I learned something a while back from the Campaign Monitor support team about how they handle feature requests. Specifically that every time a customer asks for a feature, it's logged in their system€“ and each customer gets told if their request becomes a reality.

I thought that was pretty cool, so I began doing it for Prevue too... but I hadn't started seeing the true benefit until recently.

How it works

Every time someone emails asking for a feature - I'll reply to that person, then I'll log their request along with their name and account details. Basecamp Personal is amazing for this —€“ I've tried a few other tools, but you can't really beat the simplicity of a todo list:

I've been tallying requests in this fashion for a while now, but it was only when Groups was launched this week that I saw some benefit. Shortly after the feature was launched, I personally emailed each person who'd asked for that feature. Using the details I'd taken at the time, I was able to reply to the original email request —€“ which in some cases was more than a year ago.

Worth it?

Absolutely. There's really no substitute for personally reaching out to customers - not only do people get to know that their opinion matters, but also that there's a real person behind this app (that's me). From a financial standpoint, this technique also generated a number of immediate upgrades, plus some nice responses too. And whilst there wasn't a direct financial motive here,€“ it's a welcome bonus:

Wow, looks awesome man! I'll be setting up a Studio plan through my company ASAP.

For me, it just goes to show that making a personal effort to respond to people is definitely worth it. So if you've had an idea for a feature missing from Prevue... I'm definitely listening!