SaaS: why your terms and conditions should govern customer feedback

Every customer feedback is a gold mine for a SaaS company. This is often the best way to improve the service, to refine the product and, more generally, to make your business evolve.

A reported bug, a feature suggestion, an improvement request: your users know what they need. By listening to this feedback, some SaaS companies have even completely pivoted their product, by discovering new uses or by prioritizing unexpected features.

But these returns are not only valuable in terms of products: they also have legal value.

Feedback, a source of innovation... and risk

Customer feedback guides your strategic choices. They can lead to the emergence of a new direction, strengthen your competitiveness against competitors and retain your users. But if your terms and conditions remain silent, a problem may arise.

In theory, the customer could claim to have rights to a feature that you developed based on their suggestions. He could argue that his idea contributed to innovation, and therefore claim an intellectual property right or a particular right.

In practice, this case remains rare. But it is not impossible. In a B2B context, some key account customers are particularly attentive to these aspects and may raise the issue during negotiations. It is therefore better to lock the subject in advance.

The risk of contractual silence

If your terms and conditions say nothing, you are leaving room for ambiguity. This grey area can be exploited by some customers to:

• claim a right to a new feature,
• obtain exclusivity on a feature by pretexting their contribution,
• slow down your developments through legal or contractual discussions,
• weigh in the negotiation of a future contract using this argument.

For a SaaS, whose logic is based on sharing and distributing to all users, this type of claim is contrary to the economic model.

How to secure your terms and conditions?

The solution is simple: include a specific clause governing the use of feedback. Three points should be clear:

1. Feedback belongs to the editor. All feedback, suggestions, ideas or requests for correction sent by the customer are deemed to belong to the SaaS company.
2. The SaaS company can use them freely. You need to be able to use this feedback without restriction, whether it's integrating a fix, improving a feature, or developing a new option.
3. The following developments remain your exclusive property. Even if a new feature is the direct result of customer feedback, the development carried out remains exclusively your intellectual property.

A simple case to avoid

Some editors consider this risk to be improbable and prefer not to specify anything. But it is useless to leave this door open. A well-written clause costs nothing, and it avoids long and unnecessary discussions in the event of a dispute.

As part of a fundraising or contractual audit, your investors will check the solidity of your contracts. A void on this point may raise questions, if changes have been made at the request of customers. On the other hand, a clear clause reassures and shows that you are in control of your risks.

Conclusion

Customer feedback is an incomparable asset to improve a SaaS, but it must be secured contractually. Without a specific clause, you leave room for unexpected claims that can disrupt your product development.

By making it clear that the feedback belongs to the SaaS company, that you can use it freely and that the developments remain your exclusive property, you eliminate any ambiguity.

It's simple, but essential, protection. It secures your evolutions, protects your roadmap and allows you to continue to transform customer feedback into growth drivers.