We once thought that the quickest way to get rich was by playing the lottery, but actually it’s by mastering product strategy. Product strategies sto salvaged tech is that thing you need to do to actually get people buying and using your products, and it’s not as hard or time-consuming as you might think.
Don’t worry- we can teach you all about product strategy.
1. Get a mentor
A good product strategy is like an art, but there’s no such thing as a self-taught artist. When you want to get good at anything, it’s good to have a mentor- someone who has already been through the pain of creating products that can appeal to customers and make money. Find someone who is as passionate about product development as you are and tell them what you’re working on, what inspires you and what bores you (yes, it’s OK to hate some part of your project). Ask them for advice about things like identifying a niche for your product or how much time you should spend on marketing.
2. Get a customer
If you’re creating something for other people, you’ve got to talk to those people. We always say that you are best-placed to solve your own problems, and sometimes this is true. But if you’re creating something that other people are going to use, it’s best if you can have someone try it out before it’s done and tell you whether they think they’d like it.
3. Build an MVP (minimum viable product)
This is a product with just the features that your target customer needs, nothing more. You need to get the product out there to identify what features will be important to them and use these as a basis for testing your product, as well as ensuring that you’re moving in the right direction. It also gives you some money in the bank (keep reading) so you can keep working on your product.
4. Build a minimum viable marketing plan
Most marketers will tell you that marketing is 90 percent sales-driven, but actually it’s not quite that simple. If sales are everything then what they are spending their time and money on is irrelevant; it’s necessary but not sufficient for success (we know this from our experience with Accelerate, which has commissioned 10 different online marketing agencies). So your marketing plan should be made up of a suitable mix of paid and free media, but it needs to fit in with your product strategy and the way you think about things.
5. Plan a growth plan
Now that you have the minimum viable product out there, it’s time to build up a business plan around your marketing plans, including sales projections and growth projections based on analysis of what got customers into your first minimum viable product. You need information from customers and revenues from previous products to do this properly, so ask them for feedback if you can and then make adjustments until you get a realistic picture of what can be achieved as long as everything is working well together.
6. Plan for your exit
There are slightly more than a million business plans out there, but you will probably not be able to interest any venture capitalist in yours. Why? Because of the most important thing- your exit strategy . A venture capitalist cares about the exit because it’s money in their pocket at the end, and they want to invest in something that is going to get them that money. So check out what other companies in your sector have done and get some solid financial projections about how much money you might make and where you might be able to sell your company for it.
7. Make a team of people
When you’re working on your own, you tend to get things done at a faster rate, but when you’re working with others there’s a lot more potential for conflict and argument. So first of all, decide what kind of people you want to be working with – even though it might be someone that you know or like, remember that your relationship will be different if they’re paid by the hour rather than being invested in the project emotionally. Secondly, make sure that they have something to offer the business – some skills or knowledge might come faster than others but keep an eye out for people who have all three (technical skills + passion + ideas). A team of all three will be much more effective than a one-man band.
8. Get some money
You need to have a plan for how you’re going to pay for the good work that is done. How much money do you need? How long does it take to get that amount of money or worth? You don’t necessarily have to have all of the answers, but you need a target- let’s say $10,000 per month in revenue and two months to raise that amount- and then identify what it will take to achieve that.
Conclusion:
Product strategy is the thing you’ll use to get people to buy your product or service. You need to be able to communicate it in a way that makes sense and makes it worth their while, while at the same time solving their problems and matching their needs. These steps will help you do just that.
