A better way to guide users to scoring applications

Nobody wants to be disturbed, especially when they are doing all sorts of things. In this case, mobile apps have no reason to ask for ratings when users are on a mission. Why not try to communicate with users in a better way?

In this article, we'll explore strategies that guide users to rate applications, see how they can be more effective, and benefit both users and the product side.

It's important to ask for feedback from your users, or how do you know what people think about your product? I've seen some good ways to ask for user ratings and comments, but there's still room for improvement.

The comments in the app store can't be said to be the most effective because it's just a one-way way to communicate. There should be a better way, a more conversational approach, especially if the evaluation of feedback is not ideal, such a method is more capable of solving problems than one-way communication.

Why are user ratings and comments important to the product?

Whether it is Apple or Google, they will be placed next to the application of the icon and the title of the user's rating, so that viewers quickly understand the quality of the application. People don't usually download unfamiliar apps that are below three stars.

Such mechanisms are more effective in most cases, but they can also be problematic in certain situations. For example, most people with a non-technical background are not aware of the problems caused by the device's own system and hardware compatibility, and they will attribute the error to the application and produce erroneous comments. In addition, there will be a variety of misunderstandings and absurd situations, such as some users blame an alarm clock application will not automatically stop the alarm, and even after the phone is not electricity will still ring. (You can Google yourself to some "dumb" reviews in the App Store, they're really interesting)

Some technology commentators even suggest to the user that if the application pops up a dialog box that invites you to score, you can play a star. Although unreasonable, it has to be said that if you make a grade request to the user in the wrong way and the reason, then people do have a negative reaction. The simple and abrupt requirement for users to rate their applications in the process of accomplishing their tasks is a huge damage to the product experience. Instead, ask yourself how you can do better, or whether you can stand in the user's shoes and think about what you can do to help them solve the problems they might encounter and avoid negative feedback.

Why is the traditional scoring method not ideal?

Imagine that you are dining in a restaurant and you are enjoying the delicious food when the waiter walks up to you and asks you how it tastes.

This and the user is using the product you provide to complete their task, and you are rude to suddenly jump out to let them score the same situation. When users are doing something, don't interrupt them anyway.

We think more specifically about the situation, look at what happens to your typical users: they've just opened your app--we're assuming they're getting ready to tweet something--and suddenly a dialog box appears, saying, "Hey, give us a break for our apps!" "Guess how the user reacts?" They open apps to accomplish some kind of goal, and you jump out and interrupt them and ask them to do something for your application? Users have a lot of work to do, and it's always at the bottom of the line to apply a rating, unless you irritate them so much that they have to give you a bad comment right away.

Ask the user for feedback at the right point in time. The "Right point in time" varies by application, and designers should find the right point in time for their products. Dan Counsell has a good opinion on this issue. The following references are some of his views on clear:

Only if certain conditions are reached, clear will show the user the dialog box where the request is scored. First of all, the user's use time has reached more than a few weeks. Second, the user has emptied the existing list of tasks. This is the best time point for clear products of this type-users are accustomed to the application, and the moment they have just finished is at their best, and in most cases they will not immediately start creating a new list to start a new task.

A more appropriate point for the previous example of Weibo is that the user has already published several times with the product. The application of the photo editing class is after the user has edited and saved several photos. Whatever the product, look for the "right point in time" to consider three factors: first, the user has actually used and experienced the necessary times or hours; second, the user is most likely to have a positive emotion; third, the user has completed the main goal, do not immediately have new tasks to deal with.

from "scoring" to "feedback"

As you may have noticed, while we are discussing the topic of scoring and commenting, we have mentioned the word "feedback" several times before. My point is that we should switch from "scoring" to "feedback". To create really good products, product designers need to understand the user's experience of your products, whether good or bad. If it's all right, it's reasonable to guide them to the App store to leave a comment; if not, you'd better first understand what they're unhappy about and see how they can change from a product perspective.

How do you do that? Try to get them to email you.

This strategy is especially effective for users who already have frustration and frustration feelings. If you don't try to communicate with them first, they're more inclined to talk about their boredom in the App Store, where you don't get a chance to respond. Through the mail, you can achieve real two-way communication.

Getting feedback directly from the user gives you a clearer idea of the problems they are experiencing, and this form of feedback is more instructive and can be a good complement to the information form of a crash report.

