When building or improving a product, knowing what features matter most to users can be the difference between success and missed opportunity. AYTM – short for Ask Your Target Market – is designed to make this process easier, faster, and more scalable. It gives product teams direct access to consumer input in a way that’s both customizable and cost-efficient.

So, what is AYTM in product research? It’s a DIY research tool that allows you to quickly launch surveys to targeted consumer audiences and get results in a matter of hours. It’s especially valuable during the early stages of product development or when roadmap planning decisions are under tight timelines or budget constraints. Rather than guessing what your users want, AYTM lets you ask them directly – and get responses that guide your next steps with confidence.

Key Benefits of Using AYTM for Feature Prioritization

• Quick turnaround: Launch surveys and receive results in hours or days, not weeks.
• Custom targeting: Choose exactly who you want to hear from so insights reflect your real user base.
• Rich diagnostics: Go beyond simple preferences to explore needs, motivations, and willingness to adopt features.
• DIY flexibility: Design surveys in a streamlined interface without needing a large agency budget.

For example, imagine a fictional mid-size fitness app company considering three new features: social sharing, advanced workout tracking, and gamified challenges. With AYTM, they can test which feature resonates most, determine which pain points they're solving, and evaluate how much consumers are willing to pay for each one. That kind of clarity can instantly sharpen roadmap decisions.

But while AYTM data is easy to gather, making sure research stays on objective – and is interpreted accurately – takes skill. That’s where experienced market research professionals can help. SIVO’s On Demand Talent, for instance, brings senior-level insights expertise into your team only when you need it, helping to ensure your research is methodologically sound and tactically useful.

As more organizations adopt DIY research tools like AYTM, many are realizing the value of pairing those tools with temporary expert support. From filling skill gaps to training internal teams, On Demand Talent enables companies to get more out of their tools and investments – while maintaining research quality and keeping decisions rooted in true consumer insights.

Gathering data is only half the equation. The real value of AYTM outputs comes from transforming them into clear, actionable decisions that guide roadmap planning. Without that step, even the most insightful survey results can sit unused.

So, how do you move from raw results to strategic feature prioritization? It begins with understanding what your data is telling you – and then translating that into feature choices customers will love and your business can support.

Steps to Convert AYTM Research into Roadmap Decisions

1. Identify Key Customer Value Drivers: Start by examining your AYTM research results for what matters most to users. Do respondents show strong interest in time-saving features? Frictionless onboarding? High customization? These insights reveal what your customers actually value – not just what sounds exciting in a brainstorming session.

2. Score and Compare Feature Ideas: Use tools like maximum difference scaling (MaxDiff) or rankings within AYTM to determine which features matter most. This allows you to create a hierarchy based on real consumer preferences, not assumptions.

3. Balance Customer Desirability with Business Viability: Once you've ranked the features based on desirability, overlay them with feasibility and cost considerations. This ensures your roadmap reflects both what the customer wants and what your team can deliver.

4. Develop Feature “Personas” or Segments: Some features may appeal more to specific user segments. Segmenting AYTM data by demographics or psychographics helps match features to targets during roadmap planning – especially helpful for multi-audience products.

5. Turn Insights into Actionable Roadmap Tiers: Organize features into “must-have,” “nice-to-have,” and “future exploration” buckets. This roadmap structure keeps the team focused while offering flexibility as business needs evolve.

Here’s a fictional example. A SaaS productivity tool tests four new features via AYTM: AI-assisted scheduling, real-time collaboration, offline mode, and dark mode. The survey reveals that enterprise users prefer collaboration tools, while individual users value offline access. With this insight, the product team can prioritize accordingly – building a roadmap that meets the distinct needs of their main user groups.

But even with clear results, teams sometimes struggle to interpret the data correctly, especially when working with limited internal resources. That’s why SIVO recommends tapping into On Demand Talent – seasoned insights professionals who can join your team on a fractional basis to validate findings, avoid bias, and ensure insights are tied tightly to business goals.

Rather than hiring consultants or freelancers without deep research expertise, On Demand Talent offers access to high-caliber insights leaders who understand both the technical aspects of data analysis and the strategic needs of roadmapping. They help you get the most out of tools like AYTM and embed stronger research thinking across your team – building internal capacity in the long term.

Ultimately, turning AYTM findings into roadmap priorities isn’t just about data interpretation – it’s about making confident, customer-led product decisions. And with the right tools and flexible talent support, you can do that faster, at a higher quality, and with lasting impact.

How to Identify Key Consumer Value Drivers from Diagnostics

One of AYTM’s strengths as a DIY market research tool is its ability to collect quick-turn insights from your exact target audience. But the real value isn’t just in the responses – it’s in knowing how to interpret them. Consumer diagnostics – such as satisfaction metrics, importance rankings, and preference testing – help reveal not just what customers say, but what truly matters to them.

