Member-only story
How Much Should Clients Influence your Product Roadmap?
If you’re in a B2B company, especially with enterprise clients, you likely face this conversation with your sales team on at least a quarterly basis:
Account Manager: “I just had a great call with Acme Co! They are very positive on moving forward but wondered if X feature is possible now or on our roadmap.”
Product Manager: “Hmm, I’m glad it went well. But no, we haven’t gotten that request before and it’s not currently planned. What’s their need?”
Account Manager: “Well they insinuated that not having it was going to slow down the deal. Can I loop you in on the next call with them so you can learn more?”
Sigh. You don’t want to be on sales calls hearing random requests from potential clients who aren’t even giving you money yet. But you do want new revenue in the fourth quarter.
What do you do?
Customers Inform, They Don’t Control
Customers should inform your roadmap. They don’t get to clobber it. If you’re feeling frustrated with how vocal your customer base is, try thinking of it this way: You have a group of users so engaged with your product that they are willing to suggest additions, changes, and fixes that would make them love it even more.
