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In-App Feedback Results in Fewer Negative Reviews

37 points by okgabr 11y ago

jcr 11y ago
Of course this is a promotional piece to sell the services of Instabug.com, but their claims are interesting, namely, "In-App Feedback SDK results in an immediate 80% less negative reviews." It would be really useful if they could provide more examples and supporting data for their claims, but the claim itself is still interesting on its own.
infogulch 11y ago
'using In-App Feedback results in an immediate 80% less negative reviews'
- wldcordeiro 11y ago
  This is really just a way to divert people away from store reviews to in-app the complaints don't really decrease it just sends them elsewhere, somewhere that won't negatively affect the public perception of your app as much.
  - infogulch 11y ago
    True, but if you really do just want your bug fixed and are willing to go back and forth with the developers about it, an app store review is one of the worst possible mediums to do that in.
    - wldcordeiro 11y ago
      Yeah, but the majority of people that experience a bug and give a negative app store review have no intention of having a back and forth with the developer over a bug, they just want to voice their frustration with the app and continue. More often than not they've uninstalled the app too so the OP's solution makes sense for the group of users you're referring to while minimizing the damage the group who only care to voice their frustrations can do.
- LanceH 11y ago
  The author is so busy not telling us what was promised in the headline. It isn't even a matter of setting up the story, it's a deliberate effort to avoid the main point. I neither like nor understand this style of writing and HN's affinity for it.
  - benologist 11y ago
    HN's affinity for marketing like this is an illusion, most company blogs only get submitted by employees and front paged with manipulated votes.
christop 11y ago
Somebody needs to tell them the secret to 80% fewer grammatical errors :) It seems their SDK makes it easier for people to submit feedback directly from the app, rather than complaining on the app store, i.e. fewer negative reviews (and maybe fewer reviews in general). One alternative I've seen used for additionally increasing the number of positive reviews is to prompt the user whether they like the app. If they say "No", they're asked to provide feedback, but only if they say "Yes" are they redirected to the app store to rate the app.
- kamilszybalski 11y ago
  We've integrated the latter method you've mentioned into several apps with outstanding results. We can all thank Circa for that one - https://medium.com/circa/the-right-way-to-ask-users-to-review-your-app-9a32fd604fca https://medium.com/circa/the-right-way-to-ask-users-to-revie...
  - christop 11y ago
    Great article. Thanks!
- vitd 11y ago
  Some users (myself included) really dislike apps that ask them for a review. It's like a needy child asking for validation after everything they do. If I want to review your app, I will. If I don't I won't. But if you nag me about it (even if you only ask me once), I'll probably be inclined to write you a bad review. Also in this category are online stores that want you to rate everything you've purchased or rate your experience after buying a box of paper clips or other similar nonsense.
RandallBrown 11y ago
I've used Apptentive for this and we had even better results. We get almost no reviews below 5 stars.
eonw 11y ago
if you need an article to tell you something this obvious, you probably shouldnt be in such a business anyways. getting in front of the customer before they lambast you publicly, is pretty basic.
EGreg 11y ago
Our apps always had consistently high ratings, but there were certain releases that frustrated people over the years and they publicly complained until we found a fix. The most frustrating was when iOS 7 broke all mass messaging in apps. But since implementing the internal "do you like this app?" before sending the user to write a review, and directing 1-2 star people to Support, we now have consistently nearly all 5 stars ratings. And better yet, we get more informative support emails!
prawn 11y ago
I'm not sure you need an exterior service for this, but the concept is something that should be a definite feature for each app you build. With Streaks (streaksapp.com), we ask if the user is enjoying the app. If yes, we ask for a rating/review. If not, we direct them to send feedback (email, Twitter, etc). In Hexiled (hexiledgame.com), we don't ask for a review/rating unless the player has successfully beaten the level, assuming they'd be feeling more positive about the game. In US and AU, that's helped us get 1,000+ reviews averaging 4.5/5. We also put our names and faces in there so people realise this is a first-ever mobile game by two guys and not a big-company effort where your meagre IAP will get lost in the millions made. I noticed that with Highball they try to put the app in the context of "This is a free thing we have made, go easy on us" very early in the on-boarding. Otherwise reviewers can be absolutely brutal and often unfair.
lcfg 11y ago
I can't believe the responses I'm reading here. People, if you do the following: divert users you suspect will leave a low rating to an external service and direct users you think will leave a high rating to the play store... you're scamming the system. You are absolutely abusing the way the Play Store works, what reviews and rankings mean within the ecosystem of the Play Store and worst of all, you are _most definitely_ abusing the trust of your customers. Why are people happily admitting they're doing this? It's a scam!
- egwynn 11y ago
  I mostly agree with you. But I also think there are non-scammy advantages to using in-app feedback. The primary one is that it could allow for better communication between an unsatisfied user and the app developer. Developers could funnel feedback into a custom ticketing system which could help them actually fix bugs faster than they could using the store’s review system. FWIW, I don’t know if the feedback system in question actually serves this purpose, so I won’t/can’t defend it specifically.
- soraminazuki 11y ago
  That is one of the reasons I don't trust app ratings, but I don't think it would get any better even if developers stop redirecting negative comments because people who would ever bother to write a review either have a negative feeling about it, or hired to write a positive review.
- electic 11y ago
  Not to mention, their hawking their own service. Makes it hard to really trust the article itself.
- daviross 11y ago
  Seems like the reaction will need to be (in order to combat/penalize this): Any app which does this sort of thing will automatically get a Play Store/App Store 1-2 star review. Even if it's otherwise a great app. Engage in dark patterns/socially abusive behavior? Deal with the repercussions.
- reagency 11y ago
stevenwei 11y ago
> #Fact: Flappy Bird’s success was because of its user reviews, reaching 700,000 reviews per month Uh, seriously? Seems like they might have cause and effect reversed there. But at least they marked it #Fact, so clearly it must be true. This is a blatant advertorial masquerading as advice.
MarissaSmith 11y ago
One main point I think is missing from this conversation is that direct feedback can also be used to create a better app. Your customer's feedback provides invaluable insight into their wants and needs in regards to your app, which can help shape your app roadmap. The static reviews in the app store don't provide as much value as direct feedback in an open forum. The reviews are extremely valuable, but that's not all there is to it. Opening up that channel of communication lets people know you care about what they have to say, and want to hear about their good or bad experience, which is almost always appreciated and leads to higher retention rates.

