Many product teams are building ROI into their roadmaps and feature positioning these days, especially in the current higher interest rate cycle. But when building that ROI story, most teams will ask stakeholders and customers: "How much do you spend on X problem, labor hours, etc. last year, last quarter?"
It's the wrong question.
They need to think about what's driving the budget ask or headcount for next year's cycle. Because roadmaps and new features compete with next year's budget and technology. I once made this mistake in a mobile initiative to replace a paper-based process. The department director was kind enough to point out: "You need to look at next year's equipment automation proposal. That's your competition, not our current workflow."
Funding and interest in AI is everywhere right now, but the same grounding matters if teams need growth, usage, and adoption to extend beyond a pilot. So when engaging sales or customers through a VOC or Pragmatic Marketing framework, the vision needs to blend here-and-now with what's next.
How does your team balance urgent short-term questions vs. next quarter or next year? Some helpful forward-looking questions I like to use:
- Is the problem this feature solves driving staffing increases for next year? What else is driving your biggest staffing needs for next year?
- If you could double or triple your team, what problems would you tackle with them?
- Combine the usual "pain points" style user questions with intel on the strategic plans and investments affecting those teams.
Budgets vs. user feedback isn't a binary trade-off — but the best PMs combine both to build a story that appeals to decision makers.