Hey everybody, it’s August 4th, 2022. In this issue of Product EVO’s 5X5 We cover 3 tips to handle risk, exploiting unique advantages, product flops, product market fit, and design creep.
Enjoy :)
X1 - WHAT'S ON MY MIND
When we’re in the middle of massive change, everything looks like risk. When we look at it in the rear-view mirror, all that risk looks like opportunity.
Three things you can do to find opportunities right now are:
Stay Aware - Instead of getting caught up in global events and economic trends, simply stay aware. Eliminate noise from popular news sources by blocking them in your feed on social media and Youtube. Curate vetted news sources carefully to stay informed, but not engrossed.
Stay Curious - Instead of reacting to events, get curious. What opportunities could only exist if we enter a recession? What problems is inflation creating for my customers and how can I uniquely solve them? What opportunities are being created by insanely high gas prices?
Stay Focused - Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, stay focused on driving value for your customers. Global events can impact our businesses. Definitely. It’s easy to worry about that. Most people do. What sets you apart is when you stay focused on others. How can you continue to deliver incredible value for your customers right now? What kind of relationship do you have with them? What extra support do they need? What additional products or services could they benefit from right now?
X2 - EXPLOITING YOUR UNIQUE ADVANTAGES
We help our clients get clear on what their unique advantages are and how to strategically use them to develop new products.
On the startup real talk blog they call out 3 specific unique advantages startups have over existing companies:
You can move fast.
You can offer white glove service.
You can hire truly exceptional people.
“If you’re explicit about identifying those advantages and using them, you’ll dramatically increase your chance at being successful. But if you’re not taking advantage of them, you’re just a worse-funded, less-well-known, crappier version of a big company.”
X3 - $600 MILLION DOLLAR COMPANIES SUFFER COSTLY PRODUCT FLOPS, TOO
Rachel Greenberg put her heart and soul into her product launch. She checked all of the boxes from celebrity endorsements to having her tech team on call to handle the massive inflow of traffic.
Then….crickets.
“When you’re running your own company, every failure cuts deep. Failures challenge our psyches, our confidence, and our will to move forward as entrepreneurs.”
We have to “try to reconcile the money you’ve invested with the blatant market rejection mocking your incompetence.”
Where I agree with Rachel is product flops hurt - a lot. And, to her point, we should cut our losses quickly. It’s smart to reinvest our time, energy, and resources into high-potential projects.
Where I disagree with her is her shotgun approach to product development. She claims that her company had a massive 330 failed products.
What she fails to point out is that is only a 3.3% failure rate for their 10,000 total SKUs. That is much better than the average new product failure rate of 80-95%. She also fails to see how critical each product launch is for small and medium sizes businesses.
Our philosophy is to do your homework. Fail early…like really early in the concept phase. Iterate quickly to find product market fit. This takes most of the risk out of product development altogether.
X4 - 9 TIPS TO FIND PRODUCT MARKET FIT
Marc Andreessen, argues that the “market is the most important factor in a startup’s success or failure.”
If you want to succeed, simply get in alignment with your market. Work for product market fit.
Let the customers pull you - Stay open to new ideas. Iterate based on feedback.
Make the most of LinkedIn and Twitter - Follow groups and discussions that are happening online. Let people tell you what they want.
Focus on a manageable number of gaps - Don’t try to solve every problem. Focus on one or two you can solve well. Deliver big.
X5 - JUST FOR FUN
There’s nothing quite like a “few simple changes” to kill a good product 😂
GET A PRODUCT QUOTE
Product EVO helps growth-focused companies predictably develop successful new products. We help with Product Strategy, Prototyping, Product Development, Sourcing, Manufacturing, and Quality Control.
The easiest way to try us out is to get a free product costing analysis with real-world manufacturability feedback from factories for your product