To build a product roadmap that resonates, you need to focus on the features that align with core value drivers. These are the elements of a product or service that make the biggest difference in customer decisions and satisfaction. With AYTM, you can explore various diagnostic tools to tap into these insights:

Key diagnostics to spot value drivers:

• MaxDiff (Maximum Difference Scaling): This method helps isolate which features customers value most by asking them to choose the most and least important options. It avoids the “everything is important” trap.
• Conjoint Analysis: Understand how customers weigh trade-offs between different features and price points to uncover what drives decision-making.
• Importance vs. Satisfaction Grids: Plotting these metrics visually helps prioritize improvements that can significantly boost loyalty or user experience.

For example, a fictional health-tech company used MaxDiff through AYTM to evaluate which features their early users found most essential. While initial assumptions favored new AI-based tracking tools, the diagnostics revealed that users placed more value on better customer support and real-time syncing with other health apps. By re-centering the roadmap to amplify these areas, the team was able to focus resources where they had the highest payoff.

Unlocking these hidden drivers early in roadmap planning helps minimize development risk and enhances the product’s relevance at launch.

By using consumer diagnostics effectively in AYTM, product teams can move beyond assumptions and ensure they’re investing in features their users actually care about.

Using Expertise for Better Feature Decisions: The Role of On Demand Talent

While AYTM provides powerful tools and dashboards, interpreting its outputs in the right way requires more than clicking “run report.” To uncover compelling insights that inform feature prioritization, many product and research teams turn to professional support – and that’s where On Demand Talent makes a real difference.

SIVO’s On Demand Talent network gives companies access to seasoned consumer insights professionals who know how to transform raw AYTM outputs into actionable product strategies. These experts bring a deep understanding of research design, analysis, and storytelling – skills that help elevate DIY tools’ potential while keeping decisions aligned with business goals.

Why bring in On Demand Talent?

• Precision: Experts ensure surveys are well-structured and aligned to real business questions before they launch – preventing costly rework.
• Depth: Professionals can spot patterns, outliers, and competitive nuances in the data dashboards that automated tools alone may miss.
• Speed: Tap into talent quickly for fast-turn needs without long hiring timelines. Whether it’s for a roadmap sprint or a go-to-market pivot, On Demand Talent can plug in efficiently.
• Capability-building: Work side-by-side with internal teams to upskill around DIY tools like AYTM and apply data more effectively moving forward.

For instance, a fictional DTC apparel company with an overstretched insights team partnered with SIVO’s On Demand Talent to evaluate AYTM survey data on feature preferences. The expert identified that although a new “eco-fabric” option ranked lower overall, it was a key driver among the brand’s fastest growing segment. This insight led to a phased rollout targeting that niche – a decision that might have been missed without expert analysis.

Whether you need a short-term partner to bridge bandwidth gaps or a strategic pair of hands to make sense of survey results, On Demand Talent provides smarter support than hiring external agencies or relying solely on generic freelancers.

In short, it's not just about gathering data – it's about having the right people to make sure it’s used effectively. On Demand Talent helps product and insights teams stay efficient, focused, and confident at every step of roadmap planning.

From Survey to Strategy: Best Practices for Roadmap Alignment

AYTM offers fast and accessible consumer insights, but turning data into strategic product decisions requires a clear framework. It’s not just about knowing what respondents said – it’s about converting those findings into roadmap priorities that move the business forward. Here’s how to make that transition more effective.

1. Start with a Clear Hypothesis

Before you even build your AYTM study, align your team around the key questions you want to answer. Are you trying to prioritize product features? Validate a new concept? Discover unmet needs? Defining the goal upfront will shape your survey design and analysis strategy.

2. Synthesize, Don’t Just Report

Instead of simply listing survey stats, focus on connecting insights to decisions. This is where partnering with an expert (like SIVO’s On Demand Talent) can help translate AYTM outputs into concise, decision-ready summaries that highlight implications for roadmap discussions.

3. Prioritize Consumer Value Over Volume

It’s easy to get distracted by features with the most mentions or votes. But raw popularity doesn’t always equal impact. Prioritize based on consumer value drivers uncovered through diagnostics like MaxDiff or conjoint – the features that truly influence choice, not just surface-level preferences.

4. Map Insights to Development Realities

Once you know what matters most to customers, plot your findings against internal resource limits, technical feasibility, and time constraints. A practical roadmap balances consumer insight with execution possibilities.

5. Revisit and Iterate

Market dynamics shift fast. Treat your AYTM research as a living feedback loop. Check in with consumers at key milestones (new prototypes, updated interfaces, pricing changes) to keep alignment tight over time.

For example, a fictional SaaS company used an initial AYTM study to help prioritize new dashboard features. They then revisited a subset of those users after rollout, testing how the updates impacted satisfaction and continued usage. This iterative cycle created a product roadmap always grounded in up-to-date feedback and evolving customer needs.

By combining these best practices with expert interpretation, companies can take full advantage of what AYTM offers – making faster, more customer-driven roadmap decisions without sacrificing rigor or strategic insight.