We love ClickUp here at Canny. They were one of our earliest customers, and we use the tool ourselves internally. 

So, we’re excited to announce the release of our newest integration that we built with the ClickUp team. 

With the integration, you’ll be able to link Canny posts with ClickUp tasks, and associate customer feedback data with project management data. 

Plus, you can create ClickUp tasks directly within Canny—check out the GIF below to see this in action:

You can also create rules so that when a ClickUp task’s status changes, linked Canny posts are updated as well.

Being able to refer back to user data on fixes and feature requests is an invaluable part of building a better product. So, if you use ClickUp for your project management, this integration is really exciting.

We weren’t the only ones excited about this integration:

You can read the entire Canny thread discussing the integration here.

If you’d like to learn more about the ClickUp integration, this help center article has all the details. We’re also happy to answer any questions you might have—just reach out to us via the Intercom chat box at the bottom of your screen.

And, if you’re a ClickUp user and you haven’t yet given Canny a try, now is a great time to start gathering user feedback and optimize your project management process. Sign up for free today, or reach out to us to request a demo. 

Bri Morgaine

Bri heads up content marketing at Canny. When she's not doing that, she can usually be found baking, playing with her corgi, and trying to optimize her life in whatever ways possible.

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The post Introducing Canny + ClickUp first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post Introducing Canny + ClickUp appeared first on Canny Blog.

So, we decided to take a moment to round up some of our favorite articles of 2020. (And, if you’re new to the Canny blog, this is a good place to start.) 

This roundup includes: 

• Canny behind-the-scenes, including how we hit 1M ARR,
• things we’ve learned while running and growing a SaaS business,
• why customer feedback matters, and how to leverage it 
• the importance of product roadmapping, 
• and some of our favorite posts from other industry experts.

Canny behind-the-scenes: 

1. How we built a $1M ARR SaaS startup 

We hit a big milestone this fall: $1M in annual recurring revenue. This article covers what we’ve learned and takeaways for other growing SaaS startups. 

2. Year three in review: Lessons from growing our bootstrapped startup

In March of 2020, Canny turned three. Here are the highlights of three years of bootstrapping SaaS, and the highs and lows. 

Running a SaaS company: 

3. Too much tech? How to decide if you need a new tool

We’re all for adding tools to your stack that make your life easier (hello, Canny). But there’s definitely such a thing as too much tech. Here’s how to systematically decide whether or not you actually need a new tool. 

4. How to write effective product case studies for your software product

Case studies are a hugely effective way to showcase how actual customers use your product. Here’s how we approach the process. (And, check out Canny’s case studies for more examples.)

Leveraging customer feedback:

5. Should you be collecting customer feedback?

Back to basics: Why does collecting customer feedback actually matter? Here’s why we think having a process for collecting and managing user feedback is an invaluable part of building a strong product. 

6. Understanding customer feedback: Why it matters who is saying what

Feedback is important—but it’s not just about collecting input. You also need to track specifically which customers are giving what feedback. Here’s why. 

Roadmapping tips

7. Should you have a public product roadmap? 

Public roadmaps make people nervous. What if a competitor steals your ideas, or customers get upset that you’re not building out features fast enough? We think the pros outweigh the cons, and we go into why in this article. 

8. 5 roadmap tips for remote product management

Now more than ever, entire companies are going fully remote. For PMs (whose job relies on interfacing with multiple orgs), this can be a challenging shift. Here’s how having a well-thought-out roadmap can help.  

From industry experts

9. 6 ways for SaaS businesses to use visual social proof

Social proof is persuasive. But, in terms of your website and promotional materials, it can be more powerful when presented visually. Here’s how to highlight it visually on your landing site, with customer features, stats on user volume, and more, from Farzad Rashidi, marketing director at Visme.

10. How to use customer feedback to win back lost customers

From Petra Odak, CMO at Better Proposals, comes these tips on creating a win-back strategy based around feedback you collect from your customers. 

Bri Morgaine

Bri heads up content marketing at Canny. When she's not doing that, she can usually be found baking, playing with her corgi, and trying to optimize her life in whatever ways possible.

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The post Best of 2020: Our top articles on customer feedback, roadmapping, and SaaS first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post Best of 2020: Our top articles on customer feedback, roadmapping, and SaaS appeared first on Canny Blog.

If you don’t, you should.

Call it “dogfooding,” call it “drinking your own champagne” (…I’ll go with the latter, but that’s just me).

Whatever you call it, it’s valuable to have experience with your own tool as a user, not just a maker.

We’re the ones building it—why does it matter if we use our product?

Ultimately: You shouldn’t rely only on your customers to tell you what it’s like to use your product.

The more you can be in the weeds, using it regularly, and experiencing it as a customer, the better.

Using your product helps build empathy

It’s about putting yourself in your customer’s shoes.

You’ll be able to see exactly what it’s like to use your product the way that your users do.

“A big thing for us, as product people, is being able to empathize with our customers. We are so much more in tune with our customers’ needs since we use Canny ourselves.”

-Sarah, Canny founder + product

At its heart, using your own tool makes you more empathetic to your customers.

But what if it doesn’t make sense to use our own tool?

Before we dive more into why it’s important to use your own product, there’s a caveat:

Not all tools or products will be able to be used internally.

I’m speaking from the perspective of a tool like Canny, which we can (and do) use ourselves.

When I was at Palo Alto Software, we did all of our business planning in LivePlan—the business planning tool and dashboard we built.

But, realistically, not all businesses can use their tool.

For example, a tool like Gusto won’t be able to be used by the whole company, but a small subset of the company (their HR/employee success team) will be able to use it, but the product team won’t be using it. And, some companies can’t use their tool at all.

In this case, relying on very close communication with your user base is the next best thing.

Collecting case studies, user interviews, and investing heavily into user feedback (shameless plug) will serve you well, and help bridge that gap.

4 reasons why it’s important to use your own product

1. Use cases stop being theoretical

Whatever your product is, you probably have a lot of potential users and use cases.

