Measure Success for Slack Connect
You're a lead PM for Slack Connect — a new feature that allows users to communicate with people outside of their companies through Slack. Users can either start a channel or DM anyone outside of their company by sending an invite to a company email. How will you launch and measure the success of this product?
Do begin by imagining the ideal end-state. PMs often say 'products are built backward.' Imagine a world where your product perfectly solves users' problems. What MUST be true for this to happen?
Don't neglect overarching business objectives. How does this particular product fit into company strategy? Does this influence your definition of success?
Do dive deep. Don't automatically refer to vanity metrics or generics like retention or engagement. These are good starting points, but your success metrics should be specific to your product and users. Don't be scared to invent a success metric that doesn't exist yet, but is fine-tuned for your product.
Do address blind spots. Chances are the metrics that you came up with aren't perfect, and that's expected. Don't forget to address gaps and discuss how we might use other metrics (leading, lagging, guardrail, etc.) to complement your true north.
How would you measure the success of Slack Connect? Use any framework you'd like.
Why do companies ask this?
Without metrics, you won't know whether your product is on the mark or not. Building products should be a learning experience to understand your users' needs. This is hard — and it'll likely take multiple iterations. Without clearly defined success metrics, you and your team won't know what to do next.
What the interviewer is looking for
- Context. Include product goals, users, and the wider industry/competitive landscape in your answer.
- Understanding that "less is more" when it comes to metrics.
- A well-chosen north star metric.
Self assessment
Rate your own answer on a scale of 1 to 5, answering each of the questions from our grading rubric.
- Less is more: Do you provide 1~3 specific, fine-tuned metrics to define success?
- North star: Did you go beyond vanity and/or generic metrics to provide a true north that is specific to and suitable for your product?
- Context: Did you take into account the industry, your competitors, and overarching company goals?
Sample answer
To launch Slack Connect, I would focus on three key goals: increasing collaboration across companies, enhancing security and trust in cross-company communications, and improving user engagement by making Slack the default platform for external business communications.
Launch Strategy:
- Beta Rollout: I would start with a targeted beta launch, inviting a diverse group of companies (varying in size and industry) to ensure feedback represents a broad set of use cases. This will help us identify any pain points or security concerns early.
- Messaging & Positioning: The positioning would emphasize both the productivity gains and security features, addressing a key concern for businesses when communicating externally.
- Partner Marketing: Collaborate with key customers to co-market success stories and use cases, demonstrating the tangible benefits of using Slack Connect.
Success Metrics:
- Adoption Rate: The primary metric would be the percentage of active Slack users who adopt Slack Connect for external communications. We would target 20% adoption in the first quarter post-launch.
- Message Volume Growth: Track the number of messages exchanged between external companies, aiming for a 15% increase in cross-company communications over three months.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and NPS: Monitor feedback from users on the ease of use and trust in the feature, ensuring that security and privacy concerns are addressed adequately. A CSAT score of 4.5+ and a positive NPS improvement in target customer segments would indicate strong product-market fit.
North Star Metric:
The most important metric would be cross-company engagement rate, measured as the ratio of Slack Connect messages to total messages sent. This captures the feature's core value: increasing collaboration across businesses, which will ultimately drive retention and the expansion of Slack within organizations.
By focusing on adoption, usage, and satisfaction, I will ensure we are both expanding Slack's user base and reinforcing its position as a trusted, secure platform for external communication.