The Nightmare
You’re hyped! You’ve just posted the latest feature announcement to your users’ forum! The word is out and now it’s time to get feedback. You can’t wait for users to like it and say how they want to see even more! The first customer reply comes in:
“I have zero use for this feature, and I am disappointed that you spent time on it. Our company has submitted numerous enhancement requests that our users have asked for, and we keep getting told ‘not on our roadmap.’ So it is frustrating to me to see time and brainpower spent on something that has such little value to us.” -Your Customer
The stuff of nightmares? Well, it was my Tuesday. And did I mention it’s one of our top accounts? This type of feedback can come from anywhere at anytime: via email, in-product feedback, or in a public forum for all users to see like this. Regardless of the venue, it needs a response.
Here’s your new playbook for calming these cranky customers!
1. Don’t Lose Hope
Before writing a response, take a breath. Cool off with a quick walk before you start typing in the heat of the moment. Take time to remember your customer is another human, just like you. We naturally put up defenses to such strong negative feedback by making assumptions and stereotypes about the user. It makes us feel good! We’re the hero, they’re the enemy, let’s write a response to hit back! But that attitude will come across in the language and tone of your response, no matter the content. Both you and user will end up with bruises that damage the relationship. So relax, you got this! A customer who is passionately cranky can become an evangelist for your product if you can show them you care about their feedback. They take the time to post feedback publicly, which will be a boon when we redirect to a positive outcome.
2. Get On The Same Team
Begin your response by restating you’re on the same team – the team that wants to make your product great! The user took time out of their busy day to provide feedback, demonstrating they care about your product meeting their needs. That’s your goal too, to build a product that meets customer needs! You should thank them not only for their time, but also for being honest in their feedback. Without feedback, we truly can’t make the best decisions. Here’s how I started my response:
“Thank you for the honest feedback ! I appreciate that you care about making [PRODUCT NAME] awesome, as I do, and that you took time and care to give your thoughts. I agree that this feature isn’t going to be useful for everyone, and its target user is someone who gets value from [FEATURE USE CASE]…”
3. Set the Stage
We are all biased and make assumptions about the background of others. Thus, we must make sure the conversation is on a steady foundation. We can do this by giving insight into how this feature was conceived. I think about the one thing I want the user to take away from the decision process. That can mean:
- there was a general customer need that may not apply to them
- there was an important segment of customers that need this feature, perhaps by geography or industry
- or in this case that I can’t innovate without failing:
“I wrote this app as a hack: to provide value to myself, to others, and to develop my coding skills. It’s my way of giving back to users and to leverage our collective wisdom on the best way to solve problems. It’s also part of personally trying new innovative ideas that may sink or swim to determine what is valuable to our users and what isn’t. As a Product Owner, who doesn’t code, it was a great way to spend my personal evening/weekend time to develop a new idea, and the app is not officially supported in any way.”
4. Celebrate Wins
When a customer is cranky about a feature missing the mark, be sure to celebrate the features that have hit the bullseye. Not every feature can be a winner. If they are, you should try being more risky with innovation. Bring your recent new features into the conversation to:
- show you are building a better product every day
- drive more usage to the newest features
- ensure the user is getting all the value that’s now available
Here’s what that looks like:
“At [PRODUCT NAME], we value exploring new innovation and structure it through our Hackathon events. Hackathons are a time for developers to take customer feedback, or their personal passion, and create new solutions and [PRODUCT NAME] features. You may be surprised the incredible value that first came from a Hackathon. Here’s some recent Hackathon successes: [BULLET LIST OF FEATURES]”
5. Dig Deeper
At the heart of the cranky customer is a real desire to improve your product, and they feel their ideas aren’t being given the priority they deserve. Close with a commitment to renew the relationship either yourself or by bringing in their account rep. However, don’t make promises that anything will be implemented. I also like to highlight that Product Management is about finding patterns in customer feedback, to set the expectation that their individual feedback is not necessarily enough to make a funding decision. Take the conversation forward by going deeper into their needs and getting them updates:
“Thank you again for your feedback, and I’m more than happy to go into more depth. We’re also constantly reviewing customer feedback to look for patterns to identify the features that will have the most benefit for the most users. If there’s a particular request that you would like an update on, please message me and I’ll gladly get more information.”
Putting It All Together
Going through the playbook, I posted a reply to the customer. Did it work? I’ll let the user speak for themselves:
“William, thanks for your positive response to my negative feedback. I agree, there have been many, many useful features that came of Hackathons. All of the ones on your list above are great examples of features that I have found valuable.
In this particular case, this particular feature just missed the mark for me. And I figure the only way to improve things is to give feedback. I’ll get back to you with the links for our MVP requests.
Thanks again for your thoughtful and professional response.”
Now It’s Your Turn
Before blasting a reply to negative customer feedback:
- recenter yourself,
- connect with the customer,
- give background on the feature
- celebrate wins
- carry the energy forward into renewing the relationship
As always, it’s great to have a peer spot check your reply before posting it too.
Share your experiences and tips below so we can all get better at handling tough cranky customers.