Every product work is different. You might have faced a few challenges if you work in a product team. For instance – shipping new features, measuring the success of the product with a single metric, difficulty in getting things done, or using a certain technology because it seems to look rather than relevant. Many product professionals believe that implementing the latest software can tackle product problems. But the real problem lies in the different kinds of product work and strategies. Here we will explore the product work that goes beyond the product market fit.
Wrong process and wrong strategy – Not understanding the product thoroughly can make the strategies and success go wrong. Most product managers are unaware of the product work they are working on. This affects the productivity of their role and hampers the transitioning of the product. Product managers believe that what worked for them in the past will work well in the future also. But as the organization grows, the complexity of the products and projects also grows.
The Wrong Process Might Lead To The Formation Of Wrong Strategies. And Some Of Them Could Be –
Working on growth when you should be forming strategies for the expansion of product market fit.
Working on features when you should be giving your 100% in doing the growth work.
Feature work – Most product managers think about feature work. After reaching the product market fit stage, feature work is important to extend the functionality of the product. But here the mistakes arise –
Every type of feature casts a shadow cost – Follow on costs come into existence once a feature is shipped. These costs include maintenance costs, user costs, and killing costs. Many people underestimate the shadow costs. But if you pay attention to the product roadmaps, you will find feature after feature with no time for follow-on work allotted. The follow-on work takes a backseat because it is difficult to justify when you are already committed to your team for the next project. So, it is advisable to leave buffer space for these shadow costs that every feature casts.
It creates challenges when you ignore the feature – Your team will end up stuck between initiatives. It creates extra challenges for the team. The product becomes more complex, and it can result in business disruptions.
Growth work – Before building the feature, ask, “How will the users build the habit concerning his feature”? It is what leads to growth. Growth product work is the thing that captures value. Some product teams follow the false notion which is –
It is the job of the product to grow – The product professionals believe in the oldest misbelief “It is the role of someone else to get more customers and users to use the product.” The professionals need to change this mindset and work towards exploring the product market fit.
Growth is about features – Growth is the stage of the product life cycle, but it is not only about more features. Building a new feature could be the solution, but many times it isn’t. The main cause is that most product teams know the nitty-gritty of developing features but don’t pay attention to the other factors that lead to growth. Understanding the tactics to fit your features in the growth loops is a way to develop more successful features.
It is time to understand the growth model clearly – If you are finding the answer to the Product and Management questions of how the product grows, find out the way of working in terms of acquisition, retention, and monetization. It will take your growth model to new heights. Once you have a clear picture of the growth model, use different experiments to find out whether the methods actually take the growth metrics to new levels or not.
Product market fit expansion – After hitting the initial product market fit, the product team works hard for the expansion of the product. But the growth gets hampered at some point in the product cycle. You need to expand the product market fit in a non-incremental way to fuel its growth.
Expand the product market by using various strategies – You can expand the product market fit with the help of significant strategies like –
Expand the same product to the adjacent market.
Expand to an adjacent product in the same market.
Diversify the products.
You can also create new products while leveraging the old ones.
To sum it up
If you want the product to be successful, it is vital to recognize the different types of product work. Create the insights, tool kits, and frameworks of the product areas and then form the product strategies. You need to step ahead of the product and work beyond the product market fit. And the above-mentioned things will help you ponder over what you need to do more in the product life cycle and how you can improve it. So, get ready to form a successful product and witness the success in your organization.
