4 builders who never spoke to each other

Answer support as if it were the sales channel

Unusually good service is what gets recommended, and on a marketplace it is what produces the reviews and ratings that decide ranking, so the cost line is actually distribution. Where your product sits inside your customer's own conversations, that extends to weekends. Warn people a day before planned downtime and send a written report after an unplanned outage, because the handling gets talked about rather than the fault, and refund the angry customer even when the complaint is unfair.

The method

1. 01

   Treat support as acquisition rather than cost: customers who get unusually good service go and recommend you.

2. 02

   Reviews and ratings are the ranking currency on an app marketplace, so treat support quality as a distribution activity rather than a cost centre.

3. 03

   If your product sits inside a customer's own customer conversations, support has to run at weekends too, because telling them to wait a day means telling their buyers to wait a day.

4. 04

   Ask for referrals from customers who have just had an outstanding support interaction, as that is when they are most likely to send you someone.

5. 05

   Customers you have treated well will defend you publicly during an outage, which buys you time to fix the problem instead of firefighting in Facebook groups.

What it returned

• 24

  PhillyWisper warned Hillman 24 hours ahead of 5 to 10 minutes of expected downtime, and a day after a 40 minute outage nobody had planned for it sent a full written report.

• Support was prioritised from launch day, producing over a hundred app store reviews, a five star rating, and the top rated position for WhatsApp chat apps on Shopify.

• With dozens of beta users on a customer support product, the founders committed to responding and fixing issues immediately whenever they surfaced, including on weekends.

• FeedbackPanda customers posted on social media vouching for the company during technical trouble

Sources

• What it’s like to have an internet provider that actually caresMark Steckel · dangerouslyawesome.com · While I can rave about the quality of the connection, I’m most impressed with the quality of customer service · 2016-05-01
• Ten SaaS marketing principles for 2024Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · 7. Use customer service as an acquisition channel. · undated
• The Myth of The Finished Product – The Bootstrapped FounderArvid Kahl · thebootstrappedfounder.com · Bugs: Correcting the Dysfunctions You Never Meant to Create · 2020-02-27
• Micro-SaaS Ebook: Retention & SupportTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · Why retention is so important · 2017-07-31
• From Desk Job to Building a $60k/mo Cleaning BusinessFinn Pegler · failory.com · What were the biggest obstacles you overcame? What were your worst mistakes? · undated
• How I grew my Shopify micro SaaS to 2000+ users in 40 daysPreetam Nath · preetamnath.com · Ranking on the Shopify app store · 2019-12-29
• The Dark Side of EntrepreneurshipPreetam Nath · preetamnath.com · Entrepreneurship is hard to switch off. · 2021-02-07