A Reddit Research Notes Template for SaaS Teams

A Reddit thread can point you toward a real customer problem. It cannot, by itself, tell you how common that problem is. A useful research note keeps those two ideas separate.

The five fields worth saving

For each conversation, record:

1. The thread URL and date.
2. The user's exact description of the problem.
3. Their role or workflow, if they volunteered it.
4. The workaround or tool they currently use.
5. Your interpretation, marked clearly as an interpretation.

That last field matters. "The user wants an export button" is an observation if they said so. "The entire segment needs an export button" is a hypothesis.

Make one note per problem, not per keyword

A keyword search for "spreadsheet" may bring back a finance question, a school assignment, and a sales-ops complaint. They share a word, not a job.

Group notes by the task the person is trying to finish. A founder selling a reporting tool might group "copying data into Friday's client update" with "building monthly board slides," but only after checking whether the underlying workflow is really the same.

Keep the surrounding conversation

Read the replies before labeling a post as unmet demand. Someone may have solved the problem with an existing feature. The original author may later clarify that cost, not capability, was the blocker. Save the thread URL so you can revisit it instead of relying on a clipped quote.

Use a small evidence ladder

One thread is a lead. Several independent threads using similar language are a pattern worth investigating. A customer interview or prototype test can tell you whether your proposed solution actually helps. None of those steps gives you a reliable market-size number.

For each theme, write down what would change your mind. If users repeatedly choose a manual workaround because they value control, an automated feature may be the wrong answer.

Keep participation separate from research

Reading a public discussion does not create a reason to pitch. If you join, answer the question in front of you and follow the community's rules. Reddit's sitewide rules prohibit spam. A research note can be useful even when the right public response is no response at all.

A weekly review that fits on one page

Pick three recurring problems. For each, list the original quotes, the number of distinct conversations you found, a plausible alternative explanation, and the next question to test with users. That is a stronger product input than a folder of screenshots.

If monitoring helps you find the conversations, let it handle discovery. Keep the judgment about what people mean, and whether to respond, with a person.