How we put this way into practice

After careful consideration, we added a "feedback module" to our business news application the Business journals. Its working mechanism was initially this:

users for the first time using this application three days later, we will be through a dialog box to ask them whether the product experience is good or bad. If the user makes positive feedback, we will lead them to the app store to rate and comment. If the user chooses a negative option, we will direct the user to feedback directly to us via email. You can also close the dialog box if the user does not have time to make feedback.

We think the three-day interval is a good compromise, and users will have more time to try the product and feel it. The interval period is "days" rather than "usage", which is determined by the user habits of a particular product. Many target users will open the application more than once a day, each time a short browse, so by the number of words is likely to cause users do not have enough time to fully experience the product.

Once the user gives us feedback via email, our support team will respond to the communication. Some users will complain about the design style after the version has been updated, but more in response to their loss of passwords, even to some legal problems that we cannot determine. In the end, most of the problems in these emails will be taken into consideration by our next iteration of the product, making our applications better, fewer bugs, and shorter distances between users and content. This has also enabled our App Store to score from 1.5 stars to 4.5 stars.

We also plan to ask for feedback after users have shared an article, perhaps a less intrusive point of time.

In addition, the Ember application also uses a similar classification-guided mode, which divides the user's feelings into "happy", "confused" and "unhappy", and provides different feedback according to the choices they make, as shown in the following illustration:

Feedback module is Diablo mode?

Some people may think this is a dark pattern, because we will lead those with negative feelings to contact us directly, and let those who have positive feelings go to the app Store to comment. But we are more concerned about the way in which users and products play a role in bridging the bridge; it's just a tool, not good or bad.

Of course, this approach may be used to "do evil", such as deliberately burying all negative voices. But you can also get meaningful feedback from real users in this way, and it's best to give feedback on the results to improve the product and help the user solve the problem better.

Moreover, even if you decide to do evil, high up the barriers of speech, users still have their own way to the world spit your Groove.

Summary

If you want to find a way to get direct feedback from unhappy users and get those happy users to help you score high, the way this article is presented may inspire you. The core of the story is how you can communicate with users, not the stars in the App Store.

Whatever the way you use it, be sure to respect the user and do the right thing at the right time. This is a very effective way for us, and we will continue to improve.

Related reading: Getting iOS permissions to users in the right context

Nobody wants to be disturbed, especially when they are doing all sorts of things. In this case, mobile apps have no reason to ask for ratings when users are on a mission. Why not try to communicate with users in a better way?

In this article, we'll explore strategies that guide users to rate applications, see how they can be more effective, and benefit both users and the product side.

It's important to ask for feedback from your users, or how do you know what people think about your product? I've seen some good ways to ask for user ratings and comments, but there's still room for improvement.

The comments in the app store can't be said to be the most effective because it's just a one-way way to communicate. There should be a better way, a more conversational approach, especially if the evaluation of feedback is not ideal, such a method is more capable of solving problems than one-way communication.

Why are user ratings and comments important to the product?

Whether it is Apple or Google, they will be placed next to the application of the icon and the title of the user's rating, so that viewers quickly understand the quality of the application. People don't usually download unfamiliar apps that are below three stars.

Such mechanisms are more effective in most cases, but they can also be problematic in certain situations. For example, most people with a non-technical background are not aware of the problems caused by the device's own system and hardware compatibility, and they will attribute the error to the application and produce erroneous comments. In addition, there will be a variety of misunderstandings and absurd situations, such as some users blame an alarm clock application will not automatically stop the alarm, and even after the phone is not electricity will still ring. (You can Google yourself to some "dumb" reviews in the App Store, they're really interesting)

Some technology commentators even suggest to the user that if the application pops up a dialog box that invites you to score, you can play a star. Although unreasonable, it has to be said that if you make a grade request to the user in the wrong way and the reason, then people do have a negative reaction. The simple and abrupt requirement for users to rate their applications in the process of accomplishing their tasks is a huge damage to the product experience. Instead, ask yourself how you can do better, or whether you can stand in the user's shoes and think about what you can do to help them solve the problems they might encounter and avoid negative feedback.

Why is the traditional scoring method not ideal?

Imagine that you are dining in a restaurant and you are enjoying the delicious food when the waiter walks up to you and asks you how it tastes.

This and the user is using the product you provide to complete their task, and you are rude to suddenly jump out to let them score the same situation. When users are doing something, don't interrupt them anyway.

