“What's the version of this product you actually want?”
From getuserfeedback.com · Editorial
Why it works
Most feedback is anchored to what exists — users patch the current shape and you optimize a local maximum. Asking for the version they *actually want* gives explicit permission to describe the destination instead of the next step, and the distance between that and today's product is your strategic gap, stated by the person living in it. It exposes whether you're a few features short of indispensable or solving a slightly different problem than the one they have. The phrase 'actually want' is the unlock: it signals you want candor about the ideal, not a safe, incremental request.
When to ask
Among invested users who know the product well and have a real opinion about where it falls short of their need. Best where you can probe, because the honest answer lives past the first polite one.
Good follow-ups
- Forget what we've built — describe it as if from scratch.
- What does that let you do that you can't do today?
- How are you covering that gap right now, if at all?
Watch out for
Accepting the first incremental answer ('a few more integrations'). That's anchored thinking — they're still editing your product, not describing theirs. Push the frame: 'forget what we've built; if it did exactly what you needed, what would it do?' Don't over-rotate on a single visionary either; the signal is the recurring shape across many of these answers.
Where to ask
- User interviewgreat
Live is where this opens up — the first answer is incremental; the version that matters surfaces only after 'forget what we've built, what did you actually want'.
- In-product surveyworkable
A survey gets one constrained pass anchored to today's product; reword it to grant explicit permission to ignore the current shape, and expect less depth.
Reworded for this context: “Forget how it works today — if this product did exactly what you needed, what would it do?”
Pairs well with
Stage: Engagement · May 2026