3. The Voice of the Customer - Example 1 – Internal Idea Portal

Let’s start with an example of an Internal Idea Portal. The term “internal” refers to the fact that this type of portal is used internally within the company. Idea Portals are platforms where users can submit ideas or problems for the product team to review and process. You might have encountered similar portals with SaaS companies that allow customers to collaborate directly with product teams. The internal version of this is often a company's first step before moving to an external customer-facing portal. Internally, employees can collaborate with the product team in a more organized way.

The Problem: Lack of Organization

Before the idea portal was implemented at VTEX, there was significant disorganization in how customer feedback and ideas were shared. The Growth team was learning valuable insights from customers—problems, requests, and ideas for improvement—but they didn’t have a centralized tool to share this information with the product team.

As a result, information was scattered across different platforms like Slack, spreadsheets, and emails. This made it nearly impossible for a product manager to quickly assess customer feedback for a specific area. For instance, if a PM managing checkout features wanted to understand the most common pain points reported by customers, there was no immediate way to access this information.

This lack of organization had multiple consequences:

• Delayed responses from the product team to requests from Growth or Sales teams.
• Missed opportunities to leverage existing plans, as feedback sometimes related to features that were already on the roadmap or even in development.
• Lost insights from customers, which could have informed the product roadmap more effectively.

The Solution: Product Operations Approach

In addressing this challenge, Product Operations played a central role in implementing a solution. Here's how the problem was solved:

1. Choosing a Tool

The first step was selecting an appropriate tool for creating an idea portal. VTEX chose AHA! as the platform, but other options like Productboard or even custom tools could be used. At Cortex, for example, we used an internal data analytics platform for this purpose.

2. Defining the Process and Training

After choosing the tool, the next step was to define the process for how ideas would be submitted, reviewed, and acted upon. This involved training the Growth and Product teams on their respective roles:

• PMs were responsible for reviewing and responding to submitted ideas.
• Growth was tasked with submitting well-defined ideas and feedback from customer interactions.

3. Automation

While the process could initially run manually, automation was necessary to scale the system. Slack alerts were integrated, which was crucial for VTEX since it is a Slack-first company. This allowed PMs to receive real-time notifications about new ideas or updates. Automation also included using Slack to provide feedback on submitted ideas, pulling in relevant information directly into Slack channels.

4. Rituals

In addition to automation, rituals were established to ensure that the process remained efficient and aligned with broader business goals. For example, VTEX holds a weekly global meeting with Country Managers to discuss the top 5 challenges facing the company. These discussions are fueled by insights from the idea portal, allowing for higher-level strategic conversations rather than ad-hoc, unorganized feedback loops.

Portal Rebranding: From Ideas to Challenges

The idea portal at VTEX was eventually renamed to Challengers to encourage people to submit challenges and problems rather than solutions. This shift aimed to foster a culture where the product team focuses on identifying root problems rather than being handed pre-packaged solutions. While it can be tempting for teams to offer solutions in their feedback, training helps them focus on the underlying issues, which allows for better problem-solving and innovation.

Example Questions and Process Flow

Within the idea portal, both open-ended and closed-ended questions were included to help guide submissions. For example:

• Open-ended questions: Ask users to describe the problem in detail. While they can offer solutions, the primary focus should be on the problem itself. Training helps contributors refine their input over time, focusing more on the "why" behind the issue.
• Closed-ended questions: Gauge the criticality of the issue. For example, does this problem block a go-live date? Is it linked to churn or just an opportunity to increase revenue? This kind of segmentation helps prioritize issues effectively.

The process for handling ideas was also clearly defined:

• Product teams review the incoming ideas.
• Many ideas are categorized as future candidates—those that are too far from current goals but might be considered later.
• Some ideas may already have solutions available, which points to potential UX issues or misunderstandings of the product’s capabilities.
• A small percentage of ideas are prioritized into the product roadmap, with transparent status updates provided to stakeholders, such as whether the idea is in development or resolved.

Automations and Feedback Loops

Automation extended to Slack notifications, which triggered when certain actions were taken on ideas. For example, a PM would receive an alert if an idea relevant to their domain was submitted. Additionally, VTEX created dashboards to manage the flow of ideas, displaying the most recent submissions, those close to launch, and other high-priority challenges. This system significantly improved the efficiency of both product managers and sales teams in their interactions with customers.

Key Challenges and Learnings

1. Describing Problems, Not Solutions: One of the biggest challenges was ensuring that teams focused on describing the problem rather than jumping to solutions. It took time and training to shift this mindset, but it was crucial for better product development.
2. Providing Delivery Dates: Deciding whether or not to share delivery dates was a controversial topic. At VTEX, the decision was made to provide estimated delivery months once development had started, with the understanding that these dates could change.
3. Managing Expectations: Another ongoing challenge was ensuring that Sales and Growth teams understood that the idea portal was not a simple queue for prioritization. Instead, it was part of a broader process that required alignment with strategic goals.

Conclusion

The implementation of the Internal Idea Portal at VTEX has been a game-changer in how the product team handles customer feedback and insights. By organizing the flow of ideas, automating notifications, and establishing structured rituals, VTEX has created a scalable, efficient way to ensure that customer voices are heard and incorporated into the product roadmap. While challenges like managing expectations and focusing on problems remain, the idea portal has significantly improved how customer feedback is handled within the organization.