AMA: Nextdoor Head of Product Marketing, Brianne Shally on Market Research

Understand the strengths of each org and what skills and resources they uniquely bring to the table and understand where the skills and resources overlap. Have a healthy discussion of RACI / RAPID to understand who owns what. If there’s resistance, encourage to explore a pilot for a quarter / half to see what works/doesn’t work and revisit it to further optimize it. Usually, folks are less resistant to a pilot since it’s not set in stone.  Capture when to involve who: It’s important stakeholders ...Read More

Get creative! Need insights quickly to inform product development, build a survey and put some dollars behind it on Facebook, or have the company share with friends and family that fit into the ICP.  Determine how the insights will impact decision making. Have a deep understanding of how if you know the answer to X, how it will inform Y. If it won’t change decision-making or the output, revisit if you have the right research or if you even need to do it in the first place. Often I find that if w ...Read More

Create an Internal research website / landing page for others to access research by segment, product, geo, theme, etc. If you can create a go/link or have the website have a memorable url for folks to remember it and continue to point to it, so folks have it as a go-to.  Develop Quarterly / Bi-annual Voice of Customers Report before the planning cycle to inform the roadmap. In the report, include tactical and strategic insights tied to specific recommendations. Where you can, quantify the impact ...Read More

Day to day: If you can, use their products and dive in to understand value creation, segments, where they are investing, what their messaging is communicating, etc. Sign up for competitors' emails, blog posts, YouTube channels, and earnings calls, follow their leadership on LinkedIn for updates, and more to stay informed on their products, launches, and company news. In addition, sign up for newsletters and podcasts that follow the vertical to stay informed on trends. Reach out to your finance t ...Read More

Position it as a VIP sneak preview to talk to clients. Share that you want clients’ input to help inform / influence the roadmap. Create a Beta and / or Customer Advisory Board (CAB): Formally establish a beta or CAB, a group of customers that opt into providing input. Again you can position this as a VIP group that gets early access to new features, sneak preview of the roadmap, etc. Make this group exclusive, where account managers have to apply to get their customers accepted. With these grou ...Read More