A few years in the past, I used to be a product supervisor over the API of an enterprise advertising platform. I sought suggestions from customer support, builders, gross sales, advertising… and most significantly… our clients. Whereas many individuals utilized our UI for the duties that we centered on, I used to be virtually at all times surprised at how progressive clients included some superb options. Particular to e mail, right here had been just a few discoveries:
- QR Codes: Using substitution strings in picture supply URLs, I discovered that our clients had carried out their QR code libraries to show personalised, trackable coupons in e mail.
- Countdowns: We discovered that firms constructed animated GIF e mail countdown timers to show of their emails. Because the person opened the e-mail and requested the picture, it precisely counted down for every subscriber in another way.
- Click on Polls: Whereas we had constructed a tough resolution for capturing kind submissions from e mail shoppers that supported it (only a few), we discovered that our shoppers constructed trackable hyperlinks that automated voting the place they might click on a easy hyperlink within the e mail to a vacation spot web page that counted one vote per subscriber.
Whereas none of those options had been on our product roadmap, once I questioned potential and present shoppers on whether or not they’d be useful, their eyes lit up. They had been all options that would differentiate us kind our competitors, had been extremely widespread with e mail entrepreneurs, and incorporating them within the core product would allow our clients to get higher enterprise outcomes.
Buyer Innovation
Too many firms depend upon inside sources for innovation. I’m not saying that firms can’t create a tradition of innovation internally, I’d argue that true innovation occurs whenever you uncover what drives worth together with your clients, prospects, and your competitors’s clients.
And as a product supervisor, it’s essential to grasp that your position extends past listening to buyer suggestions about your present platform. To actually create worth and drive success, you will need to dive deeper and achieve a complete understanding of how your clients are using your product to construct worth for his or her organizations.
It’s simple to imagine that you recognize every little thing about your product and the way it ought to be used. Nevertheless, your clients are sometimes simply as good and artistic as your individual group. They create a wealth of numerous views, experiences, and problem-solving abilities to the desk. When hundreds of shoppers use your software program, you’ve entry to an unimaginable pool of expertise and innovation.
Your shoppers will inevitably discover distinctive and sudden methods to leverage your product to help their particular enterprise processes. They are going to push the boundaries, uncover workarounds, and establish areas for enchancment that you could have by no means thought-about. That is the place the magic occurs – when your clients develop into integral to your product’s evolution.
Embracing this actuality requires a shift in mindset. As an alternative of being stunned or resistant when shoppers use your product in unconventional methods, embrace it as a possibility for development and innovation. Open your ears and eyes to their suggestions, experiences, and artistic options. Use this invaluable enter to drive your product in new instructions, deal with unmet wants, and unlock its full potential.
Bear in mind, your consumer’s success is instantly tied to your success. You create a win-win scenario by empowering them to make the most of your product in ways in which greatest help their enterprise processes. You foster a tradition of collaboration, belief, and mutual development, resulting in elevated buyer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.
Key Takeaways
- Embrace the creativity and innovation of your clients. They’re a invaluable supply of insights and concepts that may drive your product ahead.
- Actively search and hearken to buyer suggestions. Transcend surface-level listening and attempt to grasp how they’re using your product to construct worth for his or her organizations.
- Foster a tradition of collaboration and partnership together with your shoppers. Encourage open communication and be receptive to their distinctive views and options.
- Use buyer insights to tell product improvement and enhancements. Permit their experiences to information your product roadmap and prioritize options that align with their wants.
- Have a good time and showcase your clients’ success tales. Spotlight how they’ve innovatively leveraged your product to attain their targets. This validates your product’s worth and evokes different clients to assume creatively.
By embracing the total potential of your clients and empowering them to make the most of your product in ways in which greatest serve their wants, you unlock a world of potentialities for what you are promoting. You create a virtuous cycle of innovation, development, and success that advantages everybody concerned.
