Who Or What Is Team Demand?
Team Demand.
It sounds like this year’s Apprentice candidates have dropped the ball on their team name. But it’s also massively important for any SaaS company to understand.
Team Demand is the term we use to describe feature request, ideas, insights and feedback that come from your internal teams.
It could be customer support, it could be sales, it could be product, it could be… well, you get the idea.
All of the different members of different teams within your organization each have their own perspective on your product, and it’s extremely useful to listen to them and take advantage of the data they provide.
But as you’re about to find out, that’s easier said than done, like most things are when you think about it…
Why Is It So Hard?
A good question!
There are several challenges to collecting Team Demand and it’s easy to just give up and walk away. Luckily, we’re on hand to guide you through these obstacles.
The Cushion Effect:
A good example of The Cushion Effect (or Recency Effect if you like synonyms) is when a salesperson misses out on a deal because of a requested feature that doesn’t exist. The salesperson is likely to ruminate on that feature and overestimate the importance of it.
Woopie Cushion Man would not make a good superhero. [Photo Credit]
This is because we remember more clearly that which was last said to us, and so we place more value on it. This leads to a lack of historical perspective, which in turn leads to overlooking other alternative features.
You can fix this, however, simply by establishing a channel of feedback which you can then look back on and notice any patterns.
Personal Bias:
Whether you like it or not, we all prefer to receive feedback (and then act on it) from people we know and like better. It’s just human nature.
The issue is that you may miss out on quality insights from those team members you don’t know as well, or simply don’t get on with.
Creating that feedback channel also solves this problem, as it means anyone can put their hat in the ring whether people get on with them or not.
Loudest Voice:
We all know someone who has to have the final say. They love the sound of their own voice. These are the people who will always make sure their feedback is heard.
But whilst they may have some good ideas, it means that they’re the only ones being listened to. Once more, this means that quieter people who might have better ideas are largely ignored.
In case you haven’t quite picked up on the pattern yet, the solution here is to set up a feedback channel, so that the quiet people still have a platform to be heard on.
How Do I Harness Team Demand?
Ah, we’ve finally reached the point of this article. Feels good, right?
You now know what Team Demand is, and you know the challenges facing you. We’ve hinted at the solution (because we like to tease) and so now it’s time to delve a little deeper.
The Channel:
The channel is important. It’s the place where your team members can head to when they have any feature requests, ideas, insights, or feedback that they want to share. It’s also where your Product Manager can go for inspiration or to analyze the data.
For smaller companies, you only need something simple. Google Sheets work well as it’s easily shareable around your organization, and everyone can contribute. Alternatives include an online form, or even a dedicated email address set up to receive their feedback.
Opening up this feedback channel allows you to sort through the various pieces of feedback, and also enables you to prioritize certain feature requests.
You’ll also be pleased to know that it allows for cross-pollination of ideas, meaning they’re developed to their full potential.
“Working 9 ‘til hive, what a way to make a living!”
Communication:
If you want to make the most out of Team Demand, simply creating the channel isn’t enough. Communication is critical.
You have to make sure that everyone is up-to-date with the direction your product is headed, as well as knowing which features are in the pipeline. In SaaS companies, especially, things can move fast. We’re talking from day to day, and so clear communication means people don’t have outdated information.
One way of communicating is to share your high-level roadmap and release log with your team members. You can also share status updates around your teams, and notify people if there’s any status change or update.
This transparency ensures everyone is on the same page, working towards the same goal. And speaking of which…
Strategize:
To really harness the hell out of your Team Demand, you have to have a strategy. We recommend a 90 day plan. This is roughly the length of a quarter, and is a great length of time to set a goal for.
Once you know your aim for the quarter, you can analyze your data to match that goal.
For example, if your big goal for the quarter was to reduce churn, you could segment your Team Demand to see what your customer support team are saying. These are the guys & gals who are on the frontline when your customers leave, and so they know better than anyone what was missing from your product that caused their exodus.
Support team can be another great source of data when it comes to understanding churned users - they will get visibility of customer pain points and product niggles on a daily basis.
Creating a strategy not also helps you to analyze and act on your data, but also aligns everyone around a common goal and a shared vision of where your company is headed.
And as we know all too well, teamwork makes the dream work.
What Have I Actually Learned?
You now know all you need to know about Team Demand. You may have even entered this post without even knowing what that was. So it’s a pretty steep learning curve!
Basically, you need to listen to your internal teams as they have useful insights you can use to improve your product. In order to listen, you need to set up a dedicated feedback channel that everyone can access. You can then prioritize and segment the data according to your current strategy.
You’ll reap the rewards, trust us.
Thanks for reading!
