After reading 10,000 negative reviews, I reviewed and reflected on my operations

So I thought of taking a look at what the users in the software store were saying when they gave bad reviews: I chose the popular apps recommended by the software store, ignored the good reviews that might have been fake, and went straight to the bad review column. After reading tens of thousands of negative reviews on nearly a hundred apps, excluding those angry comments like "rubbish" and "no reason, just uninstall", I feel that most users who write negative reviews actually have the greatest chance of being recalled, because they are still communicating seriously with the platform, they have needs for the platform, and they have clear expectations for the platform.

Ten categories of negative reviews

I roughly sorted out and summarized these negative reviews and divided them into 10 categories:

NO.1 Functional defects

This is the most common type of problem in all negative reviews of products. Common examples include:

Cannot be opened, loads too slowly or fails to load, cannot register, cannot log in, repeated reminders for updates, cannot be used in WIFI state, initialization after upgrade, offline function failure, login verification is too cumbersome, repeated login is required after each operation, power consumption, data usage, crashes, automatic startup, downloaded content disappears, failure of a core function, inability to operate, etc.

NO.2 Missing Functionality

There are generally three types of functional loss problems:

First, PC products are transformed into mobile products. Some functions on the PC side are missing on mobile devices, and users are not used to them.

First, the functions that competitors have are missing in the uninstalled product.

Third, users themselves expect the product to have basic functions, but the actual product does not have them when it is launched.

NO.3 The problem of product value itself

This problem is a fatal problem for many products. The core value of a product is the foundation for its survival and development. However, for users, the value provided by some products is inherently problematic or even untrustworthy.

For example, tourism products lack cost-effective travel routes; recruitment products are full of scams and lack responsiveness; e-commerce products have no traffic and the products are pirated; content products lack popular content; real estate products are full of fake listings; public credibility platforms are filled with internet trolls, disrupting the market, etc.

NO.4 Issues with product commercialization

Free is the most popular business model at present. Platforms all hope to attract users through free services. However, users have been spoiled by various products and wish that everything is free or even that products can be subsidized. However, if a product is to survive it must be profitable, and the problem of product commercialization is inevitable.

So for users: too many advertisements, bad reviews; a certain function requires payment, bad reviews; the charges are too high, bad reviews; price increase, bad reviews; no continuous rebates and subsidies, bad reviews.

NO.5 Problems with platform services

Almost every product has a few negative reviews regarding customer service.

Some products are completely lacking in customer service, with no customer service phone number and no online customer service, leaving users with nowhere to communicate when problems arise.

For some products, customer service is non-existent. The customer service phone is always unreachable. When you get through, you are always greeted with all sorts of clichés. There is no feedback after you complain, and the problem is completely unresolved.

There are also situations where there is customer service, but the customer service itself is unprofessional or of poor quality, which increases users' negative impression of the platform after communicating with them, or the service always times out, the waiting time is too long, etc.

NO.6 UI Issues

There are two types of negative reviews for the UI interface. One is that people think the interface is ugly and not stylish enough; the other is that people think the UI design is confusing, too complicated, and does not distinguish between the primary and secondary.

Another common type of negative review of the UI is based on the upgrade or revision of the UI itself. No matter what kind of upgrade or revision it is, it seems to attract backlash from some users, because not every user can quickly adapt to the changes in habits brought about by the adjustment of the UI.

NO.7 Brand image issues

The product itself is a derivative service content of the brand, so it is closely related to the brand itself. In negative reviews, we often see users choose to abandon a product because they no longer trust the brand or have lost their good impression of the brand.

There are two other situations related to brand image:

One is to have a basic positioning of the brand based on the brand slogan, but when using the product, it is found that the product does not conform to the advertised positioning.

The other is the lack of brand characteristics. Compared with competing products, the product is highly homogenized and even inferior to competitors in details, which is what is commonly known as the lack of core competitiveness.

No. 8 Information security issues

Perhaps due to the frequent occurrence of information security incidents, negative reviews related to information security may occasionally appear among the negative reviews.

One is that the product feels like it is stealing user information and obtaining too many unnecessary privacy permissions.

One is the leakage of registration or usage information on the platform, leading to distrust of the product.

NO.9 Membership level issues

Generally, platform members are considered to be the most active and deep users among platform users, but negative reviews of products by members are also common:

First, membership benefits are not ideal: members generally have to pay fees, but do not receive benefits commensurate with the fees.

The second is the value of membership points: users feel that the accumulation of points does not have any cumulative significance.

The third is the arbitrary changes in the membership system: some platforms will upgrade and reform the membership system, and then the members' levels and rights may be adjusted accordingly, thereby infringing on the rights of the members themselves.

NO.10 Platform activity issues

Negative reviews of platform activities are also very common. The most common negative review is that the promoted activities are just gimmicks, and after actually downloading the product, it is found that they have been deceived and the activity does not match the promotion.

The other is that people are indeed attracted by the activity and use the product, but in the process of use, the original discount gradually disappears, or the marketing is just a trick rather than a real profit.

Of course, there are also some negative reviews that come from people who think the product has too few activities, or that the activities that do exist cannot be enjoyed due to system problems, platform activities, participation permission issues, etc.

Reflection on operations

It can be said that the above 10 categories of problems constitute the key map of user loss of existing products. After reading so many negative reviews, although I am not the operator of these products, as an operator, I have also fallen into deep reflection:

1. Operations should become in-depth users of their own products

How many operators use the products they operate every day?

In fact, I personally think that many of the negative user reviews mentioned above can be avoided. As long as the operators use the product more often, find and summarize problems, and write adjustment requirements to the product manager , product optimization can definitely be achieved.

2. The operational pattern should be larger

Is operation just about writing copy , planning activities, looking at data, and conducting analysis? Personally, I think it would be a disaster for operations if you get bogged down in too many details and trivial matters. The operation pattern should be larger, and we should think more about the issues from the perspective of the core value of the products, the image of the brand itself, the current situation of competitors, and the business model of the products. Only in this way can the direction of the operation be clearer.

3. Operations must have basic ethics

I have always felt that many operations nowadays are profit-driven and overly utilitarian because of interests and the KPI assessment mechanism, and they do not care about anything to achieve their goals. That is why so many operations bring temporary prosperity, but ultimately lose the hearts of users and the market.

Therefore, operations should have some emotion, some humanity, some bottom line, and basic moral integrity. An operator with good values ​​will never do too badly if it keeps operating.

4. Operations should think from the user’s perspective

Good operations must understand users and think what users think. Because after the product is produced, its users are the consumers. If you just focus on your own pleasure without considering user feedback and suggestions, such a product will definitely not last long and such operations are doomed to be unsatisfactory.

Personally, I think that not every negative review from users must be listened to, and operators should still have their own evaluation and attitude; after all, there are a thousand Hamlets in the hearts of a thousand readers, and a thousand different demands in the mouths of a thousand users. The focus is to combine user needs with operational goals, and work together to make the product more perfect and better serve all users .

Mobile application product promotion service: APP promotion service Qinggua Media advertising

The author of this article is @跑跑大橘子 and it is compiled and published by (青瓜传媒). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!