If you’re going back to the drawing board and figuring out how to start managing feedback, then you’ll inevitably reach a discussion about which product feedback tool to use.
At Receptive, we’ve seen this market grow and grow, and now there are a lot of different choices out there.
There are so many things to consider that it’s easy to be overwhelmed, so we put together this little guide explaining the various factors you need to take into account.
The Size of Your Company
This is a big factor when it comes to choosing the right tool for your company.
If you’re a fairly small startup, or if you’re only just starting to scale, then chances are you don’t want to spend too much money. You might not even be receiving that much feedback.
In this instance, you could consider bootstrapping your own product feedback tool for free. You could assign a dedicated email address and ask customers to send their feedback there. Then, you can regularly check through the feedback and discuss which ideas you want to take forward.
This puts the focus on your process rather than a piece of software, and so it saves you money.
Of course, the flip side is that this is far more time consuming, and it also gives you a scaling problem. When you do start to grow bigger, you’re going to be stuck when your manual process starts taking too much of your time and spirals out of control.
Related: When to Scale your SaaS Product Feedback Process
In fact, that’s one of the biggest problems some of our customers had before turning to Receptive.
With that in mind, it’s probably best to bite the bullet and put the software in place as soon as you can afford it. That way your employees and customers get used to using it, and you can rest assured that the solution will scale alongside you.
If you’re scaling quickly, or if you’re an Enterprise company, then clearly your best bet is to find a product feedback tool that suits your needs. Your product may be more complex and your customers split into several demographics. You need software that allows you to take those things into account.
You’re better off choosing a product feedback tool with more features that is better equipped to handle your various needs.
Time Restraints
Different product feedback tools require different amounts of time to obtain results.
The bootstrapped approach mentioned previously is extremely hands-on, and requires somebody to manage the workflow all the way from start to finish.
If you have the time to do this, then by all means go for it. Unfortunately, some companies will be so rushed off their feet that managing every minute detail is simply not an option.
For those companies with little time to spend on product feedback management, more automation is required. That’s where a more dedicated solution like Receptive is required. While it might require more upfront time to get the ball rolling, once you’ve started it automates a lot of processes.
Related: How Much Customer Engagement Will I Get with Receptive?
Before you decide on a product feedback tool you should think carefully about how much time you want to spend on it. Do you want to have to manually work with the feedback, or do you want as little time spent on it as possible?
Budgeting
For any company, budget is a necessary factor to consider when purchasing new software.
If money is tight, then you might not want to splash out on dedicated software solutions. In that case, the bootstrapped version is perfect. You can easily create a decent process with free (or very close to it) services.
If you have a bit more money to spend but you still aren’t sure about going all the way up to a tool like Receptive, then there are more lightweight options like Canny or Aha!, both of which offer streamlined tools.
Related: Why Receptive is the Best Alternative to Canny
Related: Why Receptive is the Best Alternative to Aha!
However, you have to be aware that the cost of these lightweight products soon increases as your company scales and you need more users adding.
Not only that, but when you grow you’ll discover that lightweight tools are no longer enough, and you’ll have to move over to a solution like Receptive anyway.
You have to weigh up the costs of software versus the costs of tying yourself in to a product that doesn’t do everything it needs to. Think carefully about the long-term.
While it might be appealing to cut costs now, that decision might well end up costing you a whole lot more in the future.
Thought Leadership
I’m a content writer, so maybe I’m biased, but I think you can tell a lot about a company from their content.
At Receptive, we pride ourselves on being thought leaders, on providing useful content, and always adding value.
Our numerous blog posts, our in-depth ebooks, and all of our webinars, white papers, podcasts, and more, are all there to help you. We share all of our knowledge with the aim of helping other SaaS companies as much as we can.
When you’re choosing a product feedback tool, it’s worth checking out if the company genuinely knows their stuff.
If they’re lacking on the content front, then that could well be because they don’t have the knowledge needed to help you solve your problem.
Customer Support
When you buy a SaaS product, you’re effectively entering into a long-term relationship with the vendor.
And, like any long-term relationship really, you need to trust them and know that they will be there to support you.
Imagine if you purchase a tool and find out that you’re left to your own devices? That won’t work out in the long-term.
So, check their help documentation. Have they produced in-depth content to help you navigate their product? Have they answered all of the common questions? And, while we’re on the subject, how do they respond to feedback?
This is something you won’t get with a bootstrapped approach, for obvious reasons, but it’s something you should really be demanding from a SaaS product.
Not only that, but how quickly will they respond to any queries? They might be easy to reach during the sales process but a lot of companies suddenly become a lot harder to reach once you become a customer.
If you can, speak to current customers of the products you’re considering and ask them what the support is like. That way you get an unbiased view of what it’s like to be a customer.
TL:DR
Here’s the gist… Going back to the drawing board and choosing a product feedback tool to use can be difficult.
You need to consider various factors, including the size of your company, the time each product takes to use, the cost of the product, their content, and their customer support.
Think about your own priorities and what you look for in a SaaS product, and apply those priorities to the products you’re choosing from.
Spending time to do some research now will ensure you make the right choice.
Thanks for reading!
