{"id":15486,"date":"2016-02-22T12:00:03","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/?p=15486"},"modified":"2016-02-22T12:00:03","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T12:00:03","slug":"why-all-product-feedback-is-not-created-equal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/why-all-product-feedback-is-not-created-equal\/","title":{"rendered":"Why All Product Feedback Is Not Created Equal"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a Product Manager in the past, I had a love\/hate relationship with feedback. \u00a0On the surface, I loved<\/em> it. \u00a0After all, I’m no psychic. \u00a0I don’t know exactly<\/em> which new features or products that, when implemented, would change the course for our business. \u00a0Sure, I might have an idea. \u00a0But getting real, legitimate feedback (especially from customers) was always welcomed in order to validate the ideas and hypotheses that I had.<\/p>\n

Yet, there was a part of me that always got a little bit stressed about getting feedback. \u00a0Because while everybody thinks that the feedback they give is of utmost importance, the reality is that it’s not. \u00a0In fact, most feedback\u00a0is actually not<\/em> going to have much value by itself. \u00a0As a product person, this might sound blasphemous, but it’s true. \u00a0More on this in a bit. \u00a0But it may not be obviously apparent whether that piece of feedback you’re receiving in the moment is actually going to be valid right at the moment. \u00a0And that’s the part that might have caused a headache or two.<\/p>\n

Here’s why not all feedback you’ll receive as a product manager is going to have the same value:<\/p>\n

First, consider the source. \u00a0<\/strong>Did the piece of feedback come from the sales team? \u00a0Was it from the marketing department? \u00a0The CEO? \u00a0Directly from one of your customers? \u00a0In each of these cases, there could be valid reasons why that feedback is directly relevant to your product. \u00a0But on the flip side, there are reasons why it might not. \u00a0Regardless, pause and ask yourself\u00a0to consider the relationship your product has with the individual passing along the feedback. \u00a0If they’re intimately involved in some way (i.e. a power user within one of your target segments, somebody on the front lines who interacts with one of these people every day, etc) — it could very well be that this feedback is gold. \u00a0However, if they’re really not involved much in your product or how it’s used by customers, it’s not unhelpful<\/em> at all, but it certainly might not have the same weight.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, this can be tough. \u00a0For instance, what happens when the CEO is providing feedback — and she’s been more involved with fundraising these days then digging in on product and customer needs? \u00a0Are you going to tell her the feedback she’s giving isn’t useful? \u00a0Of course not. \u00a0But it doesn’t mean that you have to treat it as gold either. \u00a0You might want to consider a follow-up meeting placing her feedback next to the others and have an open discussion about who\u00a0each piece of feedback originated from and why it was given. \u00a0You could make a short list of items to test and validate, including hers (giving her the benefit of the doubt as CEO). \u00a0Regardless, just don’t blindly accept it and treat it as the best piece of feedback you’ll receive from anyone.<\/p>\n

Even if it’s coming from a customer, consider the source.<\/strong>\u00a0 I sometimes hear from CEO’s that the best kind of feedback they could receive about a product is directly from their customer. \u00a0Some even go as far as to say that if a customer asks them about a feature they don’t have and they’re “willing to pay for it”, the company will immediately put add that feature to the top of the queue. \u00a0I die a little bit inside each time I hear this. \u00a0Because even with customers, not all feedback is going to be helpful.<\/p>\n

For example, many people using Hubspot (or even those coming from the ad world) are familiar with the term, “persona.” \u00a0Essentially, this is a detailed description of one of your customers (literally down to giving them an actual name). \u00a0At any given time, though, you may only be focusing on a handful of personas. \u00a0Feedback from customers that live within these key persona groups should especially be treated with priority. \u00a0Again, the feedback you’ll receive from others isn’t altogether unhelpful. \u00a0But if it’s not coming from a key segment your company is focused on, it’s not going to have the same weight.<\/p>\n

Consider the overall strategy.<\/strong>\u00a0 Aside from thinking more about who the feedback is coming from, it’s important to consider whether that feedback point (or any ideas generated from them) impacts your company’s execution of its overall strategy. \u00a0Product strategy should always be an extension of the company’s<\/em> strategy. \u00a0If the company’s overall strategy really isn’t clear to you, stop reading this post, and set up a meeting with your CEO (or VP of Product) right this moment. \u00a0It’s critical that you understand the path your company is attempting to take.<\/p>\n

Bringing it back around to the feedback you’re receiving, the more attached a piece of feedback is to a core component of your company’s strategy, the more important you should treat it.<\/p>\n

So, if much of the feedback I’m getting isn’t going to be as relevant or important as other feedback points, should I just ignore it? \u00a0Should I just tell people that aren’t intimately involved with the product or how it’s used that their feedback isn’t actually important?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unequivocally… no!<\/p>\n

Despite all of the above, it’s critical to encourage a culture where everybody is open and free with the feedback and ideas that they share with you. \u00a0It’s important for many reasons. \u00a0Here are just a couple:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. There will absolutely be times when somebody that’s removed from the product passes feedback along that, when validated, actually is quite relevant. \u00a0This is where your intuition as a product person will come in handy. \u00a0Because despite the person not being on the front lines, it’s your job as a product person to judge the feedback and determine whether it should be tested immediately.<\/li>\n
  2. The greater number of people that provide feedback to you, the more visible any type of patterns that emerge will be. \u00a0And it is important to look for these patterns. \u00a0When similar feedback is coming from all different groups within your company or customer base, it’s certainly worth spending time to determine why it’s coming in.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, is all product feedback equal? \u00a0No. \u00a0it’s just not. \u00a0And as a product person, it’s important for you to realize this and prioritize as such. \u00a0Yet, it doesn’t mean that you should actually discourage any sort of person to provide you with such feedback. \u00a0As while it’s unequal, every piece of feedback you receive should still be considered has having some<\/em> value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As a Product Manager in the past, I had a love\/hate relationship with feedback. \u00a0On the surface, I loved it. \u00a0After all, I’m no psychic. \u00a0I don’t know exactly which new features or products that, when implemented, would change the course for our business. \u00a0Sure, I might have an idea. \u00a0But getting real, legitimate feedback […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy All Product Feedback is Not Created Equal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Often times, product managers receive feedback from so many types of people: executives, customers, salespeople, and more. 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