For example, Canny is used by:

• Product managers
• Engineering teams
• Sales teams
• Internally to collect feedback about company activities and direction overall

…and so on.

We use Canny for these use cases ourselves. So, we get insight into whether or not Canny is actually useful to sales staff, to engineers, to PMs, etc. We get unique insight into how people in those roles actually use Canny.

You’ll be able to source feedback from folks in a variety of roles. You’ll learn more about use cases, and get a wider range of input. You’ll know if your tool is actually valuable for someone in your role, at your type of organization.

2. It’s easier to spot annoying things as a user

Is a button hard to find? Is something three clicks too long?

If you use your tool, you’ll know.

That annoying thing will be incredibly obvious to you—and you’ll be able to fix it. This creates a better experience for your customers.

You’ll also be able to optimize for common tasks, instead of one-offs. What actions do you, as a user, find yourself taking within your product regularly? What do you do less often?

You’ll have a clearer sense of this if you use your product regularly. And, you’ll be able to optimize for the most common actions and user flow, versus actions that aren’t taken as often.

3. Your overall product quality improves

In addition to being able to fix UX issues, you’ll be the first to notice bugs or small problems within your product.

Because of this, you’ll be able to fix things quicker.

“As a dev, if I see little things (bug fixes, styling issues), I can turn those around in 5 minutes. It really helps with overall product quality.”

-Dan, Canny engineer

Users won’t always have to bring quick fixes to your attention—you’ll notice them yourself, and be able to make the changes, or communicate issues to your engineering team.

The result is a product that’s cleaner and more polished.

4. You can actually talk about your tool from a customer’s perspective

For anyone in support, success, sales, or similar customer-facing roles, it’s important to have firsthand experience with your tool as a user.

This goes beyond just being able to talk about your tool. Regular use will make you more able to help customers and sell your product.

You’ll have intimate insight into how your tool looks and feels. It’s easier to understand how it fits into a larger workflow or process. And, you’ll be able to communicate this to customers in a way that isn’t theoretical, but grounded in your own experience.

How we use Canny internally:

We use Canny to interact with Canny users and manage their feedback. We have our own Canny feedback board where users can tell us what’s working, what isn’t, and what they’d like to see.

We also use our roadmap to update progress on features and fixes, and we use our changelog to share when new features and integrations are released.

All of these core features—the Canny feedback board, roadmap, and changelog—make up our product. Using them within the company gives us insight into how useful they are, what could be better, and what it feels like to use our tool.

Again, not all product types have this luxury. But, if you can use your tool within your business, you should.

Or, depending on your tool, it might not make sense for every org to use it. If you’re not already using Canny, an internal feedback board can be a great way to learn from the members of your team that do use your tool about what they like and don’t like.

And of course, regardless of if you’re using your own tool (but especially if you’re not), we recommend collecting feedback from your customers. You can try Canny free for 14 days, to begin collecting feedback and organizing user feedback yourself.

Bri Morgaine

Bri heads up content marketing at Canny. When she's not doing that, she can usually be found baking, playing with her corgi, and trying to optimize her life in whatever ways possible.

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The post Should you use your own product? first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post Should you use your own product? appeared first on Canny Blog.

A lot of companies—specifically tech companies—over-engineer their processes.

It makes sense: There is a tool to automate, track, and facilitate just about everything you can possibly imagine. If you’re in an industry where adopting new tools is standard, it’s natural to want to try something that might help your workflow.

Plus, there’s always the appeal of a shiny new toy.

But, the result is often a “tech stack” that’s unnecessary at best, and a waste of time, money, and energy at worst.

Do we really need this tool?

The reality is that a lot of incredibly useful SaaS tools aren’t essential.

That is to say, you can get by and cobble together a process without them.

The challenge is figuring out if something genuinely makes processes easier and better, versus complicating things unnecessarily.

Take Canny, for example. (Yeah, I’m asking if our own tool is necessary. We’re feeling bold today.)

Will you still get customer feedback without a tool like Canny in place? Of course. Your customers will tell you what they think, whether you ask them for feedback or not.

But, a tool like Canny makes the feedback process easier, faster, and smoother for both you and your customers. It takes a cumbersome, blind-leading-the-blind approach, and makes it simple and organized.

Now, if you don’t have enough customers yet, Canny might be overkill. A tool for managing feedback might not be necessary (yet!) when you aren’t dealing with a high volume of feedback.

That said, I’d argue that you do need a tool like Canny if you’re getting enough feedback and feature requests that you’re ending up with something like the spreadsheet above. In that case, you need to make the process of collecting and managing customer feedback easier.

It’s an example of a tool that makes a process better, rather than simply adding another layer of complexity.

What’s the problem with too much tech?

Too much tech becomes a problem when:

• You’re collecting information for the sake of it. This muddies the waters and makes it harder to home in on what actually matters.
• A tool is used just because it exists. This complicates processes and adds unnecessary steps. It’s a waste of time.
• You’re spending money on something you don’t need. If you’re bootstrapped and trying to stay relatively lean (or just don’t want to waste money), this is an obvious issue.
• It creates unnecessary silos. If each org uses different tools, this can make things more confusing rather than easier.

Not everything needs to be automated. Not every data point adds value or informs decisions. You really don’t need a piece of technology for every aspect of your process.

Let’s dig into this more, and talk about some ways to identify if something is actually a valuable addition to your tech stack.

Do we need a tool for this? A step-by-step evaluation process

Ask yourself the following questions to determine if your process needs improvement and if a new tool would help.

If not—I hate to break it to you, but you might just be addicted to shiny new tech. (It’s okay. We understand. We’re forming a support group.)

1. Would a tool allow me to access information I couldn’t otherwise?

We use Hotjar at Canny. Without it, we simply wouldn’t have access to specific, valuable information.

Things like how users move through the site, and where they spend the most time—these are insights we literally couldn’t get without using a tool. It’s information that will help us make calls about how to structure our website, pages we need to build, and so on.

We can’t manually gather this info. It isn’t available without a specialized piece of tech.

So, Hotjar falls into the “necessary” category because it gives us info we couldn’t get otherwise. It’s a tech solution to a problem you can’t solve without specialized tech.

