Aligning Product Features With Customer Feedback

Your Product Managers are talking to customers. So why isn’t your product getting better? A few years ago, I was on a team where our boss had a rule: 🗣️ “Everyone must talk to at least one customer each week.” So we did. Calls were scheduled. Conversations happened. Boxes were checked. But nothing changed. No real insights. No real impact. Because talking to customers isn’t the goal. Learning the right things is. When discovery lacks purpose, it leads to wasted effort, misaligned strategy, and poor business decisions: ❌ Features get built that no one actually needs. ❌ Roadmaps get shaped by the loudest voices, not the right customers. ❌ Teams collect insights… but fail to act on them. How Do You Fix It? ✅ Talk to the Right People Not every customer insight is useful. Prioritize: -> Decision-makers AND end-users – You need both perspectives. -> Customers who represent your core market – Not just the loudest complainers. -> Direct conversations – Avoid proxy insights that create blind spots. 👉 Actionable Step: Before each interview, ask: “Is this customer representative of the next 100 we want to win?” If not, rethink who you’re talking to. ✅ Ask the Right Questions A great question challenges assumptions. A bad one reinforces them. -> Stop asking: “Would you use this?” -> Start asking: “How do you solve this today?” -> Show AI prototypes and iterate in real-time – Faster than long discovery cycles. -> If shipping something is faster than researching it—just build it. 👉 Actionable Step: Replace one of your upcoming interview questions with: “What workarounds have you created to solve this problem?” This reveals real pain points. ✅ Don’t Let Insights Die in a Doc Discovery isn’t about collecting insights. It’s about acting on them. -> Validate across multiple customers before making decisions. -> Share findings with your team—don’t keep them locked in Notion. -> Close the loop—show customers how their feedback shaped the product. 👉 Actionable Step: Every two weeks, review customer insights with your team to decipher key patterns and identify what changes should be applied. If there’s no clear action, you’re just collecting data—not driving change. Final Thought Great discovery doesn’t just inform product decisions—it shapes business strategy. Done right, it helps teams build what matters, align with real customer needs, and drive meaningful outcomes. 👉 Be honest—are your customer conversations actually making a difference? If not, what’s missing? -- 👋 I'm Ron Yang, a product leader and advisor. Follow me for insights on product leadership + strategy.

Customer Success Leaders—If you're not actively shaping the Product Roadmap, you're missing a critical opportunity. The most effective organizations don’t treat CS as a participant—they rely on it as a strategic partner. Product teams should be co-designing the future with their customers. That means: ✅ Understanding emerging use cases and evolving needs ✅ Enhancing the product based on real customer insights ✅ Prioritizing with business impact and revenue in mind In today’s market—where consolidation, cost-cutting, and efficiency are top priorities—building a product that truly solves business challenges is the difference between success and irrelevance. So, how do you drive better alignment between CS and Product? Here’s what I've seen work: 1️⃣ Lead with Data & Insights -Identify the most adopted and least adopted product features -Pinpoint where customers are dropping off and why -Find personas and use cases that drive the most value -Look for patterns and trends across your customer base 2️⃣ Support Data with Customer Stories -Conduct interviews and surveys to capture direct feedback -Dive into workflows and edge cases to understand nuances -Align product evolution with customer goals and business objectives 3️⃣ Prioritize Product Feedback Strategically -Leverage customer data to rank impact and urgency -Tie feedback to revenue—renewals, expansions, and upsells -Ensure recommendations align with the broader product vision 4️⃣ Maintain an Open Dialogue -Establish a structured collaboration rhythm (bi-weekly syncs, Slack channels, shared roadmaps) -Keep all teams informed on designs, timelines, and priorities -Be clear, concise, and adaptable—Product is balancing competing priorities across the org 5️⃣ Close the Loop—Every Time -Set clear expectations with customers early and often -Enable Product teams to engage directly with customers for firsthand learning -Continue gathering feedback even after launch (beta programs, customer advisory boards) At the end of the day, great products are built by teams who stay close to the customer. CS should not be a passive observer in product development—it should be a driving force. When you get this right, you influence retention, expansion, and advocacy. And that’s a business win. __________________ 📣 If you liked my post, you’ll love my newsletter. Every week I share learnings, advice and strategies from my experience going from CSM to CCO. Join 12k+ subscribers of The Journey and turn insights into action. Sign up on my profile.

Your customers lie to you, probably not intentionally. But telling hard truths can be scary. They want to be nice about it. But that’s not helpful for the future of your business. What customers say when they churn vs. what they actually mean: "Your product is missing features" = "Your product doesn't solve MY specific problem" "It's too expensive" = "I'm not getting enough value" "We had budget cuts" = "You weren't essential enough to keep" "The UX is confusing" = "The value isn't worth the effort" As CS leaders, we're trained to take these feedback points and turn them into action plans. But are we hearing what customers are really telling us? Behind every churn reason is a deeper message about value alignment. The question isn't just "How do we fix this issue?" but "Is this the right customer for our solution?" Here's what savvy CS leaders do with each type of feedback: When they say "Missing Features": → Most teams build a roadmap item and promise it for next quarter → Smart CS teams ask: "Which customers succeed without this feature? How are they solving this problem with our current product?" Gather these success stories and either: • Share alternative approaches with similar customers • Use them to refine your targeting toward customers who fit your current solution When they say "Too Expensive": → Most teams offer discounts or create cheaper tiers → Smart CS teams investigate: "Where are we failing to demonstrate value?" This usually means: • Your onboarding isn't highlighting the right use cases • Your metrics aren't aligned with their business outcomes • Your CSMs aren't speaking the language of value When they say "Budget Cuts": → Most teams accept it as unavoidable and move on → Smart CS teams recognize this as the ultimate value failure and ask: "Why weren't we essential?" Then they: • Interview decision-makers to understand prioritization criteria • Adjust success plans to align with executive priorities • Build value frameworks that speak directly to budget holders When they say "Confusing UX": → Most teams send it to product and hope for a fix → Smart CS teams dig deeper: "What specific value were they trying to unlock?" Then they: • Create targeted enablement materials for those specific use cases • Develop more prescriptive implementation approaches • Simplify by removing options, not adding more "intuitive" features