Comments on: 5 ways software product managers can listen to the market without a travel budget

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:03:27 +0000

Good ideas here… Phone interviews with customers are an often overlooked method that saves money and time over flying out for focus groups.

I would add a few other approaches beyond SurveyMonkey (although that is admittedly a great tool for a variety of research needs), including various online focus group/bulletin board tools, as well as online community options. These methods tend to be slightly better than a simple survey at addressing open-ended topics, and can generate an ongoing conversation with customers…

Matt

By: gopalshenoy

gopalshenoy — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:01:07 +0000

Great idea Jim. I will add to it that these days of social media it is always good to find out if your customers have blogs, are members of social media networks and participate and converse with them via this medium as well.

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:04:46 +0000

Don't forget the easiest way to learn more about your customer: read what they publish! Depending on their public / private status, they probably have quarterly and annual reports, financials, etc. Plus of course lots of press releases. In good times we tend to skip these and go talk with the customer directly; however, these days it pays to do some reading... - Dr. Jim Anderson The Accidental PM Blog "Learn How Product Managers Can Be Successful And Get The Respect That They Deserve"

By: Product Management Reader: 06Nov08 | The Productologist: Exploring the Depths of Product Management

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:30:30 +0000

[...] Listening to the market without a travel budget [Product Management Tips] [...]

By: Scott Sehlhorst

Scott Sehlhorst — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:45:05 +0000

Good advice. I'll add another online meeting tool option - dimdim. Dimdim has a free version (up to 20 people at a time), a pro version (100 people, custom branding, $99), and an enterprise version (1000 people, simultaneous meetings, $2K). Also, you can create surveys with Google docs, and have the responses connected directly to a spreadsheet.