{"id":1732,"date":"2019-08-07T10:21:26","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T14:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog3.canny.io\/wordpress\/?p=1732"},"modified":"2021-09-02T17:43:19","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T21:43:19","slug":"faster-horse-customer-feedback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/faster-horse-customer-feedback\/","title":{"rendered":"Debunking the “faster horse” concern in customer feedback"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Henry Ford<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This quote is very well known. It implies that people don\u2019t necessarily know what they want when they ask for it.<\/p>\n

Building something based on people who don\u2019t know what they want is no bueno.<\/p>\n

This is why many people in SaaS are hesitant to use customer feedback to inform their roadmap.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve heard this saying used in a context that hits home for us specifically:<\/p>\n

\"Twitter<\/p>\n

The concern here specifically isn\u2019t these tools allowing you to get feedback<\/em>. Getting feedback is always good.<\/p>\n

The concern is that they allow you to get feedback and<\/em> let a whole community chime in on it.<\/p>\n

If you gather feedback privately, you can just tuck it away.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, you can safely pick and choose in your own private space, and nobody will know any better.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very different if you collect feedback publicly. What if someone asks for a faster horse, and everyone agrees with it?<\/p>\n

Then you\u2019re going to have to build it, right?<\/p>\n

Nope.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about problems, not solutions<\/h2>\n

Henry Ford was right\u2014you should definitely never blindly<\/em> build what your users ask for.<\/p>\n

Customer feedback in its most basic form is absolutely<\/em> not enough for you to make good, informed product decisions.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a very important thing to remember:<\/p>\n

The customer feedback you gather exists to inform<\/em> your product, not make decisions for<\/em> you.<\/div>\n

What a lot of people do when they give feedback is suggest solutions<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not going to know whether this \u201csolution\u201d really solves a problem until you identify the problem<\/em> itself.<\/p>\n

So, after gathering feedback in its raw form, your job is to jump in and translate these suggested solutions into problems.<\/p>\n

This is why what customers ask for is not necessarily what you need to do.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n

\n

Customer:<\/strong> I\u2019m going to need a faster horse.
\nYou<\/strong>: Can you tell me why you need a faster horse?
\nCustomer<\/strong>: Because I need to get from point A to B quicker.
\nYou:<\/strong> OK, I understand that problem. How about a Ford? It\u2019ll get you from point A to B much quicker than a really fast horse would.
\nCustomer:<\/strong> Cool!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you just left it at \u201cI\u2019m going to need a faster horse\u201d, and didn\u2019t ask \u201cwhy?\u201d, you would definitely be damaging your business.<\/p>\n

God knows what you’d have to do to that poor horse to make it faster, too.<\/p>\n

Asking the \u201cwhy?\u201d will not only help you determine what the real solutions are, but also see how many people agree with the actual problem.<\/p>\n

Prioritization will be much clearer and produce better results.<\/p>\n

Some suggested solutions are very clear and straightforward, and don\u2019t need much \u201ctranslating\u201d.<\/p>\n

For example, if people ask for a Help Scout integration, they probably want a Help Scout integration.<\/p>\n

\"Someone<\/p>\n

You still need to dig into why<\/em> they want the integration and how they want it to work, but otherwise\u2014it\u2019s obvious enough.<\/p>\n

Communication and discussions are key<\/h2>\n

Now that we\u2019ve established that people asking for something doesn\u2019t mean you have to immediately build it, let\u2019s get into the \u201chow\u201d.<\/p>\n

After getting your feedback all in one, organized place, making productive decisions is all about communication.<\/p>\n

What tools like Canny<\/a> allow you to do is very far from just being asked for a horse and making a horse.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a three step process:<\/p>\n

1. Gather and organize feedback in one place:<\/strong> to understand what your users\u2019 problems are
\n2. Have a discussion over the feedback with your community:<\/strong> to understand how these problems can be solved
\n3. Prioritize your roadmap based on said discussion<\/strong>: to inform users that you\u2019re solving their problems<\/p>\n

\"Feedback<\/p>\n

Where it really comes down to solving the issue of the faster horse is the second step\u2014discussion.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re able to:<\/p>\n