The role of market research in driving a product roadmap

Let’s get straight to the point: market research plays an undeniably pivotal role in driving a product roadmap, by providing valuable insights at every stage of the process. In this article, we’ll explore how, with examples along the way!

What is a product roadmap?

A product roadmap is a visual representation of a product’s development journey, outlining the product’s goals, features, timeline, and milestones. Think of it as a map that guides the product team from its initial conception to its final release and future development.

Typically, a product roadmap includes:

  • Product vision: A clear statement of the product’s purpose and long-term goals.
  • Key milestones: Important checkpoints or achievements along the product’s development journey.
  • Features: A list of planned features, their priorities, and estimated release dates.
  • Dependencies: Relationships between features or components that affect their development or release.
  • Timeline: A visual representation of the product’s development schedule.

Where market research fits in

Market research informs every step of the product roadmap process. The insights it provides act as a bridge between the product team and the market, ensuring that the product is developed with a solid understanding of customer needs as well as being aligned with business objectives.

Broken down into each stage, here we explore how market research achieves this:

Defining the product vision:

Our methods ensure that we uncover market gaps, identify unmet customer needs, and analyse industry trends, highlighting potential directions that the product could take to satisfy those opportunities.

We go further than scratching the surface of our clients’ customers, asking questions businesses didn’t know they needed to ask.

Example: A Fintech company uses market research to identify a growing demand for AI-powered customer service solutions. This insight informs their decision to develop a new product focused on AI-driven chatbots.

Setting product goals:

Our competitive landscape analysis provides clients with data on market size and dynamics, competitor analysis, growth potential, and customer feedback.

By understanding the market size and growth potential, product teams can set goals that are aligned with the market’s capacity and demand, avoiding over / under supply. Additionally, analysing the competitive landscape helps teams set goals that differentiate their product and position it for success.

Example: A wearable medical technology business uses market research to determine whether there is demand for non-medical wearable devices (wearables), which could still be used by individuals to monitor their health. The insights and recommendations we provided guided their product development and market position.

Prioritising features:

We’re able to provide our clients with insights and trends on which features are most valued by customers, where improvements or changes could be made, and what would boost the product overall. This information allows teams to prioritise features that align with their business objectives.

Example: A software company uses customer surveys and interviews to determine that users prioritise ease of use and integration with existing systems. They prioritise features that address these needs in their product roadmap.

Adapting a roadmap:

Market research is extremely valuable in developing a roadmap that is aligned with market realities.

Through our market analysis, product teams can anticipate future developments and adjust their roadmap accordingly. Additionally, competitive landscape insights help our clients identify opportunities and potential threats, informing their decision-making in relation to product features and timelines.

Example: A hardware manufacturer uses market research to anticipate the release of a new technology platform. They adjust their roadmap to ensure their product is compatible with the new platform.

Managing resources:

One of the most common reasons young businesses fail is because of inadequate management their resources; perhaps their offering has become a success but they cannot meet the demand (or vice versa, and aren’t making the profit to support their outgoings).

We’re able to provide clients with data on market potential, customer demand, and competitive landscapes so that they make informed decisions on what resources to secure and when.

Example: A gaming company uses market research to identify a niche market with high growth potential. They allocate additional resources to develop a game targeting this specific audience.

Iterating and adapting:

Your Voice of Customer is a powerful one.

Through market research, we’re able to provide our clients with ongoing feedback on product performance, customer satisfaction / feedback, and impactful market changes, allowing them to pivot and adapt their roadmap.

Example: A streaming service uses customer feedback to identify a decline in user engagement for a specific genre. They adapt their roadmap to focus on producing more content in popular genres.

 

If this resonates with your product map development, and you would like to optimise your success by using market research, contact us to discuss how we can customise our services to your organisation.

 

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