Start by asking:

• Are we actually doing something with the data we’re collecting? If not, why are we collecting it?
• Is there another way to get this data point or piece of information?
• Why or why not?
• What would it look like to gather that info in a different way?

Don’t focus on questions around time investment or difficulty now—we’ll get to those later.

2. Could I share this information or data point manually, without a tool?

Take, for instance, a really nice marketing dashboard.

You pipe in info from your analytics tools, and it populates for you, complete with graphs and visuals.

Great. Fancy.

But could you convey this info in a more lightweight way, without a dashboard?

You probably could.

Now, doing so might be a ton of work, a waste of time, and it might not match the audience you’re presenting the info to (we’ll get into all those considerations later).

But, if you just need one or two data points (and a fancy presentation isn’t hugely important), manually grabbing them from your analytics tool might be fine.

You might ultimately decide that automating this process is still the way to go—but it’s smart to evaluate if it’s truly worth it, or if you can do the thing manually.

3. Is doing this manually/without a tool a significant drain on my time, brainpower, and overall will to live?

So, you can get by without a tool—but it might suck.

At this point, it’s important to get a sense of the relative effort you’re expending by not using a tech solution to solve the problem.

Going back to my marketing dashboard example:

I don’t need a dashboard solution if all I need to do is go into Google Analytics once a month and pull, say, our total pageviews for the Canny blog. That’s maybe five clicks, two minutes, and one metric.

But, if I need to pull several different metrics, cross-compare them over periods of time, and flip between settings, it becomes a lot more time-consuming.

Effort expended is relative. But, if you’re considering a new tool, it’s a good idea to log the amount of time you’re taking to do the task without one and see if it feels reasonable.

If it’s becoming a significant time-suck (or just mentally exhausting you), a tool might be a good idea.

4. Will other team members be working on this/need access to this information?

Is this something that you’ll be working on with other members of your team? Will a tool help you organize things so that everyone can work collaboratively, document information so that you all have access to it later, and so on?

If so, a piece of tech to help you manage this process might be a good idea.

We like to use ClickUp for collaborative work. Everyone can work within the tool together, and it’s easy to keep track of where a project is at certain stages, and who is responsible for what.

It makes it easier to work together, especially as a remote team:

If multiple people are involved in the same project, it’s nice to have a shared tool to keep everyone on the same page.

-Sarah

But, on the flip side, if you’re the only person involved, it’s worth asking if a new, specific tool is necessary.

5. Does the presentation (and level of effort) match the audience?

A pretty presentation is a perfectly valid reason to invest in a piece of tech—if someone else is going to see it.

I love a pretty thing. But, my personal to-do list? Doesn’t necessarily need to be pretty. No one sees it but me. I’ve tried apps like Todoist, and for me, they’re form over function. It takes too long, and the upside just isn’t there.

Questions to ask:

• Do customers, external stakeholders, or similar “outsiders” need to access this info?
• Will it reflect better on your business if you use a tool that presents info in an attractive, cohesive way?

If so, it might be smart to invest in a tool that is aesthetically-pleasing and offers a nice presentation.

If it’s a quick update you’re giving in a monthly meeting, you probably don’t need a flashy tool just to impress your team.

Choose your tech stack deliberately

Specialized tools are great and can help you do things faster and more clearly.

But, sometimes you don’t need a tool and it actually complicates the process.

Evaluate the need and benefit that a new piece of technology will bring before investing time and effort into it. What’s the tradeoff? What do you lose by not bringing on a tool? What do you gain?

If implementing something will save you 10 minutes a day, and incur a high cost, it might not be worth it. But, if it’ll save significant time, effort, and make it easier to document processes and stay organized as a team? It might be a worthwhile investment.

For more on choosing and implementing tools on your team, check out our recent article on how to get your team on board with new tech. And, while you’re here, check out Canny if you haven’t already—you can try it free for 14 days.

Bri Morgaine

Bri heads up content marketing at Canny. When she's not doing that, she can usually be found baking, playing with her corgi, and trying to optimize her life in whatever ways possible.

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The post Too much tech? How to decide if you need a new tool first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post Too much tech? How to decide if you need a new tool appeared first on Canny Blog.

But the reality is, when you’re choosing what to build, the feedback you get from some customers might matter more.

The key to understanding customer feedback? Knowing which customers are giving it

All your customers are important.

But when it comes to choosing what to change or build, not all customer feedback holds the same weight.

An important part of understanding customer feedback is knowing who is saying what. Not all of your users use your product to the same degree.

Some might have used it once or twice. Others use it daily. And, it’s likely that some customer segments are more critical to the success of your business than others. They might pay more. They might represent an important industry you’re trying to appeal to. They might be a loyal, long-standing customer that’s been with your business from the beginning.

Here’s an example:

Both of these customers matter. Providing great support and listening to both of them is important.

But, if each customer requested a feature, which would you want to prioritize?

The trouble is, if you don’t know where your feature requests are coming from, you can’t prioritize effectively. Without visibility into who is asking for what, you won’t be able to know which feature requests are coming from which customer segments.

To put it bluntly, you’re working blind. It’s impossible to prioritize what to build next based on how much value it brings to the customers that have the biggest impact on your business.

Here’s a deeper dive into why this is important.

You’ll get insight into which customers want what

You want to build the features your ideal customers most want.

When you get a feature request, is it coming from:

• Your biggest customers?
• A customer segment you want to attract more of?
• Smaller customers that you care about, but who might not be willing to pay for additional features?
• A customer segment that you’re not especially interested in attracting more of in the future?

You might prioritize different segments at different times. Sometimes, it’s more important to build something your biggest customers want. Or, maybe you’re looking to attract more of a specific type of customer, and you’ll be able to do that better if you build a certain feature.

But without knowing who wants what, you can’t make informed decisions around product. You can’t make decisions with specific customer segments in mind.

You can prioritize features that will actually drive revenue

Some features are “nice-to-haves.” Others are going to drive revenue.

Okay, so it’s not always that black and white.