37 points by okgabr 11y ago

jcr 11y ago

Of course this is a promotional piece to sell the services of Instabug.com, but their claims are interesting, namely, "In-App Feedback SDK results in an immediate 80% less negative reviews." It would be really useful if they could provide more examples and supporting data for their claims, but the claim itself is still interesting on its own.

infogulch 11y ago

'using In-App Feedback results in an immediate 80% less negative reviews'

wldcordeiro 11y ago
This is really just a way to divert people away from store reviews to in-app the complaints don't really decrease it just sends them elsewhere, somewhere that won't negatively affect the public perception of your app as much.
- infogulch 11y ago
  True, but if you really do just want your bug fixed and are willing to go back and forth with the developers about it, an app store review is one of the worst possible mediums to do that in.
  - wldcordeiro 11y ago
    Yeah, but the majority of people that experience a bug and give a negative app store review have no intention of having a back and forth with the developer over a bug, they just want to voice their frustration with the app and continue. More often than not they've uninstalled the app too so the OP's solution makes sense for the group of users you're referring to while minimizing the damage the group who only care to voice their frustrations can do.
LanceH 11y ago
The author is so busy not telling us what was promised in the headline. It isn't even a matter of setting up the story, it's a deliberate effort to avoid the main point. I neither like nor understand this style of writing and HN's affinity for it.
- benologist 11y ago
  HN's affinity for marketing like this is an illusion, most company blogs only get submitted by employees and front paged with manipulated votes.

christop 11y ago

Somebody needs to tell them the secret to 80% fewer grammatical errors :) It seems their SDK makes it easier for people to submit feedback directly from the app, rather than complaining on the app store, i.e. fewer negative reviews (and maybe fewer reviews in general). One alternative I've seen used for additionally increasing the number of positive reviews is to prompt the user whether they like the app. If they say "No", they're asked to provide feedback, but only if they say "Yes" are they redirected to the app store to rate the app.

kamilszybalski 11y ago
We've integrated the latter method you've mentioned into several apps with outstanding results. We can all thank Circa for that one - https://medium.com/circa/the-right-way-to-ask-users-to-review-your-app-9a32fd604fca https://medium.com/circa/the-right-way-to-ask-users-to-revie...
- christop 11y ago
  Great article. Thanks!
vitd 11y ago
Some users (myself included) really dislike apps that ask them for a review. It's like a needy child asking for validation after everything they do. If I want to review your app, I will. If I don't I won't. But if you nag me about it (even if you only ask me once), I'll probably be inclined to write you a bad review. Also in this category are online stores that want you to rate everything you've purchased or rate your experience after buying a box of paper clips or other similar nonsense.

