easily implemented and analyzed feedback experiments between iterations will allow you to build a more agile product. You’ll be continuously validating your product during the discovery phase, a faster and cheaper choice than waiting until a release to collect feedback. In addition, you'll avoid the nightmare of working hard to build a specific feature, only to discover that your users don’t want or need it.

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Capture feedback your users don't know to tell you

The more powerful your feedback tool, the less challenging it is for you to collect data that matters. When you use a convenient user feedback platform like Instabug, you’ll also glean insights into how people are using features within your product.

You can reply individually in-app to any user who responds to a survey. Sometimes you may receive an answer that intrigues you. You’ll be able to respond to the user, dig deeper, and look for the underlying motivation behind a response. This simple proactive act of communication not only makes your customers feel heard; it also helps you uncover the truth about what they want.

Instabug provides more than just user surveys and feedback requests: it’s also an intuitive, easy-to-use bug reporting platform. Your users can shake to send a bug report (or any kind of general feedback). Each report comes laden with environment details, usage statistics, device details, and more. You have the ability to segment your users from the dashboard, to make keeping track of details even easier.