But before you build something new, it’s important to ask:

• Is this feature going to attract new paying customers?
• Is this something that will add value to existing customers?
• Is this something that you’ll charge existing customers more for?
  • And if so: Are the customers who are requesting a certain feature actually going to pay for it?
• Does this new feature earn you an update to your pricing structure?

If you know who is asking for what, you can get a better sense of if it will actually bring in money.

You’ll have visibility on pricing for customers requesting a feature. You can reach out directly and ask if they’d pay for a new feature. You’ll be able to make, at the very least, some educated guesses.

Otherwise, you might build a bunch of things that are nice to have, but won’t actually drive revenue.

You can follow up and get clarification

Understanding customer feedback is also about making sure you see the entire picture. If you know who is asking for what, you can follow up and get more details.

We recently covered why it’s important to ask the right customer feedback questions, so check out that article too.

This is one reason anonymous feedback isn’t very helpful: you can’t get clarification.

At Canny, we use Canny Identify to connect feedback with a user. When users leave feedback, it’s tied to their existing user account.

So, for example, we use Canny to track feature requests from users (as well as share our roadmap and changelog).

Requests and comments are tied to specific user profiles. So, we can ask clarifying questions that help us better understand customer feedback.

An example of a follow-up question based on a request from a Canny user.

You can read more about why this is important in our help center article on authenticating users, and learn more about Canny Identify here.

You can find (and collaborate with) beta testers

If someone has been requesting a feature or integration with your product, they’re interested in it. This means they’re probably willing to test it out if you build it.

But, if you don’t know who is asking for what, you won’t know who to reach out to once your beta is ready.

If you know which users have requested something, you can reach out to them directly and ask if they’d be interested in beta testing.

If you’re using a tool like Canny, you can also take it one step further and give beta users a private space to leave feedback, by using a private feedback board.

You can personalize release announcements and updates

If a specific customer requested a feature, they’ll be thrilled if you build it.

If you know who asked for what, you can reach out to them personally with product releases and updates. You can let them know you took their input, and actually built the thing they asked for.

This is huge—both in terms of the practical benefit your customers get from your tool, and for building loyalty.

It closes the feedback loop. You can directly connect with users and show that you took their requests seriously.

It’s easier to understand where customer feedback is coming from with the right tools

If you aren’t currently using a customer feedback tool like Canny, it’s worth noting that it will make the process of understanding customer feedback a whole lot easier.

And, you’ll be able to automatically update users who submitted or voted on a request. They’ll be looped in throughout the entire process. So it’s just that much easier to keep your customers up to date with product changes.

You can check out our article on deciding if a feedback tool is right for you if you’re still on the fence. Our own Canny feedback board is also a great way to see Canny in action. And, you can also try Canny free for 14 days.

Bri Morgaine

Bri heads up content marketing at Canny. When she's not doing that, she can usually be found baking, playing with her corgi, and trying to optimize her life in whatever ways possible.

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The post Understanding customer feedback: why it matters who is saying what first appeared on Canny Blog.

The post Understanding customer feedback: why it matters who is saying what appeared first on Canny Blog.

It isn’t enough to just ask your customers what features or improvements they’d like to see.

Collecting this type of customer feedback is where you should start. But from there, it’s important to ask the right customer feedback questions.

Asking the right questions gets to the root of what your customers want to see from your product. It helps you uncover the “why.”

Feedback starts the conversation

When your customers ask for a feature or comment on your product, they’re giving you valuable information.

But, it’s just the beginning of what should become a dialogue with your customers.

Feedback requires follow up. It’s important to ask questions.

Why is it important to ask follow-up questions after customers offer feedback?

If you don’t follow up, ask questions, and get more details, you could misinterpret customer feedback.

You might miss something important. Or, you could wind up building something that only half-solves your customer’s problem.

An example from within our Canny feedback board: Andrew’s follow-up question asks for more detail on the issue. You can see the full discussion here. 

Broadly, asking questions after customers offer feedback matters for the following reasons:

• It helps you understand their request better.
• You may be able to suggest a workaround and avoid building something new.
• It gives you a chance to dive deeper and better understand how they’re using your product.
• Customers might say “we want X,” but what they really want is a solution to their problem, not X exactly. Asking questions helps you get the whole picture. (Think “building a faster horse”.)

A note on collecting feedback

In this article, I’ll be discussing customer feedback questions under the premise that you’re using a feedback board like Canny.

With Canny, you can respond directly to feedback, and ask follow-up questions. Customers who submitted the request will be notified, and they’ll be able to respond easily, starting a dialogue.

That said, there are other ways you might be collecting feedback. Asking questions is critical, regardless of the method you’re currently using. (We’ve also written about how to decide if a feedback tool is right for you.) You can choose to do this via email follow up, or when you’re chatting with customers on social media, on the phone, and so on.

Of course, we think you should be using Canny to track, manage, and respond to feedback. It’s the easiest, most transparent way to find out what your customers want, and dig deeper.

But the most important thing is that you’re listening to your customers, and asking the right questions.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way—let’s dive in.

5 valuable customer feedback questions to ask

1. Why do you need [feature/change]?

Start basic. Begin with “why.”

Other ways to ask this question:

• What will this help you do better?
• How would you use [feature/change]?

Why this question matters:

Asking questions like this helps you better understand how your customers use your product. It also shows what the suggested change would help them do faster, better, or differently.

It’s an easy way to open up a dialogue. If a customer asks for X, start by finding out why they want X.

2. Any reason why [existing feature/aspect of the product] doesn’t work for you?

We ask this a lot. It’s one of the most valuable questions you can ask your customers when they request specific features.

An example of this question in action (see the full discussion on our feedback board here).

Other ways to ask this:

• Have you tried [XYZ way of using the tool]?

Why this question matters:

Asking this gives customers a chance to explain why the current features aren’t getting the job done.

Maybe they have a compelling argument. Maybe not.

If it’s the former, you’ll learn why your current feature set isn’t doing what they need it to do. In the latter case, you’ll have the opportunity to show them how they can use your current features to accomplish their goal.

