Our Top Pick for Beta Testing Software: betaeasy.com
- Website visitor’s household income – are they the right target?
- Website visitor’s plans to spend on goods/services you provide in the next 6 months
- Tracking customers’ reactions to whatever service or product you’re doing the beta testing on, in order to work out the bugs, figure out how to tweak marketing most effectively, etc.
- Don’t miss out on the opportunity to add additional surveys which can capture customers’ input on their upcoming needs as well as their ideas & suggestions about new services/products you may wish to consider developing. Encourage them to go ahead and dream big! Even if their suggestions aren’t feasible for you, it may spark your team in a new creative direction that proves to be extremely valuable.
Customer Base to Target as Your Beta Testers
Determine how many beta testers are required to render an accurate cross section of consumers to collect the information you’re after. Then figure out what functional areas you want the testing to cover, and divide those up accordingly.
When you’re deciding whom to approach to be your beta testers, go through your database of customers who have demonstrated the most/longest loyalty factor to your company. Most of the time, they will be the most likely to respond positively about getting on board with the testing, and enthusiastic about being able to contribute their opinion.
You might also consider asking these same loyal customers if they have friends they would feel comfortable suggesting to you as potential additional beta testers. Sometimes it’s very helpful to get objective input from “outsiders” who have no preconceived notions about your specific company or its offerings, and may have additional insight about some of your competitors and how you stack up against them.
When you send out your solicitations to testers, make sure they understand that they’re expected to utilize the software regularly, and to provide meaningful and detailed feedback about its functionality, user-friendliness, and any other additional input they care to offer.
What Beta Testing is NOT
Even after you’ve chosen the best testing software for your beta phase, it’s a good idea to recap what you shouldn’t expect your beta testing to do or provide. So here’s a snapshot of what beta testing on its own merit is NOT:
- Beta testing is not a sales tool to help your sales team close deals still in their funnel
- Beta testing should not be used as a substitute for usability testing
- It’s not a good idea to use beta testing alone for proper design
- It should never be viewed as a substitute for quality assurance
- Beta testing shouldn’t be confined solely to the product design or product management departments of your company
Once you’ve decided upon the best testing software for your beta testing, be sure the results are monitored frequently as the data from testers comes back; whomever is on the team(s) doing the monitoring keeps up their duties and reports the collective results to their departmental head honchos, if not directly to you. Happy testing!
