How do you separate features users actually use from things they just say they want?

We fell into the trap of blindly trusting our feature request board. Our top voted item was an advanced reporting dashboard so we dedicated weeks of dev time to make it perfect.

The usage numbers after launch were a reality check. Most people who asked for it barely touched it proving there's a huge gap between what users ask for and what they actually use daily.

What steps do you take to validate feature requests so you don't waste time on things people won't use?