Either way, you’ll learn something. You’ll get richer information than you’d have gotten if you took their feedback at face value without digging deeper. And, you might avoid wasting time building something for a problem that could technically be solved a different way.

3. What’s the end goal?

Instead of focusing on what the customer has decided is the best solution, this question shifts the conversation to the desired outcome.

Again, it’s not about building a faster horse—even if what they ask for is faster horses.

Other ways to ask this question:

• What outcome are you hoping to achieve?

Why this question matters:

Your customers might be able to clearly suggest a specific solution. But, what’s more important is what they’re trying to do.

It’s not on them to tell you what new features to build. You are the one in the best position to do that.

Once you know where they want to go, you can decide what you need to build to get them there. Not the other way around.

4. How often do you do X?

This question helps you understand how big of an issue something is.

Other ways to ask this question:

• Is X an issue you run into often/how often?

Why this question matters:

If it’s a problem customers have infrequently, it might not need solving right away (or at all). Maybe it’s something that you’d be better off suggesting a workaround for.

But, if it’s a pain that customers run into on a very frequent basis, it’s worth giving attention. A problem your customer base is having daily might warrant more of your energy than a problem they have once.

It’s helpful information when it comes to prioritizing requests. You can’t necessarily know the issue frequency unless you follow up and ask, though.

5. We’re considering doing [XYZ]. Is this what you had in mind?

You might already have a new feature or change in mind that’s somewhat in line with what customers are asking for.

Here is a chance to find out if what you’re envisioning lines up with what they need.

Other ways to ask this question:

• Would [suggested new change/feature] solve your problem?

Why this question matters:

Let’s say you’ve already had a chance to ask some questions, and you’ve gotten a clear sense of why a request would add value. So, you begin to flesh out an outline of what the new feature or fix would look like. In this case, this is a good question to finish out the conversation with.

This is another question we ask at Canny pretty often:

You can read the full conversation on our Canny feedback board here.

Asking this question helps clarify if you’ve understood feedback correctly. You’ll find out if you’ve interpreted the customer’s goal in the way they intended.

And, you’ll learn if the way you’ve laid out solving their problem actually solves it.

It might need some tweaks. You have a chance to iterate. But, you haven’t wasted time building something that isn’t quite what your customer base actually needs.

Understand what your customers are trying to do—not what they think you should build

These questions are all different ways of getting to the same outcome: uncovering how your customer uses your product, and what their end goals are.

It moves feedback away from surface-level feature requests. Feedback becomes rich insight into how your customers are actually using your product, and what they need from it.

Use initial feedback as a jumping-off point for a deeper conversation. It’s not one-and-done. It’s the beginning of a dialogue that allows you to better understand your customer’s real needs.

Bri Morgaine

Bri heads up content marketing at Canny. When she's not doing that, she can usually be found baking, playing with her corgi, and trying to optimize her life in whatever ways possible.

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The post How to ask the right customer feedback questions first appeared on Canny Blog.

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But what happens after you listen? What happens after you decide what’s worth building, add it to your roadmap, and then actually build the feature?

If your answer is “ship it and then move on,” we’d understand. You’re done—time to move on to the next thing!

But, we’d argue that there’s a better way—one that actually shares vital information with your user base, and gives you a chance to highlight the hard work you’re doing by improving your product.

The final piece of the puzzle? A public changelog.

What is a changelog?

Typically, a changelog is a file where product changes or versions are listed chronologically. It’s just a log of changes (go figure).

But, the type of changelog we’re focusing on here is one that is public-facing, and intended for people who use your product.

Now, depending on your customer base, they might be technical. Or, they might not be. Naturally, the types of details you include, and how technical you make your changelog, will vary depending on your customer base.

But broadly, a changelog that you share with the world will show:

• A record of feature updates
• When new versions of your product have been released
• Bug fixes
• New integrations
• And so on

Should you use a changelog tool?

Why should you keep a changelog? And not only that—why should you display it publicly?

1. It keeps all updates in one place

Without a changelog, you have a couple of options for how to share updates with your users.

You can:

1. Email them, or in some other way reach out directly
2. Share updates on your social channels or blog
3. Push notifications within your product (or some other in-app, one-time update)
4. Not tell anyone at all, ever

Options 1, 2, and 3 don’t make it easy for users to look back on recent changes, or find everything in one place.

If product updates are mixed in with your regular blog posts, they’re not super easy to find. And, most of us don’t hold onto emails indefinitely.

So, users might never see your updates if they’re just going out in a blog post or via email. They won’t have a way to easily find these updates at a later date. And, if you’re sharing updates that include info on how to set up or use certain features, having to hunt through an inbox or blog isn’t convenient.

If you’re going to share changes with users, it makes sense to share them in one permanent place.

(And while option 4 is certainly available to you, we’d recommend you actually tell people when you’ve changed something about your product. We’ll touch on why that is throughout this article.)

2. Close the feedback loop on feature requests

If we had to highlight the most valuable thing about having a changelog, it would be this:

A changelog closes the loop from user feedback to execution.

Collecting feedback is the beginning of this process. You find out what your users have to say, what they want to see from your product, and what’s working and what isn’t.

From there, you build your public roadmap, incorporating the feedback that makes sense for your business and your tool, along with other things you’ve decided internally are a priority.

Finally, you release updates, add new features, fix what needs fixing.

A changelog is a viewable culmination of this work. It’s a way to log what you did, and tell users about it. They can see that you actually executed on feedback that was given.

This is huge—both when it comes to keeping existing users loyal to your business, and in terms of attracting potential customers.

3. It’s the perfect place for documentation

If you’ve released a new feature, you’ll probably need to explain to users how to use it or set it up.

Your changelog is the perfect place to do this. You can tell customers how to use or set up a new feature, link to a help center article, or include screenshots and videos.

This will also cut down on the amount of outreach your customers have to do. If a new feature has been released and customers don’t know how to set it up, they’ll contact you. (Or, they just won’t use the feature at all—not great.)

This means time spent on their end reaching out (not ideal), and time spent by your Customer Success team following up (also not ideal).

