Why Crowdsourcing and Relying on The Voice of the Customer isn’t Always the Answer

Matt Hicks

1 year ago

When it comes to product development strategies one approach that has gained significant traction in recent years is the heavy reliance on crowdsourcing and relying on the voice of the customer (VoC) to drive product decisions. While these methods can be valuable tools in a product manager’s arsenal, I’ve come to realize that they’re not always the panacea they’re often made out to be. In this short post, I’ll share my thoughts on why blindly following the crowd or customer feedback can sometimes lead us astray, and how we can strike a balance between customer input and visionary product leadership.

The Allure of Crowdsourcing and VoC

Before we dive into the pitfalls, let’s acknowledge why these approaches have become so popular. In an age where customer-centricity is king, it seems logical to turn to our users for guidance. After all, who knows better what they want than the customers themselves?

Crowdsourcing and VoC initiatives offer several apparent benefits:

Direct customer engagement: They provide a direct line of communication with our user base.
Diverse perspectives: We can gather ideas from a wide range of users with different needs and experiences.
Validation: They offer a sense of validation for our product decisions.
Risk mitigation: By following customer suggestions, we might feel we’re reducing the risk of building unwanted features.
Customer loyalty: Involving customers in the product development process can increase their sense of ownership and loyalty.

These are compelling reasons, and I’ve certainly leveraged these methods throughout my career. However, as I’ve matured as a product manager, I’ve also come to recognize their limitations.

The Hidden Dangers of Over-Reliance on Customer Input

1. The Echo Chamber Effect

One of the most significant risks of relying too heavily on customer feedback is the creation of an echo chamber. In my experience, the customers who are most vocal about their needs are often not representative of your entire user base. They might be power users, early adopters, or simply those with the most time on their hands to provide feedback.

Early in my career, after founding eoVision LLC, I worked on a web-based CMS tool where we religiously followed user suggestions for new features. We ended up with a bloated product that catered to the needs of a small, vocal minority while alienating our core user base who valued simplicity and ease of use.

2. Incremental Thinking vs. Revolutionary Ideas

Customers are great at identifying pain points in your existing product, but they’re often limited by their current context and experiences. They might suggest incremental improvements, but rarely come up with truly revolutionary ideas that could reshape your product or industry.

Steve Jobs famously said, “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” While this shouldn’t be taken as an excuse to ignore customer feedback entirely, it highlights the importance of visionary thinking in product development.

3. The Paradox of Choice

Another pitfall I’ve encountered is the tendency for crowdsourcing to lead to feature bloat. When you try to incorporate every suggestion, you can end up with a product that does many things poorly rather than a few things exceptionally well.

I once worked on a educational testing platform at NWEA where we prided ourselves on implementing nearly every feature request we received. The result? A confusing interface that overwhelmed new users and made even simple tasks unnecessarily complex. We learned the hard way that sometimes, less really is more.

4. Short-Term Satisfaction vs. Long-Term Strategy

Customer feedback often focuses on immediate needs and desires. While addressing these can lead to short-term satisfaction, it may come at the cost of long-term strategic goals.

In one of my roles, we were developing a B2B software solution. Our customers consistently asked for more customization options, which seemed like a reasonable request. However, by focusing on these customizations, we inadvertently created a maintenance nightmare that hindered our ability to roll out major updates and improvements. We had sacrificed our long-term product vision for short-term customer satisfaction.

5. The Innovation Dilemma

Relying too heavily on customer input can sometimes stifle innovation. Customers often think within the constraints of what they know is possible. But true innovation often comes from challenging these constraints and imagining what could be, rather than what is.

Take the example of Henry Ford’s famous quote: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” While this quote is often debated, it illustrates an important point about the limits of customer imagination when it comes to revolutionary products.

6. The Vocal Minority vs. The Silent Majority

In my experience, the customers who provide feedback are often not representative of your entire user base. The vocal minority might have very different needs and preferences compared to the silent majority.

I once worked adjacent to a team that were developing a new mobile app where a small group of users were extremely vocal about wanting advanced features. The team implemented these features, only to find that they were rarely used by the majority of our users, who preferred the app’s original simplicity.

7. Misinterpretation of Data

Even when we gather quantitative data through surveys or usage analytics, there’s always a risk of misinterpretation. Numbers can be misleading without proper context, and it’s easy to draw incorrect conclusions that lead to misguided product decisions.

In one project, we saw a significant drop in usage for a particular feature. The initial reaction was to remove or replace the feature. However, upon deeper investigation, we found that the feature was actually critical for a small but important segment of our users. Removing it would have been a costly mistake.

