The open question example that revealed surprising user motivations

Just finished analyzing responses from our last user survey and honestly shocked by what people actually said when we asked open-ended questions.

The assumptions we had about why users upgrade were completely wrong. Makes me wonder what other blind spots we have in our funnel.

What have you discovered that totally changed your approach?

We surveyed users who cancelled their trial, expecting to hear pricing complaints.

Turns out most loved the app but felt “guilty” using it at work. It looked too much like entertainment.

So we made the UI more professional and added a “focus mode” without the fun animations. Trial conversions jumped 28%.

Would’ve never caught that just looking at funnel data.

People upgrade for unexpected reasons. We focused on advanced analytics, but most users simply wanted to remove the watermark on their exports. When we shifted our messaging to highlight that feature, conversions increased by 40% in two weeks. It’s crucial to explore why users hesitate to upgrade, as their reasons can provide valuable insights.

Focusing on daily problems gives you better insight into user needs. People often upgrade to save time rather than for complicated features. This approach really shifted how I present what the app offers.

Users will surprise you. They’ll want features you barely thought about. Keep asking questions - that’s how you learn what they actually need.

Users upgrade for hidden reasons we often miss