If you’re in the WordPress commercial product space, you know it’s a neverending battle of adding features to solve problems. Sometimes, features can get punted or lack priority for years, including those that can generate revenue.
While navigating social media channels, I noticed a customer who made it a point to say that they had requested a specific feature and had been waiting on it for years.
First, I visited the product’s LoopedIn page which is a place where anyone can submit feature ideas for a product. I located the feature request and noticed it had been on the page for a few years. It also contained a lot of upvotes and comments of support. I then performed a few Google searches and confirmed that the idea had been suggested for years.
I talked to a few members of the customer support team and asked them about the feature. They responded that they had answered numerous pre-sales support tickets, letting people know that the product didn’t have that particular feature. They also had no other solution to provide current customers. Having the feature would take a load off of their shoulders.
I then looked into the support queue at all of the pre-sales tickets mentioning the feature. There were tickets covering a three year time span.
I then reviewed many of the requests people had regarding the feature and discovered that it was a purchase differentiator. Meaning, that if the software had the feature, they would spend money and buy it. If it didn’t, they wouldn’t bother and move on to a competitor. This told me that if I could get this feature and its need in front of the right people, I could potentially get it to become a high-priority item.
I put together a report in Google Slides with all of the information I gathered. I explained Who, What, and Why, the feature was needed. I added all of the data points that supported the need. I put this document together ON MY OWN TIME after work.
In my mind, I thought I was doing something awesome. Going above and beyond to help not only the product and its customers but the company’s bottom line. When I brought it up and showed it to my manager, they were upset because I didn’t go through the proper channels or procedures to present such a thing. I didn’t communicate properly. Essentially, my work on the document was meaningless and tossed aside.
Thankfully, I kept trying and I proposed the feature and the information to another team member who said it was awesome. They were extremely grateful for the work I did. Before I left, I was told that discovery work had begun on getting the feature into the product. I have the evidence and knowledge to know that when it’s launched, there will be a ton of happy customers, both current and future.
If you’d love to have someone like this on your team, please reach out to me by commenting on this article, through the contact form, or by contacting me on Twitter. Let’s talk.