Have you built a beta program? What's the best way to get customer feedback -- in-product questions, surveys, live conversations, or other?

I have, a few times! To establish a Beta program, I would work closely with customer success and product as both stakeholders are needed to keep a beta program running smoothly. Define what good looks like between your stakeholders along with ownership areas and key responsibilities. CS should help determine best fit customers/beta participants, product should validate product efficacy/capture feedback to inform performance, and PMM should orchestrate it all - connect the dots and grab authentic messaging/use cases to inform larger launch moments. Establish non-negotiables for launch with product like: beta participants must verify the feature solves the scoped use case(s). If bugs are surfaced, do they block the launch or can they be prioritized as a fast follow post launch? Also, the best way to get feedback in my opinion is live via customer insight sessions. Your product team likely has these scheduled, so I suggest riding along and asking questions. If not, work with CS to grab time with customers and if you can't get the time - use surveys as a plan b. But nothing can substitute the value of an authenticate conversation!

Yes! I love this question. Betas are SO important. I think all 3 are great options. It depends what you are looking for. If you're doing a large Beta (50+ customers) I would rely more on surveys so you can get more feedback, faster -- and then hand pick a number (say 10) for deeper dive phone conversations to dig into some of their feedback. 

If you're beta is smaller, I would go live conversation all the way. In-app is good too but I think with a beta you need to gently nudge/remind customers to give the feedback. In-App is always a good option but I wouldn't ever rely on it soley (unless you have incredible response rates from it). 

Generally at Zendesk, we like to do a mix for beta programs. Depending on the size and goal of the beta program, we’ve conducted a mix of surveys through the product + had some live conversations with a select number of customers (or you could even do a focus group by interviewing 2-3 different customers at the same time!) to collect additional qualitative data. During the beta customer feedback process is also a great time to lock in some customer testimonials from happy beta users :) - don’t miss out testimonials (yes, even for betas!) as they are a great proof point to use in your internal and external marketing materials!

Yes, beta programs are critical to successfully bringing products to market. First, they allow you to gather feedback from early users, which can help you identify and address any issues or concerns before the full launch. This is both related to the product completness and usability, but gaining a deeper understanding of value, the messaging, the target audienc, and informing HOW to launch – not just what to launch. Additionally, beta products can help generate excitement and anticipation around your product, as people may be eager to get early access and be among the first to try it out.

For feedback, there is no silver bullet – just intentionality:

• In-product survey are good – but product usage data (shoutout my former employer Amplitude) is as if not more important. What do people actually do versus say after the fact in a survey
• Must have live conversations with users. "Customer is part of the team". 
• Market research - what is the broader opportunity, market perception, competitive landscape. This should start before beta but still can inform beta.