Ask HN: How to do a private beta right? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to do a private beta right?

2 points_xnmw2 comments

So I've built a SaaS MVP (B2B enterprise). I guess the next step is private beta, because we're not ready to open the floodgates to the public. How are private betas usually managed? Would really appreciate anyone's experience with this matter. What does the funnel usually look like? Is it ok if we don't have automatic credit card subscriptions yet, and I manually invoice our private beta customers? What are the expectations at this stage in terms of customer experience?

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I have launched some micro-saas products for B2B to give you some background for me. Here is what I typicality have in place for a private beta: 1) Intercom for easy communication in-app 2) Google Analytics for general page tracking 3) Amplitude for tracking granular user actions 4) Rollbar for tracking errors when users don't report issues (you would be surprised how often users don't communicate small or even larger issues to you) 5) I make sure I have some basic self-help tools in the app for betas such as password resets, etc. That is it for basic tools I've used for SaaS betas. As for the private beta itself, I always try to schedule some in-person meets, or virtual screenshares once a week or every few weeks to get a list of issues, wants, etc. that each user has about the product, I then compile all of that feedback into Waffle or Trello so I can get a count of which issues are the most pressing or most requested. As for the funnel, I am not entirely sure what you mean, but as users give me feedback and as I work through their issues / updates I try to position the conversation as if we fix X, Y, and Z or add X, Y, and Z will you pay us (whatever amount) for the subscription. It's good to get them to commit to the next step even if its 6 months out. Also, yes it is completely okay if you take invoices vs. having an automated system. They should understand where you are at since you are not officially launched and be empathetic to that, if not, they are probably not the best fit for the beta. The biggest expectation is they are their to provide you with valuable feedback so you can make this the perfect tool for them an any future customer that looks like them. Hope that answers all of your questions.

We did a private beta when launching Honeybadger.io, and it worked really well. We reached out to people we knew who would be good customers, had them go through the same signup flow we planned to use after launch, and had them enter payment information and get billed (so we could test everything). We offered these first customers a special, low-priced plan as a thank-you for helping us test the product.

I think it would be fine to do manual invoicing for this group of customers if you don't have your credit card processing in place yet. These first customers should be ones who will understand that they are testing, so not everything will work. On the flip side, though, you should be prepared to offer them excellent service, responding quickly to any issues they encounter. These customers can become a great source for referrals for additional customers if you treat them well, so treat them well. :)

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