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Striking the Right Balance

Given these potential pitfalls, you might be wondering if we should disregard customer input altogether. Absolutely not! The key is to strike a balance between customer feedback and visionary product leadership. Here are some strategies I’ve found effective:

1. Develop a Clear Product Vision

As product managers, it’s our responsibility to develop and maintain a clear, long-term vision for our product. This vision should be informed by market trends, technological advancements, and yes, customer needs – but it shouldn’t be entirely dictated by them.

I always start any new product or major feature development by clearly articulating the problem we’re trying to solve and the unique value proposition we’re offering. This serves as a north star, helping us evaluate customer feedback and feature requests in the context of our broader goals.

2. Segment Your Users

Not all users are created equal. It’s crucial to segment your user base and understand the needs and behaviors of different user groups. This helps in prioritizing feedback and feature requests based on their strategic importance.

In one of my roles, we created detailed user personas and mapped each piece of feedback to these personas. This allowed us to balance the needs of different user segments and ensure we weren’t over-indexing on any one group.

3. Look Beyond What Users Say

Actions often speak louder than words. While it’s important to listen to what users say they want, it’s equally important to observe what they actually do. Implement robust analytics to track user behavior and identify pain points or opportunities that users might not articulate.

I’ve found that combining qualitative feedback with quantitative usage data often leads to the most insightful product decisions. For example, in one project, users consistently asked for more reporting features. However, our usage data showed that existing reports were rarely used. This led us to dig deeper and discover that what users really needed was simpler, more actionable insights rather than more complex reports.

4. Embrace Experimentation

Instead of immediately implementing every popular feature request, consider running experiments or launching minimum viable products (MVPs) to test assumptions and gather real-world data.

A/B testing has been a game-changer in my product management approach. It allows us to validate ideas quickly and make data-driven decisions. In one case, we had conflicting feedback about a new onboarding flow. Rather than trying to please everyone, we created two versions and A/B tested them. The results were surprising and led us to a solution that neither we nor our users had initially envisioned.

5. Focus on Problems, Not Solutions

When gathering customer feedback, try to focus on understanding the underlying problems users are facing rather than their proposed solutions. This gives you the freedom to come up with innovative solutions that users might not have thought of.

I always encourage my team to ask “why” multiple times when receiving feature requests. Often, the initial request is just a symptom of a deeper problem. By understanding the root cause, we can often come up with solutions that address multiple user needs simultaneously.

6. Educate Your Users

Sometimes, resistance to new features or changes comes from a lack of understanding. Take the time to educate your users about the rationale behind your product decisions.

I’ve found that transparency goes a long way in building trust with users. Whenever we make significant changes, we communicate the reasoning behind them, tie them back to user problems we’re trying to solve, and provide resources to help users adapt. This approach has often turned initial skepticism into enthusiasm.

7. Trust Your Expertise

As product managers, we have a unique vantage point. We understand the technical constraints, business goals, and broader market trends that individual users might not be aware of. Don’t be afraid to make unpopular decisions if you believe they’re right for the product in the long run.

I once made the difficult decision to remove a feature that a vocal group of users loved. It was a tough call, but the feature was causing performance issues and hindering our ability to scale. By clearly communicating our rationale and providing alternative solutions, we were able to navigate this change successfully.

8. Cultivate Innovation Within Your Team

While customer feedback is valuable, some of the best ideas can come from within your own team. Cultivate a culture of innovation where team members feel empowered to propose new ideas and challenge the status quo.

I’ve implemented regular innovation workshops in my teams, where we set aside time to brainstorm ideas that go beyond our current product boundaries. Some of our most successful features have emerged from these sessions, addressing user needs in ways that customers themselves hadn’t imagined.

Conclusion: Relying on The Voice of the Customer

In the end, effective product management is about finding the right balance. While relying on the voice of the customer and crowdsourcing can provide valuable insights, they should be just one part of a comprehensive product strategy.

As product managers, our job is to synthesize information from various sources – customer feedback, market trends, technological advancements, business goals, and our own expertise – to chart the best course for our product. We need to be able to listen to our users while also having the courage to pursue visionary ideas that users might not yet realize they need.

Remember, some of the most revolutionary products in history weren’t created in response to user demands, but rather from a vision of what could be. Our role is to bridge the gap between user needs and innovative solutions, creating products that not only meet current demands but also push the boundaries of what’s possible.

So the next time you’re faced with a chorus of feature requests or a flood of user feedback, take a step back. Consider the broader context, trust your expertise, and don’t be afraid to chart a course that balances user needs with visionary leadership. That’s the true art of product management – and it’s what separates good products from great ones.