Having a changelog gives you a “home” for all updates, and the documentation that goes with them. It makes it easy to tie new features to their associated documentation from the get-go.

4. It’s an announcement and proof of deliverable all in one

Your changelog is a place to highlight your new features and give them a chance to shine.

Jokes aside, as we’ve touched on in the video, the changelog is your chance to spotlight the great new things you’ve released. Rather than just silently shipping updates, you can share what you’ve been working on, and tell your customers why they’ll love it.

It’s also a place to showcase that you act on feature requests from your customers. It shows that you act on feedback and deliver what you’ve promised.

And, it’s not just valuable to customers: Your sales team can use your changelog as a sales tool with prospects.

Your changelog shows that you listen and act on customer input, and are continually working to build something better for your users. This is valuable to potential new users, as well as your existing user base.

How we use a changelog at Canny

Of course, we use our own Changelog feature here at Canny—just like we use Canny to collect feedback on Canny. (It all gets a little meta.)

Here’s an example of how we use it: We recently introduced our Slack integration. Here, you can see it at the top of our changelog page:

With the changelog update, we’re able to:

• Tell users about the new integration
• Show how it works
• Link the help center article
• Notify users that have been waiting for the integration to be released

…all in one place.

How to set up a public changelog

Realistically, your changelog can take whatever form makes the most sense for your team, your company, and the type of product you make.

You can set up a blog-style page, with articles on each change. An extreme MVP version of a changelog could even be a regularly-updated Google doc.

As a note: Neither of these options are particularly sustainable or organized. And, they require a lot more effort on your part than using a tool with a changelog feature. But, it’ll be better than nothing.

Canny has a changelog feature built in, which makes it easy to set up a changelog for your product, and close the loop from feedback to feature. The changelog product widget gives users updates while they’re within your product. And, users can also click through to see your full changelog, read related help center documentation, and more.

You can read more about the Canny Changelog here, and learn more about why having a changelog is valuable.

Ultimately: It’s smart to use a changelog, regardless of how you set it up or what tool you use. It closes the feedback loop, shows that you deliver on your plans, and gives you a chance to showcase your hard work.

Bri Morgaine

Bri heads up content marketing at Canny. When she's not doing that, she can usually be found baking, playing with her corgi, and trying to optimize her life in whatever ways possible.

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The post Should you use a changelog tool? first appeared on Canny Blog.

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Understandably, this can be a little nerve-wracking. You’re pulling the curtain back in a big way. Outsiders will now be able to see details of what your company is working on.

There are huge benefits to a public product roadmap—even if it feels a little intimidating.

But first, let’s address a common concern:

If I have a public product roadmap, will competitors steal my ideas?

It’s hard to get over the fear that a competitor might look at your public roadmap. And, they might build features exactly like the ones you’re currently working on.

Is it a possibility? Realistically, yes. If you share details of your process, it’s possible that people will try to duplicate what you’re doing well.

But, the benefits of having a public roadmap outweigh this potential con. We’ll get to those benefits shortly.

Ultimately, the issue of idea theft comes down to this:

If competitors are looking to your roadmap for inspiration, that means they’re leaning on your customer base to tell them what to build—not their own. At the end of the day, this will hurt them, not you.

I reached out to Tim Soulo of Ahrefs (and Canny customer) to get his input. He believes there aren’t any critical downsides to a public-facing roadmap:

“If our competitors want to focus on what customers request from us instead of what their customers request from them—it’s their choice.”

– Tim

With that said, here are 6 reasons why having a public roadmap will benefit you, and help you build a better product.

6 reasons why you should have a public product roadmap

1. It offers transparency

When you have a public roadmap, you’re able to show your customer base exactly what you’re in the process of building.

There’s hardly a better way to be transparent than by showing the world what you’re working on.

Why this matters:

Transparency is huge when it comes to driving loyalty. In one survey on the ROI of transparency, 94% of consumers said they are likely to be loyal to a brand that is transparent. And, 73% said they’d be willing to pay more to do business with a more transparent company.

I reached out to Tom Redman, head of product at Buffer. Anyone can access the Buffer roadmap; For Tom, having a public roadmap aligns with Buffer’s overall culture.

“At Buffer, we’re ‘transparent by default.’ That is, if we don’t have a compelling reason for something to be private, it’ll be shared transparently.”

– Tom

Being upfront and honest with your customers is hugely valuable. Using a roadmap to show how your company actually takes on work is a big deal. You’re giving your customers a look behind the curtain. They’ll value that level of trust and commitment to transparency.

2. It manages expectations for what you’re building (and not building)

When users can see your roadmap, they can see what your current priorities are. They’ll be able to see product direction and get a sense of your goals.

If you’re working on improving an aspect of your tool, you can show that in your roadmap. If your product doesn’t have a feature, you can show that you’re building it.

And, if you’re not building something, they’ll see that too.

Why this matters:

If you have key features in the pipeline, a public roadmap gives potential users a look at what you’re building. It’s added value that your product might not have currently, but will soon.

If a current customer sees active work on a feature they really want, it can prevent churn. Similarly, a public-facing roadmap can serve as a sales tool for prospective customers. You’ll be able to show that you’re actively working on certain features that they need.

And, on the flip side, it shows if you aren’t working on a feature. Hearing a clear “no, we aren’t working on that right now” is better than not knowing.

“It’s a good way for our customers to see that their feature request is not as popular as they were hoping it would be.”

– Tim

Public roadmaps put things into perspective. You’ll be able to set expectations for what isn’t going to happen as much as what is. This helps keep your users from being disappointed or feeling left in the dark.

This is especially impactful if you’re using a product roadmapping tool like Canny that allows for feature voting. If a suggestion has a very limited number of votes, users can better understand why you’ve decided not to add a feature to your roadmap.

3. It cuts down on questions

When your users can see what you’re working on, there’s less of a need to reach out with questions.

If you update your roadmap regularly, customers can easily see where you are on a certain feature. They’ll have less need to reach out and ask about progress.

