How to manage product feature requests: Idea management in Salesforce

Welcome aboard, fellow business owners, product managers and innovators!

Staying ahead often means listening intently to your customers and partners. Every suggestion, every feature request, holds the potential to steer your products or services toward greater success. If managing these requests feels like trying to catch lightning in a bottle, this blog is for you! Today, we’re diving into the fascinating world of managing product feature requests, a task that can make or break the success of any product. We’ll explore the significance of this process, the challenges we face, and how Salesforce can be our trusty partner in navigating through it all.

Why managing feature requests matters?

What exactly do we mean by “feature requests”?

Simply put, they’re the lifeblood of innovation – the suggestions, ideas, and dreams that fuel the evolution of your products or services.

Every time a customer or partner reaches out with a suggestion or feature request, they’re not just sharing a passing thought. They’re giving you a glimpse into their needs, desires, and pain points. Each request is a breadcrumb, leading you closer to understanding what your customers truly want. And by listening – I mean really listening – you can ensure that your products or services are always one step ahead of the curve.

Feature request management isn’t just about organizing your to-do list; it’s about understanding your audience on a deeper level. Now, let’s be real. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Handling feature requests can quickly become overwhelming. Sorting through emails, spreadsheets, and post-it notes can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. And, let’s not forget the delicate balancing act of prioritizing which requests to tackle first.

But fear not, dear reader. There’s a beacon of hope on the horizon: Salesforce. Yes, that’s right – the same platform you use for customer relationship management can also be your secret weapon for idea management.

Setting up idea management in Salesforce.

Setting up idea management in Salesforce opens up a structured pathway for generating and refining ideas within your organization.

Salesforce offers an Idea object that serves as the cornerstone for establishing an efficient feature request process in your org. With this feature, you can enable users to post, vote for, and comment on ideas directly within your Salesforce environment.

However, it’s important to note that the Ideas object is currently not supported in Salesforce Lightning, restricting users to the Classic user interface for managing new product/service feature ideas. Fortunately, there’s a solution: the third-party Ideas Salesforce app by Advanced Communities – AC Ideas Ultimate. This software seamlessly integrates with Salesforce Lightning Experience, providing a comprehensive solution for managing all your data in LEX. By implementing AC Ideas Ultimate, you can create an Ideas community for your customers or partners, allowing them to submit feedback and suggest new features directly within the Experience Cloud portal and manage all data in the LEX user interface. Isn’t it great?

Capturing feature requests: Sources & channels.

When it comes to capturing new feature requests, casting a wide net is key to ensuring you gather comprehensive feedback and insights. Here are some effective strategies for using various sources and channels:

Customer feedback channels.

Customers are the lifeblood of any business, and tapping into their experiences and suggestions can provide invaluable insights for product development. Utilize a range of customer feedback channels such as surveys, feedback forms, online reviews, and social media platforms to encourage customers to share their thoughts and ideas. In the case of using Salesforce as a CRM system in your organization, you can leverage its Experience Cloud feature to build a stunning site that would serve as a dedicated channel for customers to submit feature ideas. This platform would provide a user-friendly interface for gathering feedback directly from your user community. Additionally, by integrating AC Ideas Ultimate, a LEX native idea management app for Salesforce, you can capture new ideas through the Experience Cloud site and manage them in Lightning Experience.

Sales and customer support teams.

Your sales and customer support teams are on the front lines, interacting with customers on a daily basis. They possess firsthand knowledge of customer pain points, feature requests, and suggestions for improvement. Encourage these teams to document and communicate customer feedback effectively, whether through internal communication channels, CRM systems, or dedicated feedback platforms like Experience Cloud site. By empowering your sales and support teams to capture and relay customer insights, you can ensure that no valuable feedback falls through the cracks.

Internal stakeholders.

Don’t overlook the wealth of knowledge and expertise within your own organization. Engage internal stakeholders such as product managers, developers, marketers, and executives to contribute their insights and suggestions for product enhancements. These individuals often have valuable perspectives on industry trends, technical feasibility, and strategic priorities that can inform your product feature request prioritization process.

