Customers are always asking for stuff to be built.

Take a look at any B2B product roadmap.  

Over 50% of it is made up of “one off” feature requests from a handful of big customers.

You can build it. But should you?

Listening to customers is a good thing.

However, the problem arises, when you take their request verbatim.

When you go straight from taking their requirements to building. Without stopping to do your homework.

Why?  

Because 9 out of 10 times, what the customer is asking is not a real need.

They may “want” the feature. But what they really “need” is something entirely different.

For example, NASA spent millions creating the perfect pen. When a $0.49 pencil would have done the trick.

During the height of the space race in the 1960s, NASA insisted that they wanted a pen that would work in zero gravity. 

So they spent millions creating just such a pen.  

But the pen was not a need.  The need was to write in zero gravity. Which could have been met by using a pencil.  

There is more to this story, of course. You can learn more about it here.

So what do you do? 

You can’t ignore them. They are your customers after all.

The better bet is to involve them in the design process.

Here is how. 

The next time the customer asks you to build something for them,

1. Prioritize:  Take everything that they have asked for and prioritize with them.  In my opinion, a 2×2 matrix (value vs. effort) works best.  
2. Uncover their real need:  For the high priority items, ask why. Try to identify the underlying problem the solution is trying to solve. 
3. Brainstorm new solutions / ideas:  There is more than one way to skin the cat. Brainstorm with the customer all possible solutions.
4. Prototype:  Pick a handful of solutions, build prototypes (low fidelity), and solicit feedback. This is where the rubber meets the road.
5. Iterate till you get it right:  Keep iterating till you come up with a solution that solves the customers underlying problem.
6. Bonus: Show it to other customers, get their feedback too. 
7. Build:  Then and only then build.

But what happens if the customer insists on the feature but refuses to participate in the design process?

Believe it or not, that is the best news.  

It means that the feature is not really a priority.  They were just asking for it (because that is what some customers do).  

If they are not willing to put in the time.  Then you don’t have to put it in your roadmap.  And if you do put it in, push it out by 3 to 4 quarters and quietly drop it.

Yes its a bit more work. But your customers will thank you for it.

Customers always ask for something big and impossible.

But if you take them through this process, deliver on meeting their true need. They will ultimately thank you for it. And (most likely) enjoy the process. Allowing you to build deeper relationships.

Happy building!!