Why this matters:

You’ll lessen the load on your Customer Success or Customer Experience team, to start. The less customers have to ask about the status of a feature they need, the less time you need to spend updating them.

And, on the flip side, your users won’t have to spend valuable time reaching out to ask questions. Instead, they can just check out your roadmap. (Or, you can update them automatically—see #5). Eliminating unnecessary hoops to jump through makes for a better customer experience.

“[Transparency] was the primary driver for us to have a public roadmap, but the practical benefit is that we can send customers or others with inquiries there to see what we’re working on, vote for, or even comment on upcoming items on the roadmap.

That’s been very helpful in sharing what our priorities are.”

– Tom

4. It shows how long things really take

You might have a very understanding customer base. They might totally get that it takes some time to build, test, and ship updates.

But, you might occasionally have to deal with frustration, too. When we want things, we often want them immediately.

When you have a public roadmap, you can lay out the steps your team takes to get from A to Z.

Users can follow along and see what’s getting done when. And, they will have a better understanding of how long it will take for new updates or features to be introduced.

Why this matters:

Showing how long things take offers a sense of perspective. It grounds the process. Rather than rolling out improvements seemingly at random, users can see the steps.

You’ll also be able to better manage timeline expectations. A roadmap shows that things are happening—just not overnight.

Finally, users (and prospects) will appreciate the fact that you’re continually improving. (See the conversation above, from the SaaS Growth Hacks Facebook group for an example here.) A company that continues to iterate is more appealing than one that built a feature set and called it good.

“Customers (both potential and existing) appreciate feature velocity.”

– Sarah

A roadmap doesn’t just give users insight into how you work (and how long things take). It also shows that you’re continually growing and improving.

5. It’s easy to keep stakeholders updated

The work outlined on your roadmap is probably high-value. It might be a feature that you need to attract a specific type of customer. Or, it’s a fix that will make an existing important user really happy.

Regardless, you’ve likely got lots of different stakeholders that care a lot about what you’re working on.

A public roadmap helps loop everyone in. And, the more you can automate the process, the less time you’ll have to spend doing it manually.

Why this matters:

This one’s a bit obvious: It saves you time.

With some roadmaps, users will be automatically updated when a project or task is moved to the next phase, or marked as complete.

If you’re using a tool like Canny to build your roadmap, you can notify key stakeholders without taking extra steps. They’ll get notified immediately with new comments or status changes.

This isn’t just limited to outside stakeholders. Being able to update your internal team is also hugely valuable.

For example, your sales team might be waiting on a key feature that they know potential customers want. If they’re always looped in, they’ll be able to keep prospects updated on your timeline. And, once the feature is live, they’ll know right away—and close more deals as a result.

We’ve written more on the value of internal product roadmaps here, for more detail on the subject, if you want to dive deeper into this use-case.

With Canny, you can also integrate with your existing project management tools. This can be incredibly helpful for looping in different members of your team.

For instance, Canny integrates with Jira. With this integration, members of your team that aren’t working on product can stay updated without having to log into (or even use) Jira. They’ll get the updates they need automatically, from updates to your roadmap.

Of course, what you have available depends on the roadmapping tool you use. Tools like Trello, which aren’t really designed for roadmapping, won’t have these features built in.

6. It defines the process—from feedback to feature

When used in conjunction with a product feedback tool, your roadmap is a clear next step that shows how you plan to act on feedback.

Why this matters:

Maybe you’re using a tool like Canny to collect feedback (and of course, we recommend you do). Maybe you’re just manually keeping track of the feedback you get and your most-requested features. (We’ve also covered how to determine if you need a feedback tool.)

Whatever the case, your users will want to know what you’re doing with their input. Are you actually implementing any of their requests?

Showing that you are taking feedback seriously, and using it to inform new features or fixes, is huge. It creates a loop. A user suggests a certain feature, and then can watch as your team works on it. This instills confidence—in the feedback request process, and your company itself.

A public product roadmap offers transparency and closes the loop

Ideally, your roadmap should be the natural next step that comes after collecting feedback from your customers. It creates a system—user feedback becomes new features and improvements.

By publicly sharing your progress, you’ll instill confidence in your user base. Their feedback isn’t just disappearing into the ether. You’re actually doing something with it.

Does your team have a public roadmap? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments, or tell us on Twitter.

Bri Morgaine

Bri heads up content marketing at Canny. When she's not doing that, she can usually be found baking, playing with her corgi, and trying to optimize her life in whatever ways possible.

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It’s always important to hear what your customers think, right?

What’s harder to clear up is why.

When it comes down to it, why is it important to go out of your way to hear from the people using your product?

Why does collecting customer feedback matter?

Collecting customer feedback shows that you care about what customers have to say. It shows that you’re committed to learning from customer input. This can help you build a better product, as well as increase customer loyalty.

Gathering customer feedback shows you:

• If your product is doing its job
• How well it’s doing its job
• If you have a clear understanding of the actual problem your customers are facing (and are solving it)

I reached out to Sarah, one of the founders of Canny, to get her input on why customer feedback matters. She says that feedback is a good indicator of how well your product is solving a problem.

“Collecting feedback ensures that you have a pulse on what your customers want.

From there, you can identify the most impactful things to work on. Keep doing that and your team will build the best product you can.”

– Sarah

At its heart, collecting feedback matters because it helps you build a better product. You’ll be building something that actually solves a real problem.

What happens if you don’t gather customer feedback?

Avoiding feedback means you’re missing out on a huge learning opportunity.

You might waste time creating features your customers don’t need. Or, you’ll solve problems that aren’t real problems.

Plus, your customers might think you don’t actually care about what’s working for them. This can make them less likely to stick around.

Let’s get into more detail on why collecting customer feedback matters:

1. Your product will solve a real problem

Do you really know the problems your customers are facing?

You might be thinking, “Of course I do—that’s why I built my product.” (And you might be feeling a little insulted.)

You may have a really good idea of what their problems are. But, unless you actually hear it from them, you’re just guessing.

Your guess might be spot on—or it might be a little off base. Regardless, it’s still a guess.

