However, I've noticed not all SAAS companies use transparent feedback collection sites like this. Is there any specific reason why? The only downside I could think of is the potential diversion of traffic from social networks.
On that note, does anyone here have experience with similar services? UserVoice seems great, but it's too pricey for my budget. Any recommendations for alternatives?
Users will suggest a feature - and nothing happens for years. And because it's trivial to suggest even very complex features without skin in the game, you will end up with an endless Todo list that lives a ghost life adjacent to your issue tracker.
It sounds great in theory but the reality is that these solutions expose the inner workings of companies and mostly it means seeing how broken product development.
Take for instance Raindrop.io. It has a public feedback platform like the one you describe and it's depressing and worrying seeing how features and bugs stay in dev limbo for years without any meaningful progress.