
In-App Feedback Results in Fewer Negative Reviews - okgabr
http://blog.instabug.com/2015/07/the-secret-weapon-to-80-less-negative-reviews-for-apps/
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christop
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
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-
revie...](https://medium.com/circa/the-right-way-to-ask-users-to-review-your-
app-9a32fd604fca)

~~~
christop
Great article. Thanks!

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jcr
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.

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lcfg
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
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.

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prawn
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.

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

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EGreg
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!

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

~~~
LanceH
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
HN's affinity for marketing like this is an illusion, most company blogs only
get submitted by employees and front paged with manipulated votes.

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MarissaSmith
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.

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stevenwei
> #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.

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eonw
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.

