Validating customer needs in a world of “shiny objects”

Product marketing is a kaleidoscope of constant change, and it’s easy to get swept up by the latest trends and innovations. Feature lists grow like wishlists on Black Friday, each item promising to be the next "gamechanger."

It feels like almost everyday I see a new roadmap (potentially) derailed by AI prioritization. But amidst the excitement, there's one crucial question we often overlook: does anyone actually need this?

Validating customer needs is the cornerstone of successful product development. It's the difference between building a rocket ship to the moon and one destined for a backyard puddle. Just like in construction, where a sturdy foundation is essential, a product built on validated needs has a far greater chance of success.

And as product marketers, we have the unique opportunity to be the bridge between what the customers want, and what the product team puts on the roadmap. While this is not always an easy bridge to build, it is a critical one!

In this article, I’ll be focusing on:

Thinking beyond the "cool factor"

Imagine you're planning a dinner party. You browse Pinterest, marveling at elaborate centerpieces and gourmet recipes. You envision yourself as the ultimate host, impressing your guests with culinary feats and creative decorations (personally, I love a good theme). However, the reality might be:

You're short on time for grocery shopping and elaborate cooking.
Your friends are more interested in conversation and good company than fancy food presentations.
You live in a tiny apartment with limited counter space.

Failing to consider these real-world constraints (aka customer needs) could lead to a stressful experience for you and potentially leave your guests feeling overwhelmed.

The art of active listening: From dinner parties to product development

Just like planning a party, validating customer needs requires active listening. It's not about simply sending out surveys or conducting focus groups (though those can be helpful tools). It's about delving deeper, understanding the underlying motivations and pain points that drive customer behavior.

Here are some strategies to unearth truly valuable customer insights.

Customer interviews

Engage in in-depth conversations with potential customers. Ask open-ended questions, listen intently, and uncover the "why" behind their needs and frustrations.

This can reveal underlying motivations, pain points, and desires that may not be immediately apparent. Effective customer interviews involve asking probing questions, allowing the conversation to flow naturally, and creating a comfortable environment where customers feel free to share their thoughts and experiences.

Job shadowing

Observe your target audience in their natural environment – at work, shopping, or interacting with other products. See how they currently solve their problems and what challenges they face.

By observing their behaviors, routines, and interactions, you can gain insights into their actual needs, preferences, and pain points, which may differ from what they articulate in surveys or interviews. Job shadowing can uncover nuances and context that are difficult to capture through other methods.

Pay close attention to online conversations where your target audience gathers. Analyze their concerns, desires, and frustrations expressed on social media platforms and industry forums.

Social listening can help you identify pain points, unmet needs, and potential opportunities for innovation or improvement that you may have overlooked.

Building a product they actually need, not just want

Here’s another scenario. Imagine you're planning a camping trip with friends. You get swept up in the excitement and start buying all the coolest gear: a high-tech tent with a built-in projector, a solar-powered coffee maker, and a drone for filming your adventures.

However, when you reach the campsite, you realize your "cool" gear isn't very practical. The projector needs a lot of power, the coffee maker takes forever to brew, and the drone keeps getting stuck in trees. What you really needed were the basics: a sturdy tent that keeps out the rain, a reliable camp stove for hot meals, and a simple first-aid kit.

Building a product is similar. Focusing on flashy features can be tempting, but if they don't address real needs, they'll be useless (and potentially frustrating) to your users.

By actively listening and validating customer needs, you shift your focus from creating a "cool" product to building one that solves real problems and improves lives.

This approach leads to several benefits:

Increased user adoption: When your product addresses genuine needs and solves real problems, customers are more likely to adopt it and use it regularly. They become invested in its success and are more likely to advocate for it within their network.
Reduced development costs: By focusing on validated needs, you avoid investing time and resources into features that may not resonate with your target audience. This ensures your resources are focused on developing features that will have a tangible impact on your users.
Stronger brand loyalty: Products that solve customers' problems build trust and foster deeper connections with your brand, leading to long-term customer loyalty. Customers become advocates for your brand, spreading positive word-of-mouth and contributing to its overall success.

How to validate customers’ needs

I am guilty of this myself, but product marketers need to be more data-driven as they think about how to help inform and influence the roadmap.

I know we’re all strapped for time in our day-to-day work, but I recommend looking at various data analytics methods to identify areas for improvement and optimize the website, your “store front,” to better meet customer needs.

Here are some effective ways to leverage surveys and feedback in product development:

Create targeted surveys

I still use Survey Monkey, and I’m proud of it! Design surveys that are tailored to your target audience and specific product goals. Ask relevant questions that align with your research objectives and provide valuable information.

