Mastering Customer Feedback – A guide for Product Managers | Bonus : 10 Questions to Refine Your Product

Introduction

For product managers, the pulse of a successful product often beats in tandem with the rhythm of customer feedback. Artfully crafting and selecting the right product survey questions is a skill that sets great product managers apart. They tread the line between triumph and disaster by actively engaging with their target audience in honest conversations. The true goldmine of product feedback emerges from questions that are as clear as a mountain stream, scenarios that unfold organically, and masterful use of the time spent with customers.

Understanding Product Surveys

Before we dive into the questions, let’s understand what a product survey is. It’s a strategic tool used by businesses to collect invaluable feedback from their existing and potential customers. These surveys unravel the mysteries of customer needs and desires, offering insights into product user experience, functionality or offered solution by the product, and its market fit.

Best Practices for Product Surveys:

Customer satisfaction surveys are a powerful resource for product managers, offering feedback from a wide array of clients. However, to extract meaningful data, you must tread cautiously:

  • Question Craftsmanship: Design surveys with the utmost care, avoiding leading questions. Seek input from stakeholders to refine your list of questions.
  • Consider the Customer’s Perspective: Ensure your survey aligns with the customer’s mindset. Embed surveys within your product’s user interface to maximize engagement, as opposed to traditional email surveys that often go unnoticed. Since in-app is very intrusive, it is not recommended for elaborative survey questions. The survey has to be crisp, short and focused.
  • Gamify for Engagement: Implement elements like progress bars or “1/10” indicators to keep respondents engaged, increasing response rates.

5 Crucial Product Survey Questions:

Elicit valuable feedback with simple and direct questions:

    • Goal Accomplishment: “Using this product helps me accomplish my goal.” (Disagree/Agree)
    • Recommendation Likelihood: “How likely are you to recommend this product to a friend or colleague?” (0 – 10)
    • User Identification: “Which of the descriptions below best matches you?” (Provide choices)
    • Ease of Use: “How easy is this product to use?” (1 – 10)
    • Preference Over Competitors: “How likely are you to use this product over similar platforms?” (1 – 10)

Leveraging Product/Market Fit Surveys: 

Connecting with your customers through product survey questions can help you gauge your product’s product/market fit. This is the ability of your product to satisfy a specific market’s needs. To measure this fit, you can employ Product/Market Fit (PMF) surveys. For instance, ask, “How would you feel if you could no longer use [product]?” (Not disappointed, Mildly disappointed, Very disappointed). 

If 40% answer “Very disappointed,” you’ve achieved product/market fit.

5 Powerful Customer Interview Questions: 

Open-ended questions as shown below, inspire valuable insights:

  • General Impressions: “What do you think of X product?” This simple question opens the door to diverse thoughts and feelings about your product.
  • Improvement Suggestions: “If you were the product manager for this product, what would you improve and why?” Encourage customers to suggest features, even if they may not always align with your plans.
  • Usage Process Walkthrough: “Could you walk me through, step by step, your process for using this product?” This question immerses customers in their experience and offers insight into what prompts their product use.
  • Emotional Impact: “How does this product make you feel?” Understanding the emotional component of product usage is crucial, as products connecting emotionally with users often enjoy more success.
  • Areas of Discontent: “What do you dislike about this product?” Delving into potential areas of dissatisfaction is essential for improvement.

 

Effective Customer Interviews: 

Face-to-face interactions with customers offer a chance to explore insights and delve deeper into their experiences. Consider these best practices for customer interviews:

  • Value of Time: Respect your customer’s time by asking pertinent questions concisely and recording interviews if possible.
  • Engagement: Initiate the discussion with an open-ended question like “What are your concerns as it relates to…” to ensure an engaged and comfortable customer. Take notes or record Zoom calls for reference.

Why Customer Feedback is a Product Manager’s North Star

In essence, customer feedback offers a window into people’s perceptions of a product or service. Picture yourself as a product manager eager to make your favorite tech company’s product better. While you may have great ideas, only customer feedback can reveal how your changes affect the people they’re meant to help.

One of the most significant risks in product management is investing time and effort into a product that doesn’t meet your client’s needs. Customer feedback ensures that you remain on course, saving your company resources and boosting team morale.

Embracing Change and Customer Attitudes: The world is ever-changing, and attitudes and trends evolve. Ignoring these shifts is a recipe for failure. For instance, consider the tale of Blockbuster. Once a thriving video rental store, it faltered in the face of changing customer expectations and technology advancements.

 

Story time: 

Blockbuster’s decline is a classic example of a company’s failure to adapt to changing consumer preferences and technological shifts. Once a dominant force in the video rental industry, Blockbuster lost ground due to the rise of the internet and digital technology. Netflix’s disruptive approach, offering online DVD rentals and later streaming content, proved highly successful and highlighted Blockbuster’s inability to embrace innovation. Blockbuster’s failure to purchase Netflix when it had the chance and its slow response to changing customer expectations led to a decline in revenue and, ultimately, bankruptcy. This tale underscores the importance of staying responsive to evolving consumer attitudes and leveraging technology to remain competitive. It serves as a stark reminder that even industry leaders can face obsolescence if they ignore changing customer needs. Listening to customer feedback and adapting accordingly is a vital strategy for long-term success. Embracing customer feedback can prevent a Blockbuster-like situation. It ensures that your product is continuously in sync with your customer’s needs and preferences. Engage in customer interviews with thoughtful questions to remain agile and attuned to evolving preferences.

Our Two Cents

The Unyielding Relevance of Customer Feedback –  As a product manager, you are the internal customer of your organization. Your purpose and what you’re best at, is to convey the customer’s perspective and ensure your product truly caters to their needs. Employing these strategies will establish a strong foundation for obtaining customer feedback, the North Star guiding your product’s course.