One thing I have often noticed is how when you’re uncovering/discovering/gathering requirements (yes, I know I used three terms here, but they are all valid definitions for the activity,) executives often tell product managers to “go talk to our customers.”
I get it. Our customers have used the product/service, can express ideas and thoughts in context, and – assuming they are pleased with you – are generally willing to clear some time. I did this in my last role. I would use our own events to speak with clients about the services they did/did not use, perceptions, influences, etc. But, I kept losing the battle on the inside.
What battle? The battle that says the market is more than our customers. Our customers already have been sold on what the product/service has to offer. Sure they may want to make changes, but they saw the light and purchased. What about the rest?
You can do a win/loss analysis, talking with those who did not purchase. You find out why or why not? What features/offerings were missing? Was it a cost isse? Or, even worse, a sales issue? But, again, you are still missing the boat here.
The market is not inside your active customer/prospect base. Executives need to encourage product management to look beyond the list. Find those who have not engaged with your product/service offering? Look at the competitors’ customers list (and you know they feature the showcased accounts on their Web site just like you do on yours,) scan the community postings, review the job boards for people in the market where you want to take your product.
Your current base already has purchased and seen the light. Your development teams aren’t buying. Looking in from the outside, isn’t the group of people you are seeking to learn from the group with whom you don’t already have a relationship? Find them.
And, tell your executives that this is the group that will offer the outside-in valued view.
[UPDATE: I no sooner hit publish on this and head over to my reader to see David Meerman Scott wrote about the same subject today. Who knew I would be on the same wave length as one of the good ones. Go figure? ]
