3 Ways to identify actionable customer request by John Maleeq

 

1.   Ask yourself if this request represents an opportunity to bring in new customers.

Sometimes a feature request represents a logical extension to your existing product, but not enough of an improvement to the overall offering to entice new customers to buy.

You, of course, need to factor in the value of continually improving on your existing product as a strategy to maintain relationships with your existing customers. But at the same time, you need to remember that you are operating with finite resources. Therefore, you need to balance this retention strategy with an acquisition strategy as well.

2.   Ask yourself if acting on this request will serve your core persona, or if it’s spinning out to a new persona (possibly the wrong one).

You also need to do your due diligence before putting this new functionality on the product roadmap. You need to filter customer requests from these tangential personas. And you need to vet them carefully to make sure you’re not wasting time and money.

3.   Ask yourself if acting on this customer request will yield new functionality that people will actually pay for.

            Finally, run customer requests through a filter that asks, “Is thisomething    people would be willing to pay for?”

Often customers ask for functionalities, enhancements, or entirely new products that they sincerely believe they would use—even love. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they would pay for these products.

As a final piece of advice, one would argue that you should never act on a customer request—no matter how logical or even inspired that request seems—without first doing your due diligence.

Customer feedback can be helpful. Your intuition can be helpful, as well. But you need to support it all with strategic, thoughtful research.

Finally, be willing to let go. Be willing to let go of your ideas. Be willing to let go of your preconceived notions. Be willing to let go of that product that sustained the business, but will ultimately become an anchor that drags down your business. Stay focused and stop chasing unicorns and rainbows.

SOURCE:Peakpathwaymagazine