If you are in a customer-facing role or in constant conversation with customers there should be no issue with you tacking-on a question or two related to potent

If you are in a customer-facing role or in constant conversation with customers there should be no issue with you tacking-on a question or two related to potential enhancements. You have plausible deniability, and you also have the option at any stage of not running with this yourself and actually doing it via the company (which is what your employer is most likely expecting). One guy in a previous team of mine brazenly and proficiently used Socratic Method on the phone with clients to direct the conversation, getting clients to come up with answers to the questions he was looking to answer. This was genius not only because he covertly gauged market interest but also because having the client come up with the answer themselves makes them more inclined to buy. It's a massive grey area and you have a lot of scope as long as no-one can pin anything on you (and as you mention, you want to avoid coming across as dishonest). Regarding being honest and laying it all out on the table, I strongly advise against this route. Nothing good will come of it.