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Feature request management is an essential part of running a successful business. It ensures that customer feedback is heard, understood, and acted upon to meet their needs and improve the product or service. Using the right strategies and tools, you can ensure that your customers' feature requests stay up to date.
Establish Objectives and Guidelines
Establishing clear objectives and guidelines for feature request management is vital for ensuring customer feedback is heard and acted upon. Make sure your team knows these objectives and can apply them when deciding which requests to prioritize. Create specific criteria for evaluating requests, such as the potential value of a feature or how much time it would take to implement.
Setting objective guidelines will help your team save time and effort trying to decipher which feature requests should be taken on first. Also, define how to classify feature requests in order of priority. Figure out how you will divide them into categories like "must have," "could be nice to have," and "nice to have. " This way, you ensure you tackle the most important features first and still gather feedback for those yet to be added. Establish clear timelines for responding to each request type and consider the available allocated resources.
Utilize Request Tracking Software
An essential part of feature request management is keeping track of requests and their statuses. This can be problematic if done manually, so try using software as a solution. Request tracking software allows easy categorization, monitoring, and reporting of customer feedback. This helps save time when it comes to staying organized and knowing what should be addressed first. Companies can also use this software to gain insights from customer data and make educated decisions about future product releases.
Request tracking software usually features simple customization tools, so it's easy to tailor the product to specific needs. Request tracking software is one of the best solutions for feature request management, from defining custom fields that store essential information to setting up notifications and reminders. With all necessary information stored in one place, organizations can track customer requests and address them faster. Ultimately, this results in a better user experience, as customers know their requests are being handled effectively. Request tracking software is a great way to streamline feature request management processes and ensure customer feedback is preserved in manual systems.
Prioritize Feature Requests Based on Market Potential and feasibility
It's essential to prioritize feature requests based on their potential impact and the effort required. An impactful way to do this is by assessing the market potential of each feature request. Start by estimating how much revenue it could bring in and whether customers would be willing to pay. Then, assess its feasibility by looking at the resources available and how complex the request is. Finally, compare these two scores to determine how high up on your roadmap this feature should move.
Once feature requests have been assessed for their market potential and feasibility, you can use product road mapping to help prioritize and plan their implementation. Start by breaking down each request into small tasks, then align those tasks with team resources and timelines. If the team is short-staffed or unable to commit to a request's timeline, consider pushing it further down your roadmap. This will save resources and safeguard against feature fatigue and overburdening your teams. Above all else, focusing on the features with the highest potential will help ensure that you provide customers with the most impactful updates available.
Set Clear Copywriting Standards for Your Team
Your feature request management process should include developing a standard messaging guide that can be referenced if questions arise. This guide establishes copy elements, including tone, words to use and avoid, preferred fonts, guidelines for visuals and imagery, abbreviations, and titles accepted across the company. Having all of this outlined in one document will help provide your team with the guidance they need to produce consistent copy every time they send customer communications or update feature documentation.
A feature request management standard messaging guide should include specific instructions when it comes to communication. Depending on a customer's level of technical knowledge or the situation, you may use particular phrases or language that appeals to them, helps to explain complex features, or highlights the benefit of using additional features. Your team might also need assistance writing calls-to-action, crafting product titles and descriptions, or responding to customers quickly with accurate information. The standards you set in your messaging guide can provide your team with the resources they need for successful copywriting.
Seek Out Customer Feedback Regularly
If you want to ensure that your feature request management is effective, it's essential to get feedback from your customers regularly. What better way to know what they want than hear it direct from them? You can create surveys or use customer forums and online communities. You can also use social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. With the right strategy in place, you should gain valuable insights from customer feedback in short order.
When collecting customer feedback, you should focus on high-priority requests first. Look at each request's cost, complexity, and timeline — you need to decide which ones are worth pursuing and which can be part of a longer-term strategy. Implementing the most popular feature requests is no guarantee of success; however, you must also consider the timeframe and costs associated with each one. Make sure you are transparent about your processes and explain why some features cannot be implemented immediately, so customers have all the necessary information to make an informed decision.