We think more specifically about the situation, look at what happens to your typical users: they've just opened your app--we're assuming they're getting ready to tweet something--and suddenly a dialog box appears, saying, "Hey, give us a break for our apps!" "Guess how the user reacts?" They open apps to accomplish some kind of goal, and you jump out and interrupt them and ask them to do something for your application? Users have a lot of work to do, and it's always at the bottom of the line to apply a rating, unless you irritate them so much that they have to give you a bad comment right away.

Ask the user for feedback at the right point in time. The "Right point in time" varies by application, and designers should find the right point in time for their products. Dan Counsell has a good opinion on this issue. The following references are some of his views on clear:

Only if certain conditions are reached, clear will show the user the dialog box where the request is scored. First of all, the user's use time has reached more than a few weeks. Second, the user has emptied the existing list of tasks. This is the best time point for clear products of this type-users are accustomed to the application, and the moment they have just finished is at their best, and in most cases they will not immediately start creating a new list to start a new task.

A more appropriate point for the previous example of Weibo is that the user has already published several times with the product. The application of the photo editing class is after the user has edited and saved several photos. Whatever the product, look for the "right point in time" to consider three factors: first, the user has actually used and experienced the necessary times or hours; second, the user is most likely to have a positive emotion; third, the user has completed the main goal, do not immediately have new tasks to deal with.

from "scoring" to "feedback"

As you may have noticed, while we are discussing the topic of scoring and commenting, we have mentioned the word "feedback" several times before. My point is that we should switch from "scoring" to "feedback". To create really good products, product designers need to understand the user's experience of your products, whether good or bad. If it's all right, it's reasonable to guide them to the App store to leave a comment; if not, you'd better first understand what they're unhappy about and see how they can change from a product perspective.

How do you do that? Try to get them to email you.

This strategy is especially effective for users who already have frustration and frustration feelings. If you don't try to communicate with them first, they're more inclined to talk about their boredom in the App Store, where you don't get a chance to respond. Through the mail, you can achieve real two-way communication.

Getting feedback directly from the user gives you a clearer idea of the problems they are experiencing, and this form of feedback is more instructive and can be a good complement to the information form of a crash report.

How we put this way into practice

After careful consideration, we added a "feedback module" to our business news application the Business journals. Its working mechanism was initially this:

users for the first time using this application three days later, we will be through a dialog box to ask them whether the product experience is good or bad. If the user makes positive feedback, we will lead them to the app store to rate and comment. If the user chooses a negative option, we will direct the user to feedback directly to us via email. You can also close the dialog box if the user does not have time to make feedback.

We think the three-day interval is a good compromise, and users will have more time to try the product and feel it. The interval period is "days" rather than "usage", which is determined by the user habits of a particular product. Many target users will open the application more than once a day, each time a short browse, so by the number of words is likely to cause users do not have enough time to fully experience the product.

Once the user gives us feedback via email, our support team will respond to the communication. Some users will complain about the design style after the version has been updated, but more in response to their loss of passwords, even to some legal problems that we cannot determine. In the end, most of the problems in these emails will be taken into consideration by our next iteration of the product, making our applications better, fewer bugs, and shorter distances between users and content. This has also enabled our App Store to score from 1.5 stars to 4.5 stars.

We also plan to ask for feedback after users have shared an article, perhaps a less intrusive point of time.

In addition, the Ember application also uses a similar classification-guided mode, which divides the user's feelings into "happy", "confused" and "unhappy", and provides different feedback according to the choices they make, as shown in the following illustration:

Feedback module is Diablo mode?

Some people may think this is a dark pattern, because we will lead those with negative feelings to contact us directly, and let those who have positive feelings go to the app Store to comment. But we are more concerned about the way in which users and products play a role in bridging the bridge; it's just a tool, not good or bad.

Of course, this approach may be used to "do evil", such as deliberately burying all negative voices. But you can also get meaningful feedback from real users in this way, and it's best to give feedback on the results to improve the product and help the user solve the problem better.

Moreover, even if you decide to do evil, high up the barriers of speech, users still have their own way to the world spit your Groove.

Summary

If you want to find a way to get direct feedback from unhappy users and get those happy users to help you score high, the way this article is presented may inspire you. The core of the story is how you can communicate with users, not the stars in the App Store.

Whatever the way you use it, be sure to respect the user and do the right thing at the right time. This is a very effective way for us, and we will continue to improve.

Related reading: Getting iOS permissions to users in the right context