Feature Request Report

What is it?

Whether your business is a mobile app, an online service, or a SaaS product, one of the most important types of feedback you’ll get from your clients is the feature request. Your users’ needs are constantly evolving and, as time passes by, they might have a new problem your app doesn’t solve yet. Understanding how you can solve this new problem is key to maintaining your app up-to-date and ultimately generating new sales. 

Let’s pretend your business is a mobile app where local stores can sell various types of merchandise. You never implemented in-app payments because you thought it would be easier that way for everyone. Customers reserve the product they want through the app, then they collect it and pay at the store. Easy, right?

Only, businesses are leaving your platform because you don’t offer an option to get paid in advance. They don’t like to risk reserving a product, maybe handmade and unique, for a customer that may never show up. If you don’t pay attention to feature requests, you won’t be aware of the problem and will continue to lose users. 

This report shows you the total number of requests for each feature, as well as additional information you may want to log. As an example, let’s examine how we use this template here at Actiondesk. 

We collect feature requests using Airtable surveys. We try to understand if a customer considers a certain feature “must-have” or “nice-to-have”, and log this information. Weekly, we review the report. For each feature, we find out:

• How many customers requested the feature.
• How many marked it as a “must-have”.

We also calculate a score, so we can find the most requested features more easily. We calculate three points for each “must-have” request, and one point for each “nice to have” request. This process helps us figure out which features we should prioritize.

How can it benefit your business?

Having a clear idea of which features your users want and which ones they consider “must-haves” helps you with product prioritization. Product prioritization is the fine art of choosing which features your team should work on next, without wasting time and money on something that doesn’t bring value to your customers.

You should balance features that will make your existing customer base even happier and features that will help you get new customers.

A good feature prioritization plan lets you meet the needs of your customer faster, which will make them happier and, ultimately, more eager to spend money on your product.

Most businesses have limited (sometimes VERY limited) time and money. Let’s say you have the resources to develop only one new feature this month. Reviewing the feature request report and paying attention to which features your clients consider more important will help you choose wisely. 

If you choose a feature your users don’t care about, you’ll have to wait until next month to make them happy. Many of them won’t be willing to wait. I bet they’ll buy a competing product with the feature they want!