The Customer Letter

Marty Cagan describes a discovery framing technique for larger product efforts, such as redesigns, where a simple opportunity assessment may not convey enough value. He builds on Amazon's 'working backwards' practice of writing an imagined press release before building, which keeps teams focused on customer outcomes rather than feature lists. He then presents a variation developed at Nordstrom: an imagined letter from a persona-defined happy customer to the CEO, plus a congratulatory CEO reply. Cagan argues this format is more current and builds stronger empathy for customer pain. He frames the technique primarily as an internal evangelism and alignment tool rather than customer validation.

01Key takeaways

• Use a richer framing artifact when an effort spans multiple problems or business objectives, beyond a standard opportunity assessment.
• Write the outcome first: describe the customer benefit in imagined prose before listing any features.
• Write from a specific, well-defined customer persona so the benefits feel concrete and empathetic.
• Treat the exercise as internal evangelism; if the team and leaders aren't excited after reading, revisit the effort.
• Remember that real customer letters, even critical ones, are highly motivating for teams.

02Key sections

When to use a richer framing

Larger efforts with multiple problems or objectives may need more than an opportunity assessment's few questions to communicate value.

Working backwards at Amazon

Product managers write an imagined press release describing customer benefits before the product exists, countering the pull toward listing features.

The Nordstrom customer letter

A variation writes a hypothetical letter from a well-defined persona to the CEO, plus a CEO reply, describing how the product changed their life and helped the business.

Why the letter works better

The press release format feels dated, while the letter format builds stronger empathy for current customer pain and makes the team's impact on customers clearer.

Framing, not validation

Because the audience is colleagues rather than real customers, the technique is best seen as a framing and evangelism tool, and it can reveal when an effort lacks excitement.

03From the post

“A partnership dedicated to teaching best practices to product teams and product leaders”

04Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.