By using these different channels to collect feature requests, you can understand what customers want and like in a complete way. And this is what you need to identify which improvements to focus on first making your customers happier and ensuring growth of your business.

How to prioritize feature requests: General concepts.

Prioritizing feature requests is crucial for your business as it helps allocate limited resources such as time, budget, and manpower effectively.

By focusing on high-priority features, you can maximize the return on investment and avoid wasting resources on less critical or lower-impact enhancements. Prioritizing feature ideas based on customer needs and preferences ensures that the most important and impactful features are implemented first. This is crucial for enhancing customer satisfaction, as it ensures that you deliver solutions that address their pain points and improve their overall experience with your product or service.

Prioritizing feature requests can be done in several ways. Here are some common methods:

• Impact vs. effort. Evaluate each feature request based on its potential impact on customers or business goals versus the effort required to implement it. Focus on high-impact, low-effort features first to maximize return on investment.
• Customer feedback. Consider the frequency and urgency of requests from customers. Features that are consistently requested or are critical to customer satisfaction should be prioritized.
• Strategic alignment. Align feature requests with your company’s strategic objectives and product roadmap. Prioritize features that support long-term goals and differentiate your product in the market.
• ROI Analysis. Conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine the return on investment for each feature. Prioritize features with the highest potential ROI or those that address critical pain points for customers.
• User persona prioritization. Segment your user base into different personas and prioritize features based on the needs and preferences of each persona. Focus on features that benefit the largest or most influential user segments.
• Risk assessment. Evaluate the risks associated with implementing each feature, including technical complexity, resource constraints, and potential impact on existing functionality. Prioritize features with lower implementation risks to ensure smooth development and deployment.

By using a combination of these prioritization methods, you can effectively manage feature requests and focus your resources on delivering the most valuable enhancements to your product or service.

Feature requests prioritization in Salesforce.

Feature requests prioritization in Salesforce becomes a breeze when utilizing Salesforce as a CRM system and having an Experience Cloud site to gather feedback and ideas from customers and partners, powered by the AC Ideas Ultimate app. Within this package, you can benefit from its Idea Prioritization feature, allowing you to rank and prioritize ideas and feature requests based on factors such as votes, development effort, or monetary value. This ensures that your resources are focused on the most impactful initiatives.

You can utilize the Idea Matrix to analyze feedback and pinpoint top-performing concepts. Salesforce’s workflow automation features, such as Process Builder and Workflow Rules, can automate feature prioritization processes, including idea routing, assignment, and status updates based on predefined criteria or actions.

Besides, Salesforce offers robust reporting and analytics capabilities to track and analyze idea data, including idea submission trends, voting patterns, and prioritization outcomes. This is what enables you to make data-driven decisions and continuously improve your idea prioritization processes.

Conclusion.

With Salesforce’s Idea management tools, businesses can corral diverse ideas into a cohesive strategy, prioritizing those with the most potential impact. Salesforce’s out-of-the-box Idea object and Experience Cloud site enable businesses to streamline their idea management processes, ensuring that valuable feedback isn’t lost in the shuffle. Along with third-party apps like AC Ideas Ultimate, companies can manage their customer/partner feedback and ideas in the Lightning Experience user interface – all in one secure place inside Salesforce.

This proactive approach not only strengthens customer relationships but also drives innovation and growth. As the saying goes, “A stitch in time saves nine,” and by proactively managing feature requests with Salesforce, businesses can stay ahead of the curve, stitching together solutions that delight customers and keep them coming back for more. With Salesforce as their ally, businesses can navigate the turbulent waters of idea management with confidence, charting a course toward success in today’s competitive marketplace.

In wrapping up this journey through managing product feature requests with Salesforce, we’ve explored the vital role of listening to customers and partners and how their feedback can steer us toward success. Understanding the significance of managing feature requests, we’ve delved into the challenges businesses face and how Salesforce can be a game-changer in navigating through them.