Analyze feedback from customer support channels

Collect and analyze customer feedback from various support channels, such as email, phone calls, and live chat. Identify common issues, concerns, and suggestions raised by customers to gain insights into their needs.

Use social media platforms to conduct polls and surveys - I like doing a poll on LinkedIn at least once a month. Ask your followers specific questions about their preferences, challenges, and interests related to your product.

Social media polls provide a quick and easy way to gather feedback from a large audience and build content around that as well.

Pro tip: Ask what their biggest challenges are for that quarter or what is keeping them up at night!

Utilize customer review platforms

Encourage customers to leave reviews and ratings on platforms like G2 and Trustpilot. These are goldmines for feedback! Analyze these reviews to identify areas where your product meets or falls short of customer expectations.

Engage in direct conversations with potential customers

Initiate conversations with potential customers through focus groups, interviews, or one-on-one discussions. Ask open-ended questions to understand their needs, motivations, and preferences. This direct interaction provides valuable insights into the customer perspective.

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Moving beyond surveys

Surveys can be a useful tool for gathering customer feedback, but they have inherent limitations. Response rates are often low, responses can be biased or superficial, and surveys only capture data at a single point in time.

To truly understand your customers' evolving needs, pain points, and desires, you need to move beyond traditional surveys and embrace more immersive, contextual research methods.

Market research

I love a good industry gap and competitive analysis. Where are there opportunities to deliver a better solution and/or fill unmet needs?

A key thing to remember here is that a competitive analysis does not just look at product offerings. While there might be a time and a place for a side-by-side feature comparison chart, looking at the marketing/messaging strategies and actual customer engagement is critical.

Consider this:

Marketing strategies: How are your competitors marketing their products or services? What channels are they using? What kind of messaging are they employing?
Customer engagement: How are your competitors engaging with their customers? What kind of customer service do they provide? How active are they on social media?
Industry involvement: Are your competitors involved in any industry organizations or events? Do they speak at conferences or publish articles in industry publications?
Financial performance: If possible, try to find out how your competitors are performing financially. This information can give you insights into their profitability and growth potential. It can also help you identify areas where you may be able to gain a competitive advantage.

Strengthening your positioning statements

When a competitor announces or launches a new product or feature that directly competes with one of your offerings, it can actually be viewed as a positive sign of market validation. It means there is demonstrated demand and interest in that type of product.

But, you can’t rest now. This is precisely the time when you need to clearly articulate how your product or feature is differentiated and superior to the alternatives.

Providing a well-crafted response that your sales team can use is incredibly important here. It allows them to proactively address the competitive threat and reinforce why your offering is the better choice for customers. This type of positioning statement should highlight your unique value proposition, key advantages, and areas where your solution outperforms the competition.

For example, you may emphasize:

Superior performance metrics,
A broader or deeper feature set,
Better integration capabilities,
A more intuitive user experience,
Stronger security/compliance story,
Or advantages stemming from your company's domain expertise and singular focus on this product area.

Backing up these claims with concrete evidence, customer anecdotes, and third-party validation can make your differentiation even more compelling.

The goal is to make it easy for prospects to understand why your product is worth investing in over alternatives - turning a potential threat into a chance to reinforce your position as the premier option.

When you consistently deliver your positioning statement through your sales channels, this messaging can halt competitive momentum and continue driving adoption of your product despite new entrants in the market.

Prototype/Beta testing

Offer exclusive invites/sneak peeks into new functionality. This not only gives you direct feedback from customers on the usability and functionality, but it also guides iterative improvements, minimizing the risk of developing a product that does not meet market needs and increasing the likelihood of success.

This feedback provides businesses with direct insights into customer experiences, expectations, and satisfaction levels. By analyzing customer feedback, businesses can identify common themes and patterns, prioritize improvements, and develop products that better align with customer needs.

The takeaway: Embrace the journey of discovery

Checking in on what your customers actually want and need isn't something you do once. As your product keeps changing and growing, and as new players enter the market, you've got to keep listening to that feedback.

Treat it like an endless road trip - you're always asking for directions, looking for shortcuts, and finding the best scenic routes.

If you fully commit to that journey of learning from your customers, tweaking based on their input, and staying curious about their evolving needs, you'll be well on your way to building kick-ass products. Ones that don't just check boxes, but actually make people's lives a little easier and better. That's the good stuff any product maker should be aiming for.

Remember, in the world of product marketing, shine is important, but a solid foundation of validated customer needs is what makes your product stand out and resonate with your audience in the long run. So, ditch the "cool factor" obsession, actively listen to your customers, and build a product that they'll truly love and need.