Customer-centric PM: Blending qualitative and quantitative data

Think about the last time you decided to build a new feature. How did you do it?

Was it based on a request from a key stakeholder? A competitor's new launch? Or did you dive into a dashboard to find a friction point in your funnel?

For many product professionals, the answer is some combination of all three. But the most effective product decisions are born from a powerful partnership: the one between what users say and what they do.

Our latest State of Product Analytics report dives into this relationship, and what we found is a fascinating paradox that reveals how product teams are finally bridging the gap between qualitative feedback and quantitative data.

The paradox: Feedback is king, but not a primary data source

Here’s the interesting paradox from our report:

When we asked product managers what they focus on to decide on a new feature, almost half of them (49%) said customer feedback. This highlights a clear understanding of the importance of user needs and suggestions when shaping the product roadmap.

Yet, when we asked what they use as a primary data source for day-to-day decisions, only 15.7% of teams listed customer feedback.

This is a noticeable drop from last year, suggesting that while PMs value customer feedback, it might not always be integrated as a core, daily data source in the same way as pure usage metrics or internal team insights.

This tension presents a huge opportunity.

It means that while you're listening to your customers for big-picture ideas, you might be missing out on valuable, real-time insights for smaller, more iterative decisions.

The most successful product teams are those who can blend both. As Cindy Camacho, Founder of VOC Strategies, puts it: “It’s a balance. Behavioral data tells me what users are doing (or not doing), and feedback helps me understand why.

“One without the other is incomplete.”

The human element: Getting closer to your customers

So, if customer feedback isn’t a primary data source, how are teams getting it? The answer lies in proactive, direct engagement, both with customers themselves and with the customer-facing teams who talk to them every day.

Our report found that a whopping 70.6% of respondents say they gather internal feedback from customer-facing teams at least once a week, and often even more frequently.

That's a huge 15.8% increase from 2024, emphasizing the growing importance of cross-functional collaboration. This trend reflects a move toward faster iteration cycles and more user-informed product decisions, where PMs are integrating real-time insights from sales, marketing, and success teams.

But what about talking to customers directly? That’s where the gold is.

35.3% of teams speak to customers once a month.
25.5% do so quarterly.
A significant 21.6% engage with customers weekly.

This shows that many product teams are striking a balance between staying connected and avoiding feedback fatigue.

However, a concerning 7.8% of respondents admit they never speak to customers directly, revealing a critical gap that could limit their ability to understand user needs and pain points on a deeper level.

Gaby Paul, Principal/Group Product Manager at Sedex, stresses the importance of these conversations: “I think talking to customers is a critical part of a PM's role, and I’d encourage them to have regular engagement with customers where possible.

“In a B2B environment, this is how you truly understand a customer's internal processes, challenges, and priorities, which unlock future opportunities.”

Parul Jain, Principal Product Manager at Walmart Global Tech, also emphasizes the value of this direct connection:

“Tools and dashboards can tell you what’s happening, but they rarely explain why. Direct feedback adds context, uncovers friction points, and often surfaces needs that metrics alone won’t capture.”

Bridging the gap: What to ask and what to look for

So, how do you successfully merge these two worlds? It's about asking the right questions and pairing the answers with the right data.

Our report offers a fantastic list of questions you can use in your next customer call, but they all fall into a few key categories:

Understanding user problems: “What problems are you trying to solve?” or “What's your biggest challenge related to X?” These questions are about uncovering the core pain points that the data alone can't explain.
Observing product usage: “Show me how you use this – what’s working and what isn’t?” This is where you connect the qualitative with the quantitative. You can see their struggle in real-time and then check your analytics to see if it's a widespread problem.
Evaluating solution fit: “Did the product meet your expectations?” or “How well does our product meet your needs today?” This helps you validate your product-market fit and understand if you're delivering on your promise.
Discovering opportunities: “What should we improve or do differently?” This can unearth new ideas for your roadmap that your data might not have surfaced on its own.

But talking to customers is only half the battle. You have to be able to pair that feedback with your product usage metrics.

The power of pairing: Metrics that matter most

When product managers are looking at product usage data, they typically focus on a few key metrics:

Which features users use most (33.3%)
How often users use the product (27.5%)

This focus on actual user behavior is crucial. It gives you the evidence you need to back up your intuition and a user’s feedback.

If a customer says they love a new feature, you can check your data to see if that sentiment is shared across the user base. If you see a drop-off in a key funnel, a quick call with a user can help you understand why they're getting stuck.

Our report also uncovered some missed opportunities. While retention is the most common goal for analytics, only 7.8% of teams report tracking churn rate as a product usage metric.

This disconnect suggests that many teams are aiming to improve retention without directly measuring one of its most critical indicators.

Similarly, only 3.9% of teams track least-used features, overlooking a chance to reduce product bloat and streamline the user experience.

The most effective product teams are those who recognize the value of both the ‘what’ and the ‘why’.

They use qualitative feedback to inform their hypotheses and quantitative data to validate them. They understand that every data point tells a story, and the best way to understand that story is to talk to the person who lived it.

The future is personal: Segmenting by persona

In an increasingly competitive market, a one-size-fits-all approach is a recipe for failure. That's why it's so encouraging to see that 90.2% of respondents segment their data in some way.

And the most common way they do it?

By persona (45.2%).

This suggests that product teams are prioritizing a user-centric view of behavior, tailoring decisions to distinct customer needs, motivations, or roles.

This goes beyond single data points to create an understanding of how that data point fits into the context of a specific type of user. This allows you to build features and experiences that resonate with your target audience.

Our data also showed some clear trends in segmentation based on business model:

B2B and SaaS businesses are much more likely to segment by persona.
B2C and physical product companies are more likely to segment by geography.

This makes sense. A B2B PM building a SaaS product needs to understand the needs of a CFO versus a marketing manager, while a B2C PM selling a physical product might care more about regional preferences and logistics.

By segmenting your data, you're not just looking at numbers; you're looking at people. You're giving context to the data, and that's the first step toward building a product that your users truly love.

Conclusion

The most successful product professionals in 2025 are those who have mastered the art of blending quantitative and qualitative insights.

They understand that a dashboard can tell you where a user dropped off, but only a conversation can tell you why.

The opportunity is clear:

Talk to your customers more. The data shows that many PMs are still not doing this enough. Direct conversations will uncover nuance, emotions, and unmet needs that you can't see in a dashboard.
Pair your feedback with your data. If customers are asking for something, validate that request with usage data. If your data shows a friction point, use customer feedback to understand the story behind it.
Embrace persona-based segmentation. This will help you move from a broad, generic view of your user base to a personalized, user-centric view that will help you make better, more targeted decisions.

The future of product management belongs to the hybrid PM: the professional who is equally comfortable in a customer interview as they are in a data visualization tool.

By embracing both sides of the coin, you'll not only build better products but also become a more strategic and indispensable leader.

Our latest report reveals how product managers across industries are leveraging analytics to shape roadmaps, increase retention, and build products users can’t live without.

Want to make faster, better-informed product calls? Get your free copy now 👇

The customer-centric PM: How qualitative feedback and quantitative data are finally merging