This tiny feature reduced 70% of my holiday customer tickets

A little background: About 6 years ago I built an app for stand-up comedians called Bits. I gave my users an easy way to reach out to me if they faced any issues. Making it easy for them allowed me not only to solve their problems, but also to learn how real people use my product and how I can make it better (and eliminate reasons for them to churn).

Over the years I noticed that during the holiday season I was receiving the same type of tickets. Users would reach out in panic, saying that all their data was lost. Opening the app and seeing it empty can feel super scary, so I get that 100%.

In the beginning I just engaged, asked what was happening, and helped fix the issue. After more and more complaints, I realized that I was copying and pasting the same solution again and again. I looked back at the history of every conversation and saw that everyone was facing the same problem and receiving the same answer. In real time I did not even notice it, I only cared about helping them as fast as I could.

By stepping back a bit, I understood what was going on. During the holidays, people tend to buy or receive new phones. When you switch devices, there is a migration process that moves your data to the new phone. They would see my app on the new phone, but their account did not sync properly. All they had to do was log out and log in (and sometimes reinstall the app).

So I did a simple thing. I added an extra step before they clicked on the “contact me” option. Users now see a new item in the list asking if they recently switched devices, and tapping on it gives them the same answer I would have given if they had reached out to me.

From there it was smooth sailing. I no longer received emails about this issue, my customers got instant help that directly addressed their problem, and I now have time to focus on finding a real solution so they do not face it at all.

That is why I love talking to my users and making it easy for them to talk to me. That is why I built SupportRetriever.com , to give any solopreneur out there, including myself, a free, friendly customer support tool. It is super easy to drop into your product and will help you focus on your customers.

If you liked what I wrote, feel free to drop a comment, like, and share.

Keep on building,
Amitay :)