Top Reasons Not to Treat Your Customers Like Beta Testers

Once upon a time, companies spent months and, in some cases even years refining software and resolving bugs before sending a finished product out to their customers. They wanted to make sure that everything was just right prior to the software launch, since any lingering bugs could damage their reputation among customers and prevent their products from selling.

And yet, there are many companies—including Microsoft, Apple and Google—that are routinely releasing new products with conspicuous software bugs in them these days. They use their customers like beta testers, and many smaller companies are following this example. However, this could be a drastic mistake. Here’s why:

It only works for free products

Companies that push out apps or updates with bugs do so because they believe they can always fix the bugs with future software patches. This puts customers into a tricky spot and forces them to act like beta testers at the beginning of a product’s lifespan. Doing so works for companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google because, in many cases, they are pushing free products, so releasing them in “beta” form doesn’t hurt business.

Customers want perfection for something they paid for

Customers are less inclined to complain about bugs if they are using a free product. But if you are selling a product that is filled with software issues, it’s a much different story. Customers are going to be frustrated if they spend their hard-earned money on your software only to find it’s riddled with bugs. They want a perfect product, not one that is still being tested. As such, you should seriously consider conducting a thorough beta test prior to the release of a product.

Beta Breakers can help make this process simpler for you with our industry-leading quality assurance and application testing services. Our goal is to help software developers deliver a polished, finished product. To learn more about our software testing services, call us at 415-878-2990 today.