Using gut feeling as a guide isn’t the best strategy. You’re less able to make grounded, data-driven decisions when you’re, you know…not relying on actual data.

Getting real input from customers stops you from assuming their needs. Instead, it lets customers share their needs in their own voices.

It’s insight that is impossible to replicate. With it, you’ll be able to improve your product based on data, rather than guesswork.

2. You’ll get specific direction on how to improve your product

Collecting customer feedback can actually make your job easier.

By giving you feedback, customers are giving you direction.

When you have a clear sense of what customers want, it’s easier to make confident decisions. It shows you where you need to iterate, and helps end guesswork.

Let’s say you aren’t hearing from customers. What’s your process for rolling out new features or making changes?

It’s likely one (or several) of the following strategies:

• You’ve always had some ideas about what features you need to build, and these ideas set the direction
• Similar or competitor products have XYZ feature, so you assume your customers want it too
• You and your team brainstorm often and develop ideas for how to improve your product

These aren’t bad strategies. You should definitely continue doing all these things.

You’re already familiar with your space and competitive landscape. So, your ideas are probably good ones.

But, wouldn’t it be easier if your customers could tell you what to build?

Okay, so it won’t be quite that easy.

You might worry that customers will ask you to “build a faster horse.” Or, that they’ll ask for features that don’t align with your goals.

The key here is letting customer feedback serve as direction. It’s not the be-all-end-all.

Your customers won’t always have a clear solution. They might not actually be able to identify a solution at all.

Instead, let their feedback point you down the right path.

It’s still on you to come up with the solution. And, it’s important to note that feedback is only one piece of the puzzle. You’ll still be balancing feedback with competitor research and your own ideas.

But, you’ll be able to learn more about the problem from the source. This helps you feel confident about what direction to take.

3. It shows you care about what’s working and what isn’t

Your customers are going to give you feedback—whether you ask for it or not.

They might start by sending emails to your info@ inbox. Or, they’ll retweet or @mention you to tell you what they think of your tool. Even if you don’t ask for input, you’re going to get it.

By going out of your way to ask for feedback, you’re showing your customers that you care about what they have to say.

Feeling heard is huge when it comes to brand loyalty and keeping customers around:

• 57% of customers said they would stop doing business with a brand if feedback wasn’t addressed
• 67% of customers say they churned based on having a bad experience
• The same study found that 11% of customer churn could be prevented by simple outreach

Proactive communication can help reduce customer churn and improve retention rate. It shows you care about customer needs.

This means going out of your way to hear from customers. Don’t just wait for them to come to you. Instead, actively seek out feedback.

4. Your team can get ahead of complaints

Collecting feedback gives your customers a way to tell you if something isn’t working. They’ll have a direct channel where they can bring up issues.

This makes it easier to get ahead of customer complaints.

Otherwise, you’ll end up hearing about problems in a public review on a site like Capterra, or on social media.

When you go out of your way to collect customer feedback:

• You give customers a direct channel where they can let you know if they have issues
• They’ll be less likely to voice their unhappiness on a public forum
• You’ll see right away if several customers have the same issue
• If you have a public-facing roadmap, you can also show that you’re working on fixing the problem

All that said: You’re still going to get reviews, and they won’t all be good.

Getting negative reviews isn’t inherently bad. They can show where you have room to grow.

Even if you have a great product, not everyone is going to love everything about it.

By handling negative reviews with grace, it shows you’re committed to improving.

Collecting customer feedback allows for some preemptive “reputation management.” It’s a chance to build a better relationship with your customers.

They’re still going to have issues. You’ll still end up with some negative reviews. But, you’ll be able to head some problems off early, and show you’re committed to fixing what isn’t working.

Managing feedback from your customers

Ultimately, there are plenty of ways to manage feedback.

What you use to manage your customer feedback will depend on:

• The volume of customer feedback you’re getting
• If you have the budget for a paid solution
• Whether or not integrating with your CRM or project management tools, like Zendesk or Jira, is a priority
• If you’d rather automate some of the process of organizing your feedback, or if you want to do it manually

On the low-tech side, you can start with:

• A spreadsheet where you can track comments and requests
• A tool like Trello that can be adapted for collecting feedback
• An inbox folder where you store feedback that comes in via email

These options might work if you’re just starting out. That said, none of them work particularly well at scale.

A spreadsheet is unwieldy and difficult to manage. Tools like Trello and inbox folders work in a pinch, but they aren’t built for gathering feedback. They become messy and disorganized fast. It’s hard to track patterns and see clearly what’s most important. And, these solutions keep feedback isolated and separate from your workflow.

Tim Soulo, CMO of Ahrefs, initially used a variety of methods to track customer feedback. He says the process was “quite random,” and included a mix of Google Sheets, Slack, and other tools.

Ahrefs has now used Canny to manage requests from over 1000 customers.

“I know if we stopped using Canny today, tracking feature requests would be a disaster.”

– Tim

If it wasn’t immediately obvious, we think you should be using Canny too. It was specifically built with collecting customer feedback in mind.

By using a tool made for managing feedback, you can stay organized and track common requests. You can integrate the feedback you get with your existing tools. And, you’ll get detailed insight into what your customers actually want.

Before starting Canny, Sarah realized managing feedback was an issue for businesses.

“As users, we’ve always cared about the products we use.

Ultimately, we never felt like companies cared about our feedback.

Digging into it, we realized it’s not that they don’t care—it’s that feedback is a hard problem.

Most teams don’t have the right processes and tools in place to make it easy. So we decided to build it.”

– Sarah

The most important thing? That you’re actively collecting feedback in the first place.

We recently covered how to figure out if a feedback tool is right for you on the blog. If you’re unsure if you need a feedback management tool, start there. And, if you’re on the fence, you can always try Canny free for 14 days.

Do you actively collect feedback from your customers? Why or why not? Leave us a comment and let us know, or connect with us on Twitter and tell us what you think.

Bri Morgaine

Bri heads up content marketing at Canny. When she's not doing that, she can usually be found baking, playing with her corgi, and trying to optimize her life in whatever ways possible.

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