14 DAY TRIAL // The Windows Insider program was launched by Microsoft with much fanfare back in October 2014 when it officially started work on Windows 10, asking users to participate in the development effort and try out early versions of each OS update before the public launch.
The whole program turned out to be extremely successful, and according to new stats provided by Microsoft, no less than 10 million users are currently running preview builds of Windows 10 and helping the company develop new features or improve the existing ones.
Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President, Windows and Devices Group, praised the Insider program in a post on LinkedIn, explaining that what Microsoft is trying to do right now is becoming a company that’s treating customers like family, getting them involved in products that have always been developed behind closed doors.
“We have had one of these unbelievable experiences with our Windows 10 Insider program. We count over 10M Windows Insiders today, many of them fans, who test and use the latest build of Windows 10 on a daily basis. Their feedback comes fast and furious, they have a relentless bar of what they expect, but it so inspires our team and drives our very focus on a daily basis,” Mehdi explains.
Getting in touch with customers
He goes on to point out that working together with users is part of the effort to create “exceptional products,” emphasizing that responding to feedback is an essential thing in this relationship.
“Every interaction with the customer after that is more important and should build a deeper relationship. Customers should feel like they have joined a community – a family. Don't be a faceless company. Enable your fans to interact with real people at your company, people who are fans themselves. This requires real commitment, time and effort. A fan is not only going to tell you what they think, but they are going to expect to hear back, to see you take action on their feedback,” he says.
Even though Microsoft seems to value so much the relationship with its customers, the company isn’t really using the same approach for every product. And the best example here is mobile phones. Windows 10 Mobile is collapsing and the uncertainty regarding the platform’s future is what drives many users to Android and iOS, with Microsoft itself remaining completely tight-lipped on its mobile vision.