app-review-analyzer

## Prerequisites

- **Chrome browser** with Claude in Chrome extension (for reading store reviews)
- No API keys required — all analysis is done through live browser interaction
- Supports **iOS App Store** and **Google Play Store**

## Mode Selection

Ask the user which mode they need:

1. **Competitive Analysis** — Analyze a competitor's reviews to find gaps and
   opportunities
2. **Own App Management** — Analyze your own app's reviews to prioritize fixes,
   surface feature requests, and draft professional responses

If the user provides a competitor's app, use Competitive Analysis mode. If they
mention "my app" or "our app," use Own App Management mode.

---

## Competitive Analysis Mode

### Step 1: Navigate to the App Listing

Open the app's store page in Chrome:

- **iOS App Store:** Search on apps.apple.com or use a direct link
- **Google Play:** Search on play.google.com or use a direct link

Confirm the correct app with the user before proceeding.

### Step 2: Collect Reviews Systematically

Read reviews in two passes:

1. **Most Recent** — Sort by newest first. Read at least 30-50 reviews to
   capture current sentiment.
2. **Most Critical** — Sort by lowest rating (1-star, then 2-star). Read at
   least 20-30 critical reviews to surface pain points.

For each review, note:

- Star rating
- Date posted
- Review text (key quotes)
- Whether the developer responded

### Step 3: Categorize Reviews

Assign each review to one or more theme categories:

| Category               | Signals                                                          |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Bug Reports**        | Crashes, errors, data loss, freezing, sync failures              |
| **Missing Features**   | "I wish it had...", "Why can't I...", "Needs..."                 |
| **UX Complaints**      | "Too complicated", "Can't find...", "Confusing", "Slow"          |
| **Pricing Objections** | "Too expensive", "Not worth it", "Used to be free"               |
| **Praise**             | Specific features users love, "best app for...", loyalty signals |
| **Support Complaints** | "No response", "Unhelpful", "Can't reach anyone"                 |

### Step 4: Produce the Analysis Report

Generate a structured report using the template in
`references/analysis-report-template.md`. The report must include:

1. **Theme Frequency Table** — Count of reviews per category, sorted by
   frequency
2. **Sentiment Trend** — Are recent reviews better or worse than older ones?
3. **Top 5 Pain Points** — With direct quotes from reviews
4. **Top 5 Praised Features** — Competitor strengths you must match or exceed
5. **Opportunity Summary** — Gaps you could fill, weaknesses to exploit

---

## Own App Management Mode

### Step 1: Navigate to Your App's Reviews

Open your app's store page in Chrome. Confirm the correct app.

### Step 2: Collect and Categorize Reviews

Follow the same collection process as Competitive Analysis (Steps 2-3 above).

### Step 3: Prioritize Issues

Score each theme by **Frequency x Severity**:

| Severity         | Definition                                               |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Critical (3)** | Data loss, crashes, security issues, payment failures    |
| **High (2)**     | Core functionality broken, major UX blockers             |
| **Medium (1)**   | Nice-to-have features, minor annoyances, cosmetic issues |

Calculate priority score: `count of reviews in theme x severity weight`

Sort themes by priority score descending. This is the fix-first order.

### Step 4: Draft Review Responses

For each negative review (1-3 stars), draft a response following the templates
in `references/response-templates.md`.

Key response principles:

- Respond within 24-48 hours — speed improves update likelihood
- Never be defensive or argumentative
- Personalize every response — reference specific details from their review
- Acknowledge the problem before offering solutions
- Include a direct contact method for follow-up when appropriate
- Keep responses concise (2-4 sentences for most cases)

Platform-specific notes:

- **iOS App Store:** Developer responses appear publicly under the review. Users
  receive a notification and can update their rating.
- **Google Play:** Developer responses also appear publicly. You can report
  policy-violating reviews (spam, off-topic, profanity) via the Play Console.

### Step 5: Produce the Action Plan

Generate a report using `references/analysis-report-template.md` with an
additional action plan section:

1. **Fix First** — Critical bugs and top pain points by priority score
2. **Add Next** — Most-requested features with user quotes as evidence
3. **Communicate** — Issues that need a public response or in-app messaging
4. **Monitor** — Themes to watch in future review cycles

---

## Review Category Quick Reference

Use this decision tree when categorizing ambiguous reviews:

```
Review mentions a crash/error/data loss?
  → Bug Report

Review says "I wish" or "please add" or "why can't I"?
  → Missing Feature

Review says "confusing" or "hard to use" or "can't find"?
  → UX Complaint

Review mentions price, subscription, cost, or payment?
  → Pricing Objection

Review says "no response" or "support" or "help"?
  → Support Complaint

Review is purely positive with no complaints?
  → Praise

Review has multiple themes?
  → Assign all applicable categories
```

## Resources

### references/

- **response-templates.md** — Detailed response templates for every review
  category with multiple variants each. Load when drafting review responses.
- **analysis-report-template.md** — Full markdown template for the analysis
  report output. Load when producing the final report.