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Do what you say you're going to do. That's it.
Sounds simple, right?
We think so, too. That's why it's one of the mottos we live and work by at Integrity.
That motto applies to more than just the promises that we make to our clients and team members. It also applies to the things we build. They should do what we promise they're going to do. Every time.
To make it even simpler, let's sum up this approach to business and web application development in one word. Trust.
Here's how to get it, and keep your users coming back for more.
Just like it does in any relationship, trust takes work. First of all, you've got to build the thing. Build the app, the super awesome responsive redesign, the next big social network, the whatever. Make it simple. Make it work.
Next you have to listen to your user feedback and find a strategic way to make it work within your project. That is, if you like putting food on the table.
Robin Rath, CEO and Co-founder of wildly successful St. Louis startup PixelPress, knows paying attention to users is key.
"I think the biggest thing is listening to the ideas people have and delivering on those ideas," Rath said about his take on instilling and keeping user trust. "But you get a lot of feedback, and you'll never have time to do all of it."
So what the PixelPress team does make time for is carefully collecting all of that feedback and responding to the ideas that they are interested in implementing in order to get clarification.
"We always want to deliver on things that people want," Rath said. Because of such, PixelPress takes a creative approach to delivering on feedback that doesn't necessary fit into the current lifecycle of their product or business - they simply introducing it in future versions or bake it into brand new products.
Now that you've got engaged users, anticipate. Anticipate the hell out of their responses to every single move you make. Changing that workflow or converting some features to paid? Better do some kind of pre-launch testing to make sure your user numbers don't plummet.
According to Rath, anticipating user needs for PixelPress comes in the form of actually conducting user testing right there in the room with the gamers, especially considering that its games are geared toward a younger audience.
If you're not sure, just ask. Even if they aren't all prepared to offer feedback, users like to be considered in the way your product or service works. After all, they're humans just like you. And they might even be paying you for that thing you're about to make major changes to.
All that being said, don't be afraid to try new things. Within reason.
"In the first product, there was a lot of challenge," Rath said about the drawing and printing steps required to build a level in the first iteration of their game PixelPress Floors. "So we eliminated a lot of those challenging points of the experience to make the product that much easier to use."
While you're experimenting, never forget to anticipate and never get too far from what your users signed up for.
Perhaps the most important thing of all to remember is to always be prepared with a sincere apology and a readiness to change quickly if you get it wrong. Trust us, it'll happen eventually.
Need some help getting your users to stick around or come back for more? Try us. We're up for the challenge.
Sources:
Product loyalty follows trust like form follows function
PixelPress
