Rant + Rave = Roadmap

transcript

Alison HeittmanCEO, Solertium

we build web & mobile apps for outstanding brands and causes

Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

secretly, I amRant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

disclaimer: I’m not really the Lipstick Librarian, but it is appropriate to address me as Alison, Lady of Glencoe.

you are here because:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

1. you care about what your users (people) want, or when they’re having a problem, or when they want to tell you you’re awesome

you are here because:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

1. you care about what your users want, or when they’re having a problem, or when they want to tell you you’re awesome

2. you might not want to be the only one supporting them

I believe this is just the start:

sometimes, this is the team:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

the indie developer

in my case, the team is typically:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

developers - iOS - Android - UX - graphic design

corporate IT

in my case, the team is typically:

marketing

corporate IT

marketing

corporate IT

training

marketing

corporate IT

training

3rd party product teams

marketing

corporate IT

training

back of house3rd party product teams

marketing

corporate IT

training

front of house

marketing

corporate IT

training

front of house

users (people!)

pieces & partsRant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

user preferences, data - favorite items - favorite stores - recent orders - wallet/cards on file

menusbranding & marketing

shopping cart & checkout

store information

loyalty program

user accounts

social feeds

So where do I find all this feedback?

non-app channelsRant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

• your corporate website contact form

• iTunes & Google Play comments

• your social media accounts

• your physical locations

• Comments on press or app review sites

• 3rd party ratings sites, like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Foursquare, etc.

• personal blogs & social media accounts

this is hard: this is harder:

(wow, that can be pretty public)

in-app feedback/supportRant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

• feedback form

• mobile view of the corporate website “contact us” form

• email link

• user forums

• help desk widgets

• chat tools

• advanced “assistant” tools

• screenshot tools

• crash analytics

• ratings prompts

• FAQs

And, just as important...

where (virtually) is the team?Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

• email

• chat

• customer-focused help desk(s)

• project management system(s)

• developer-focused issue tracking system(s)

• social media

the challenge:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

1. finding & responding to the feedback & solving any outstanding issues - in a way that doesn’t pile on a lot of extra work.

2. aggregating all the feedback to help driveyour roadmap

what we do

users do this:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

andalso

front & back of house,training marketing,

front & back of houseentire team

marketing

(we find they want to tell us things like)

• I LOVE YOUR APP!!

• I HATE YOUR APP!!!

• Your app needs to....

• How do I...?

• So this went wrong:

• I got to the store, and it was awesome

• I got to the store, and it wasn’t awesome

• This other app does X, why don’t you?

& then we add on helpful data like:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

• platform (iPad, iPhone, Android)

• version of the app

• version of the operating system

• most recent order data (date/time, store location, order ID)

& we send it to places likeRant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

(we really <3 tools that will take in data via email or webhook)

& then we make the users happyRant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

• feedback gets routed across the team, so no one person has to deal with it all

• on some projects, we route by topic, so app feedback is forwarded to the developers, order & store feedback goes to the corporate help desk, suggestions go to marketing, etc.

• ** we all work in our own systems **

• at any time, all team members can see all the feedback

& we also regularly do this:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

and periodically we all talkRant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

marketing

corporate IT

training

front of house

& hammer out this:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

$(you know, the roadmap)

$corporate goals

(you know, the roadmap)

varying agendasof the teammates

$corporate goals

varying agendasof the teammates

user behaviorand feedback$corporate goals

And we frequently find that it’s this

that drives & informs the

discussion, and enables the users to be represented

plus: the customer service bonus round

Because we’ve been personally reaching out to & interacting with the users, as we

prioritize & build out features that are of specific interest, we can casually email them to give them a heads up that the latest build

has their fix/feature/request

marketing

corporate IT

training

front of house

and then all these people are happy:

see this guy to learn how:Rant+Rave=Roadmap @alisonheittman #modeveast

Rob HeittmanOpening Next-Level Dialogue

with Native App Users via Appygram

11am @ Conference A

Or track me down at @alisonheittman.I seriously LOVE talking about in-app support.

Rant + Rave = Roadmap

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