-
The Problem with Focus Groups
By
Market researchers have been using focus groups as a tool for over 60 years. While they can be useful in some instances, the epic failures of some products can be directly attributable to information gained through focus groups. The most famous product launch disaster is still – even after almost 35 years – the introduction…
-
Why Your Product Company Should Embrace the Pivot
By
Pivot is a frightening word in my line of work and from at least one angle it’s easy to understand why. Building a software product business is not just hard it can be incredibly expensive. It can cost a tremendous amount of time, money, energy, etc. This is why when the topic comes up, founders…
-
Why Disruption Can happen in Any Market – the Case of DuckDuckGo
By
The misconception in product management is that fierce competition or one with seemingly high barriers to entry cannot be disrupted. This is a myth and we’re going to talk about the product company DuckDuckGo to prove it. For those that don’t know, DuckDuckGo is a search engine, just like Google. However, unlike Google, DuckDuckGo doesn’t track your…
-
Defining and using your business’ KPIs
By
Every business owner has goals for their company. Defining and quantifying goals for your business can be the difference between success and failure. Before you act, the best approach to create and adhere to objectives is by having KPIs. What are KPIs? A Key Performance Indicator is a measurable value that indicates how well a…
-
Why your value proposition is more important than your product
By
A value proposition is a statement that explains how your product solves problems. These problems affect a specific market and user. Your solution (your product) needs to be uniquely differentiated in this market. This is why we’re always talking about your product solving an obvious unmet need. What’s lesser known by those looking to achieve…
-
Zencastr: The almost-great podcast app
By
With over 32% of Americans listening to podcasts on a regular monthly basis, it’s clear that podcasting is here to stay. But while there are many options available for podcast production, most are cumbersome, hard to use, and the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. Since there are so many options out there,…
-
Using early adopters to grow your market
By
Every entrepreneur has a dream of launching their product to a hungry market of millions that are ready to take out their wallets to buy. It is only a dream, because the reality is generally much different. Innovation spreads into the market in a systematic way, and it’s important for marketers to understand this process…
-
Vitamins won’t kill the pain
By
If you are approaching product development correctly, you are first trying to find a market with an obvious unmet need. After that determination you are better equipped to design the product that fills that need. The greater the need, and the more your product satisfies it, the more successful your product is likely to be.…
-
When you need to herd cats … DOODLE!
By
If you’ve ever tried to organize a family reunion, you already know that one of the hardest tasks is to get participants to agree on a date. People may be coming to the event from afar, which means they’re taking into consideration various factors such as transportation and housing. And these days, people lead such busy…
-
When you need help, will you outsource or hire?
By
It’s very likely that you started your company with merely an idea for a new product and perhaps a partner or two. If you bootstrapped at the beginning, you no doubt worked long, hard hours doing everything that you could by yourself. At some point, however, you will need help. It could be when you…
●●●