About 90% of tech product launches fail, not because they lack brand recognition, but due to insufficient market research and understanding of customer needs. This is a tale as old as time- tech startups develop products their target audience doesn’t need. After months or even years of development and product teams working tirelessly, they cease operations because nobody wants to pay for their products.

Productboard helps you listen to your customers’ needs and build the right products. It also helps you filter feedback and prioritize requests to build an efficient product roadmap. Let’s break down how Productboard works and how to use it.

What is Productboard?

Productboard is a product management tool that allows you to collect customer feedback, categorize it, and prioritize features and updates to build efficient roadmaps. So, instead of assuming what your users want from you, you know exactly what they need and provide it.

Productboard Features and How it Works

Here is how productboard gives you insights to build better products:

• Centralized feedback repository: Integrating your product feedback form from various sources, such as surveys, support tickets, social media, and in-app feedback, with the Productboard gives you a uniform database of user requests. This helps you understand what your users need and informs your feature ideas.
  
• Prioritization frameworks: You cannot develop every single feature users request; you have to prioritize features based on customer impact, business value, and feasibility.
  
• User stories and acceptance criteria: In addition to the product feedback form, you can also determine user needs based on their journeys. Seeing where users drop off on your app or website helps you identify possible user experience improvements and informs your feature ideas.
• Road mapping and planning:  Knowing the specific features you prioritize enables you to create and visualize efficient product roadmaps. You can use the roadmap feature to track progress and collaborate on the product.
  
• Data-driven insights: Productboard also has an insights dashboard that helps you monitor customer behavior, market trends, and product performance.
  
• Collaboration and communication: Every team member, including product managers, engineers, designers, and other stakeholders, can use Productboard to sync communication and decision-making.

How Zapier Works

Think of Zapier as your Amazon for apps; you can integrate as many apps and platforms as you need with another platform. Instead of going through the stress of switching tabs or importing notes and data, you can simply link various apps to a single platform with Zapier.

Why Should I Link My Product Feedback Form to Productboard with Zapier?

• Automated data entry and improved data accuracy
• Faster feedback analysis and prioritization
• Enhanced workflow efficiency and reduced manual effort
• More informed product decisions based on real-time customer insights

Zapier + Feedback Form Integration Process on Formplus

Here’s the easiest way to link your product feedback form to productboard:

A. Create User Feedback Form

• Go to Formplus and sign up for free or login if you already have an account.
• Select Create New Form or go to the product evaluation template.
• Edit the form questions to fit your feedback goals and save.
• Customize the form design by changing its color, font, background image, etc. You can skip this process; it’s completely optional.

B. Connect Productboard

• Go to settings and click integrations. Search for productboard
• Click on Connect and login to your Productboard account.
• Authorize Zapier to access your Productboard account

C. Configure the API Integration

After connecting your product feedback form, the next step is to create zaps- actions and triggers to activate your Zapier workflow. Here’s how to set it up:

• Trigger (what happens when a specific event occurs)
  
  • Set the Zapier trigger to New Form Submission in Formplus. This creates a workflow whenever a new feedback response is submitted.
• Action (what happens after the trigger)
  
  • Set the action in Zapier to Create New Idea in Productboard. This will instruct Zapier to create a new idea in Productboard based on the submitted feedback data.

See How Zaps Work⬇️

Mapping Feedback Fields to Productboard Attributes

Mapping ensures your integration picks the right information when a form is submitted. Here’s how it works:

A. Identify Data Points in the Feedback Form

Carefully analyze your Formplus feedback form and select the most important data points for your product development goals such as:

• Username/Email
• Feedback Title/Description
• Feedback Category (e.g., Feature Request, Bug Report, Usability Issue)
• Priority Level (if applicable)
• User Role/Company (if applicable)

B. Matching Feedback Fields with Relevant Attributes in Productboard

Zapier does this automatically but if you have to do it manually, here’s how:

• Map the fields from your Formplus form to the corresponding attributes in Productboard e.g. Formplus “Feedback Title” -> Productboard “Idea Title,” or Formplus “Feedback Category” -> Productboard “Idea Category, etc.

C. Ensure Data Consistency and Accuracy During Mapping

• Data Type Conversion: Ensure that data types are correctly mapped (e.g., text to text, numbers to numbers).
• Conditional Logic: Use Zapier’s conditional logic features to handle specific scenarios (e.g., if a certain field is empty, map a default value).
• Testing: Thoroughly test the integration by submitting test feedback through your Formplus form to verify that the data is transferred to Productboard exactly how you configured it.

Analyzing Feedback Trends and Insights

Here’s how to leverage your Productboard integration for improvement:

A. User and Product Insights

• Data Visualization: You can create charts and graphs from submitted forms to visualize feedback trends and identify patterns for feature ideas and improvement.
• Filtering and Segmentation: Properly group your users and their needs based on various criteria, such as category, priority, user role, or time.

B. Identifying Recurring Themes and Issues in Customer Feedback

• Keyword Search: Use keyword search to identify common terms and phrases to understand user pain points and prioritize them in the product roadmap.
• Clustering and Grouping: This helps you to automatically group similar feedback items and identify patterns that you might otherwise miss.

C. Monitoring and Iterating the Integration

• Data Quality Checks: Regularly check the quality of the data being transferred to Productboard to ensure that it is accurate and complete.
• Opinion polls: Conduct surveys and interviews to gather feedback from stakeholders (product managers and developers) on their experience with the integration.
• Iterating and Optimizing the Integration: Modify your Zapier integration by mapping and editing your triggers and actions to ensure data accuracy and seamless user experience.

Best Practices for Syncing Feedback with Productboard via Zapier

A. Ensuring data security and compliance with privacy regulations

B. Regularly reviewing and updating integration settings for optimal performance

C. Training team members on using the integrated system effectively

FAQs

• How do tags work in Productboard?
  • Tags are keywords or labels that you can assign to ideas in Productboard to filter, search, and analyze your feedback data e.g. “high priority,” “customer request,” “bug,” or “usability issue.”
• How to use Insights board?
  • Productboard’s Insights board is a central location for capturing and analyzing customer feedback from various sources, including surveys, interviews, and user testing. It helps you identify key themes and trends in user feedback.
• Can I share the feedback form directly with my customer to submit their feature requests?
  • Yes, you can share your Formplus feedback form directly with your customers via email, or social media, or embed it on your website.

Conclusion

Syncing your feedback form with Productboard via Zapier helps you streamline your workflow. Instead of manually collecting responses and exporting them to Productboard, this integration gives you real-time insights directly within Productboard.

This enables you to plan effective product roadmaps based on immediate user feedback, ensuring you consistently meet their needs and maintain high user satisfaction.