RandallBrown 11y ago

I've used Apptentive for this and we had even better results. We get almost no reviews below 5 stars.

eonw 11y ago

if you need an article to tell you something this obvious, you probably shouldnt be in such a business anyways. getting in front of the customer before they lambast you publicly, is pretty basic.

EGreg 11y ago

Our apps always had consistently high ratings, but there were certain releases that frustrated people over the years and they publicly complained until we found a fix. The most frustrating was when iOS 7 broke all mass messaging in apps. But since implementing the internal "do you like this app?" before sending the user to write a review, and directing 1-2 star people to Support, we now have consistently nearly all 5 stars ratings. And better yet, we get more informative support emails!

prawn 11y ago

I'm not sure you need an exterior service for this, but the concept is something that should be a definite feature for each app you build. With Streaks (streaksapp.com), we ask if the user is enjoying the app. If yes, we ask for a rating/review. If not, we direct them to send feedback (email, Twitter, etc). In Hexiled (hexiledgame.com), we don't ask for a review/rating unless the player has successfully beaten the level, assuming they'd be feeling more positive about the game. In US and AU, that's helped us get 1,000+ reviews averaging 4.5/5. We also put our names and faces in there so people realise this is a first-ever mobile game by two guys and not a big-company effort where your meagre IAP will get lost in the millions made. I noticed that with Highball they try to put the app in the context of "This is a free thing we have made, go easy on us" very early in the on-boarding. Otherwise reviewers can be absolutely brutal and often unfair.

lcfg 11y ago

I can't believe the responses I'm reading here. People, if you do the following: divert users you suspect will leave a low rating to an external service and direct users you think will leave a high rating to the play store... you're scamming the system. You are absolutely abusing the way the Play Store works, what reviews and rankings mean within the ecosystem of the Play Store and worst of all, you are _most definitely_ abusing the trust of your customers. Why are people happily admitting they're doing this? It's a scam!

egwynn 11y ago
I mostly agree with you. But I also think there are non-scammy advantages to using in-app feedback. The primary one is that it could allow for better communication between an unsatisfied user and the app developer. Developers could funnel feedback into a custom ticketing system which could help them actually fix bugs faster than they could using the store’s review system. FWIW, I don’t know if the feedback system in question actually serves this purpose, so I won’t/can’t defend it specifically.
soraminazuki 11y ago
That is one of the reasons I don't trust app ratings, but I don't think it would get any better even if developers stop redirecting negative comments because people who would ever bother to write a review either have a negative feeling about it, or hired to write a positive review.
electic 11y ago
Not to mention, their hawking their own service. Makes it hard to really trust the article itself.
daviross 11y ago
Seems like the reaction will need to be (in order to combat/penalize this): Any app which does this sort of thing will automatically get a Play Store/App Store 1-2 star review. Even if it's otherwise a great app. Engage in dark patterns/socially abusive behavior? Deal with the repercussions.
reagency 11y ago

stevenwei 11y ago

> #Fact: Flappy Bird’s success was because of its user reviews, reaching 700,000 reviews per month Uh, seriously? Seems like they might have cause and effect reversed there. But at least they marked it #Fact, so clearly it must be true. This is a blatant advertorial masquerading as advice.

MarissaSmith 11y ago

One main point I think is missing from this conversation is that direct feedback can also be used to create a better app. Your customer's feedback provides invaluable insight into their wants and needs in regards to your app, which can help shape your app roadmap. The static reviews in the app store don't provide as much value as direct feedback in an open forum. The reviews are extremely valuable, but that's not all there is to it. Opening up that channel of communication lets people know you care about what they have to say, and want to hear about their good or bad experience, which is almost always appreciated and leads to higher retention rates.