While offering competitive pricing and superior customer service is crucial, having a unique set of features that meets the needs of your target audience can give you an edge over your competitors.
One way to develop such features is by identifying the most requested features by your competitors' users and developing them before your competitors do. This strategy can help you attract new customers while retaining your existing ones.
How to Identify Your Competitors' Feature Requests
There are several ways to identify the most requested features by your competitors' users, such as:
- Monitoring Competitors' Feature Request Pages: Many SaaS businesses have dedicated pages where users can request new features or upvote existing ones. Keeping track of these pages can give you valuable insights into the most popular requests from your competitors' users.
- Engaging with Competitors' Customers: Engaging with your competitors' customers can help you understand their pain points and the features they are looking for in a product. This can be done through social media platforms, forums, or by attending industry events.
Sample Feature Request Data
| Feature Request | Number of Votes |
|---|---|
| Ability to organize channels into folders | 1,234 |
| Integration with third-party project management tools | 987 |
| Support for video conferencing | 765 |
| Improved mobile app performance | 567 |
| Advanced reporting and analytics | 432 |
The Benefits of Developing Competitors' Feature Requests
| Benefit | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Gaining a Competitive Advantage | By offering the features that your competitors' users are looking for, you can differentiate yourself from the competition and attract new customers. |
| Retaining Existing Customers | By providing your customers with the features they need, you can increase their satisfaction and loyalty, making it less likely for them to switch to a competitor. |
| Increasing Revenue | Offering new features can lead to increased sales and revenue, as well as improved customer retention. |
Developing your competitors' most requested features can bring several benefits to your business, such as:
- Gaining a Competitive Advantage: By offering the features that your competitors' users are looking for, you can differentiate yourself from the competition and attract new customers.
- Retaining Existing Customers: By providing your customers with the features they need, you can increase their satisfaction and loyalty, making it less likely for them to switch to a competitor.
- Increasing Revenue: Offering new features can lead to increased sales and revenue, as well as improved customer retention.
Example: Slack vs. Microsoft Teams
| Feature Requested by Microsoft Teams Users | Response by Slack |
|---|---|
| Ability to organize channels into folders | Developed the feature and released it before Microsoft could |
| Ability to customize the left-hand navigation | Developed the feature and released it before Microsoft could |
| Integration with third-party apps | Developed the feature and released it before Microsoft could |
One example of a SaaS business that successfully used this strategy is Slack. When Microsoft Teams was launched in 2017, it posed a significant threat to Slack's dominance in the team collaboration market. However, Slack quickly identified the most requested features by Microsoft Teams users and worked to develop them before Microsoft could.
For example, Microsoft Teams users requested the ability to organize channels into folders, a feature that was not available in Slack at the time. In response, Slack developed and released the feature before Microsoft could, gaining a competitive advantage and attracting new customers.
By monitoring feature request pages and engaging with your competitors' customers, you can gain valuable insights into the features your target audience is looking for. Developing these features can help you attract new customers, retain existing ones, and increase your revenue.