Building Innovative Products that Matter
What is the difference between a good digital product and a great digital product? It is no longer enough to simply have a mobile app or a website. If your products do not serve people’s needs, they will not be used. Innovation is rooted in understanding real problems and opportunities, not just delivering on a technology offering. If you want to create an innovative digital product in 2019, you must start by understanding, not only the market and your competitors, but the ecosystem that surrounds your end users.
No one knows your model numbers
You are an expert of your business, but your customers probably aren’t. This may be obvious, but it is worth saying. It is easy for teams to build products or experiences that do a great job of serving the business and internal stakeholders, but completely miss on serving their customers. It is not uncommon for a business to be so focused on redesigning their website, getting an app in the app store, or making a feature that trumps their competition that they forget to ask if that is what the customer really needs.
Be careful not to start with a solution before taking the time to discover and learn more about potential opportunities. Simply making a mobile app to get your brand in the app store, for example, won’t necessarily result in people using or even finding that app. Digital products are a long term investment and can be expensive to maintain and build. If the product you are building doesn’t serve your audience, you won’t see the adoption or retention you were hoping for. It is rarely worth investing in a digital product if it doesn’t result in value for the people you aim to serve.
Don’t build it for you
You are not your end user. No matter how much you think you know about your customer, there are many more things you do not know. Digital product strategies should be informed by real world input, not just assumptions or past behavior. In order to build something great, we need to learn more about the ecosystems that surround our business and the people we hope to serve.
The growing accessibility of technology and digital products have made consumers more discerning. Even if someone loves your brand, if your product doesn’t add value, it will likely won’t be used. The stakes are higher than they have ever been to stand out in the market. Products that don’t deliver on a real customer need will fail. When you gain a deeper understanding of what your users do, feel, experience, and need, you discover true opportunities to differentiate your business from the competition.
Start small and iterate
Starting on a new digital offering can be challenging. Even if your strategy is informed by customer feedback and research, it is easy to lose sight of what is important. How do you start identifying what is a real opportunity for your business? How big should your product be at launch?
Assuming you need to launch with a large set of features can lead to products that lack focus and value. Instead, focus on one or two core offerings. This focus will allow you to get your ideas into the hands of end users quickly to get feedback. Testing your ideas early and often allow you to adapt to change and stay relevant. If you keep your finger on the pulse of your users, it can lead to a natural product evolution. Instagram, for example, started as an app focused on checking-in to locations, similar to Foursquare. Today, it is one of the leading photo sharing social networks. Testing your ideas early, often, and throughout the lifespan of your product will help you grow.
Be customer centered
The difference between a good product and a great product is putting the customer at the center of your strategy. More than ever, technology touches every part of our lives, no matter who we are. Your product experience is more than the sum of its features. Making a great product requires more than empathy; you need to embed yourself in the day to day reality of your customers. Although platform and features matter, you have to think bigger if you want to escape the trap of “good enough”. The only question is: are you ready to be great?