The three questions to ask about every new feature release

Does this sound familiar? Your company is about to launch a splashy new feature. Most likely it’s something that sales has been begging for. Maybe it’s something existing customers have asked for too. There’s a ton of energy around “the launch.” Product marketing is churning out sales material, there’s a press release, sales is hitting the phones, CSMs are talking it up with their customers. At the weekly company meeting the CEO is giving Product a pat on the back. Everyone feels good.

But do you know what kind of impact that new feature is having? Did the new feature actually meet customer expectations? Are they getting value from it? After all, the killer feature that differentiates your product isn’t just something listed on a data sheet. It’s the feature that customers actually get value from and rave about.

So how do you find out if your new feature is meeting expectations? This is where Customer Success needs to be lock-step with the Product team. Together you need to be able to answer these 3 questions:

What percent of customers do we expect to use the new feature?

In my opinion every significant new feature should have a target percentage of expected usage assigned to it. Otherwise why are you doing it? Put a stake in the ground. What does “good” adoption look like? Is it twenty percent? Sixty percent? Are there certain cohorts where you expect to see higher usage?

Does usage of the new feature meet those expectations?

Are you actually tracking the uptake of the new feature? If so did it meet the expectations you set? The more you do this, the better you will get at predicting how other new features will fare in the future. You’ll start to understand what “good” adoption looks like. And you’ll get better at predicting what your customers actually want.

Remember to track the feature over a period of time. Did customers kick the tires and abandon it? Or did it become something sticky that they are returning to over and over?

If the new feature did not meet expectations, why is that and what are we doing about it?

This is where Customer Success can play a critical role in helping the entire company get better at delivering what your customers want and need. Identify customers who never tried the feature, those who did but abandoned it, and those that are regularly using it. Then go talk to them.

If they aren’t using it, did they not care or did they not even know about it? You may have a marketing problem. Remember, customers have whole lives outside of using your product. They are not hanging on your every word. Mentioning a new feature in a single email or just having a CSM talk about it in a cadence call is not enough. All of that prospect-facing marketing hype on your website? Your existing customers didn’t even see it. Take a good hard look at how you are communicating new features to your customers and figure out if you are doing enough. Chances are, you’re not. If they did hear about it but didn’t care enough to try it, you have a different problem. You need to dig in and understand why, and bring that information back to the Product team.

If customers tried it but abandoned it, ask them why. Is it just not filling a critical need? Is it too hard or confusing to use? This information is GOLD for your Product team.

If there are customers who are regularly using the feature, do the same thing: find out why. What need is it fulfilling? How do they describe that? Go back and look at your product marketing. Does your messaging align with what your successful customers are saying? Feed that to your Marketing team. Take a look at what types of customers are having success. Is it a particular type of customer or persona? Feed that back to your Product team.

All of this may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s shocking how often these basic questions go unanswered and teams just move on to the next shiny new feature. As a Customer Success leader, don’t let this happen! Ask and answer these three questions every time there is a significant new release, and you’ll help your entire company better serve your customers. That is, after all, the point!