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How do you gather your data from beta users?

I'm pretty close to a limited beta launch for Witsi.co. Things are finally starting to come together product-wise, and an MVP should be ready to go in the next few weeks. I can't even tell you how excited I am.

One thing I've started thinking about is how to gather data from my Beta users. I have some initial sign ups through the landing page, but that's really just an email address. I'd like to collect some extra demographic information if possible, and I'd also like to gather thoughts about the product while they're using it.

What products do you all use for this type of thing? SurveyMonkey comes to mind, but I'm wondering if there's something that integrates better, or that users would be more likely to fill out.

I could write this myself, conceivably, but that'd push back my launch.

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    Check out this tool, might be helpful with asking people questions: https://askuser.xyz

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    First and foremost, write lots of emails.

    Email is still the most effective way to reach out to your beta users. Schedule quick 20min call w/ them via Zoom.

    Never take notes during a call. Record each of your calls. Re-listen to them after 24 hours and take down notes.

    Make yourself available at any of your customer interaction.

    eg. (1) place the live chat widget in any place of your product, so your customers can reach you out at any time. (2) Design your onboarding drip campaign in a way they are always helpful and they reply back with feedback to you.

    I have some initial sign-ups through the landing page, but that's really just an email address. I'd like to collect some extra demographic information if possible, and I'd also like to gather thoughts about the product while they're using it.

    That's an interesting use case. One way to do that is using Clearbit Enrichment. (https://clearbit.com/enrichment)

    Other must-have tools:

    • Typeform for surveys
    • Google Analytics for clickstream tracking
    • Drift as a live chat (cheaper than Intercom) still really flexible
    • Amplitude for serverside events
    • Segment as multiplexer
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    Don't write it yourself. This is a very dev thing to do :)

    Here's some ideas, but I'm sure there's also some better ones:

    • Just reach out to the users directly via email (or call them if you have their numbers). Cuts to the chase, ask them exactly what you're trying to figure out.
    • Use Google Analytics (or a similar tool). Still my day to day for getting insights on demographics, landing pages, time on page etc.
    • Intercom on all pages - just make it a lot easier for users to reach out with ideas, suggestions, problems. The key is communication.
    • SurveyMonkey type tool - Haven't used them but seems logical. I have some scepticism though as I think you're probably guiding a users choice as opposed to letting them to provide open ended comments (like Intercom)
    • Leave feedback on cancellation - In SaaS churn is your enemy, so cut to the chase and get cancelling users to tell you why they're cancelling.
    • Crazy Egg & Hotjar - Effectively record how users are using tools
    • Usertesting.com - Get videos of people using your tool. You will discover things you never even thought were important, or are a nuisance to your users.

    Good luck!