Feedback is a Gift, Not a Checklist

Every piece of feedback contains a grain of truth—even the harsh ones, especially the harsh ones. But here's what most builders get wrong: they treat feedback like a feature request list instead of what it really is—a window into their users' minds.

The Signal in the Noise

Not all feedback is created equal. Five users asking for the same feature is a signal. Fifty users complaining about the same pain point is a siren. One user asking for seventeen new features is noise.

Learn to differentiate between what users say they want and what they actually need. They'll ask for a faster horse when what they need is a car.

Context is Everything

Feedback without context is just opinion. Who is this user? How do they use your product? What problem were they trying to solve when they hit this issue?

The best feedback comes with stories. "I was trying to send this report to my team, but the export button was hidden behind three menus and it crashed my browser." That's not just a bug report—it's a use case you never considered.

Build Relationships, Not Features

Your power users aren't just sources of feedback—they're co-creators of your product. Treat them like partners, not customers. When they take time to write detailed feedback, they're investing in your success.

Some of my best product decisions came from 30-minute calls with users who cared enough to complain. They weren't angry—they were invested.

The Art of Saying No

Here's the paradox: the more you listen to feedback, the better you get at ignoring most of it. You start to hear the real problems underneath the surface requests.

Sometimes the best response to feedback is "Thank you, but no." Sometimes it's "Tell me more about why that matters to you." Learning which is which—that's product sense.