Your biggest frustration with the software business?

xInd

16 years ago

Support requests from people who stole your software!

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2 replies

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BigDaddys101 16 years ago

Originally Posted by Xception-Industries

Support requests from people who stole your software!

OMG - Definitely the correct answer to the worst thing.

I put my tools on Demonoid about a month before I update though to get people hooked and wanting to purchase it after I release the update and make the current version no longer work. So when they do contact me for support I can tell them all they have to do is purchase the program and it will work fine.
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OS Development 16 years ago

Originally Posted by Xception-Industries

Support requests from people who stole your software!

I have had that problem a time or two.

But what I hate the most is when you give someone a secure script(give or sell) and they remove the security and then complain to you they got hacked.

or they complain the script does not have all the free plugins for X amount of sites.
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Marketing Profits Software

16 years ago

Do you find support requests from people who steal your software to be a common occurrence?

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jents

16 years ago

When you buy something and they act like your a tech pro when explaining how to us it. Some of us need more information. A little TLC would be nice.

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1 reply

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Marketing Profits Software 16 years ago

Originally Posted by jents

When you buy something and they act like your a tech pro when explaining how to us it. Some of us need more information. A little TLC would be nice.

Would you provide an example of a software developer that you feel provides exceptional documentation on how to use their software?

By the way, thanks for providing an example from the end user's point-of-view.
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Oakleaf

16 years ago

As a software author, I feel I don't get enough feedback from customers(good or bad). Of course i'm not entitled to their feedback, but it would be nice if customers send an occasional email asking for feature requests or even complaining about my software.

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2 replies

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Marketing Profits Software

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Oakleaf

As a software author, I feel I don't get enough feedback from customers(good or bad). Of course i'm not entitled to their feedback, but it would be nice if customers send an occasional email asking for feature requests or even complaining about my software.

Do you have a feedback mechanism in place, such as a support forum, for your software users? If so, do you find it difficult to get them to interact and participate?

Thanks
1 reply

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Oakleaf

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Chris Landrum

Do you have a feedback mechanism in place, such as a support forum, for your software users? If so, do you find it difficult to get them to interact and participate?

I've always wanted to do that, but didn't think it was worth the hassle(the content moderation part mainly). I've seen support forums get inundated with spam or filled with useless content and hence always left adding a support forum for another day.

You do have a point though, I should make it more easier for people to ask feedback. A lot of people get intimidated if the communication's solely through email.

Thanks

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HorseStall

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Oakleaf

As a software author, I feel I don't get enough feedback from customers(good or bad). Of course i'm not entitled to their feedback, but it would be nice if customers send an occasional email asking for feature requests or even complaining about my software.

Have you implemented an uninstall survey? That is a good way to get feedback of why people are not choosing your software.

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Marketing Profits Software

16 years ago

Just a suggestion about reducing spam in a support forum...

You could always put the support forum in a private, password-protected area of your site, and make it accessible only to people who purchase your software.

Another potential idea would be to offer something of perceived value (perhaps a "deluxe" version of your software or a longer subscription method) to the user who sends you the most constructive suggestion, feedback, or criticism.

Anyways, thanks for the response.

Thanks
1 reply

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Oakleaf

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Chris Landrum

Just a suggestion about reducing spam in a support forum...

You could always put the support forum in a private, password-protected area of your site, and make it accessible only to people who purchase your software.

Another potential idea would be to offer something of perceived value (perhaps a "deluxe" version of your software or a longer subscription method) to the user who sends you the most constructive suggestion, feedback, or criticism.

Anyways, thanks for the response.

I've thought of that too, but its kind of a catch-22 situation.

I'd like prospective customers to view the forum and see how helpful it is and all that, but at the same time avoid spam and stuff that could give a bad impression.

Paralysis by analysis...

But in the future, i'm not going to release any software until i've worked out a better support mechanism.

Thanks
1 reply

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Marketing Profits Software

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Oakleaf

I've thought of that too, but its kind of a catch-22 situation.

I'd like prospective customers to view the forum and see how helpful it is and all that, but at the same time avoid spam and stuff that could give a bad impression.

Paralysis by analysis...

But in the future, i'm not going to release any software until i've worked out a better support mechanism.

I guess a compromise to the situation would be to make the support forum read-only until someone purchases the software, then they can register for an account and participate.

Thanks

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patfl

16 years ago

My biggest frustration with the software business is everything usually comes at the same time. You're gonna be idle for a couple of week, and out of the blue, you get 5 customers the same week and fall short of resources...

It seems like they communicate each other

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Oakleaf

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Chris Landrum

I guess a compromise to the situation would be to make the support forum read-only until someone purchases the software, then they can register for an account and participate.

Very good idea and quite easy to implement too, thanks a lot for your suggestions.

Now that I read the first post again, i'd like to admit that I am not too good coming up with product ideas as well. This isn't a frustration actually, but I do wish the strokes of inspiration that give me a product idea(during the oddest of times) occur more frequently.