The customer demands a feature your product team says is not on the roadmap. What do you do?

30-second answerSay your answer out loud first, then reveal.

Dig into the underlying need (the problem behind the requested feature), check whether existing capabilities or a workaround can meet it, and assess how critical it is to the customer's success and the deal. If it's important, write a clear product request with evidence and business impact, and advocate internally. Meanwhile, communicate honestly with the customer: no promises the product team hasn't made. Offer the workaround and a timeline only once it's confirmed.

Steps

Understand the "why": "They want a custom dashboard" may really mean "managers need to see weekly accuracy trends", which could be a scheduled report.
Find interim solutions: configuration, an API-based integration, a small custom extension (with clear support boundaries).
Assess impact: is this a deal-breaker or a nice-to-have? Do other customers need it too?
Advocate internally with evidence: a feedback brief (Q15) with revenue at stake and frequency across accounts.
Communicate with the customer:
• Don't: "Sure, it's coming next quarter" (unconfirmed).
• Do: "This isn't on the current roadmap. I've raised it with our product team along with your use case. Meanwhile, here's how we can cover the core need."
Follow up on the decision and close the loop either way.

Interview signal: customer advocacy plus honesty plus company perspective. No overpromising.

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The customer demands a feature your product team says is not on the roadmap. What do you do?

Steps

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