A year ago, I thought that the future of technology is what drives product strategy. There are countless articles on the internet about how technology will soon change everything and it’s best to be at the forefront of all these changes before you get overtaken. When should product strategy focus on forecasting capacity requirements?
Little did I know that this mindset would change my entire outlook on product strategy.
1. Why Product Strategy Is Important
I was convinced that building the best product at the right time is the way to success, and I could use tech to make my product better than any competitor. But now I know it comes down to building trust with customers on a continual basis.
It’s not enough to build a great product, you also have to build trust with your customers so they will continue using it. If your product leaks, then your customer is gone for good because no one will trust you anymore.
This experience has taught me that tech alone cannot make a lasting impression on customers.
2. How To Build Trust with Customers.
Product strategy involves a lot more than just the tech behind the product. I spent much more time on things other than the product because I only learned this recently and it has helped me grow my business exponentially. Here’s a few ways you can build trust with customers:
3. Launch your product slowly and create a positive anticipation.
Once you have created a great product, launch it slowly and make sure to tell your customers about it in advance so they will be looking forward to using it when it becomes available. Treating your customers right means treating them with respect so they will continue using your product, even as competitors come out with newer versions that may be better than yours.
4. Customers Remember The Bad.
Acquiring a customer means creating a strong relationship with them. This means one thing: Failure is not an option. You have to invest time and money in building each customer and you have to do it right, or they may not stick around for long.
When things don’t go well, remember this lesson the next time you start selling. If you treat your customer badly, they will remember that and won’t ever buy from you again.
5. Have A Plan To Hire More Sales Enablement Reps
Using my product as a showcase of what I could build made me hire a sales rep once I started making some good money from it. I soon realized that I couldn’t do it alone and it didn’t work well with my work hours.
While my product had great velocity at first, it started losing traction as the number of customers leveled off. This is when I realized it would take more help for me to pick up even more customers. I couldn’t do what I did alone, but paying someone else to help me out was not an option.
The lesson here is that you cannot do everything yourself without paying someone else to help you out. You can be a solo hero and build your product very quickly, but at some point this will not work anymore because you simply cannot get everything done on your own.
6. Be Decisive.
Being decisive means being true to yourself. It means being authentic, honest and straightforward. If you’re not being true to yourself, then don’t be surprised when people don’t like you because they will see right through you.
The longer it takes for you to decide on something, the longer it will take for you to deliver on that decision. This is why I avoid making decisions at all costs because I am sometimes too indecisive, which leads me to having poor velocity in my products and services…
7. Invest Money In Your Business
Let’s face it, you have to invest money in your business if you want to make more money in the long run. The more money you invest today, the more revenue you will realize tomorrow. However, it’s imperative that this investment is being spent wisely because there are plenty of great investments and then there are bad ones.
8. Be An Expert Marketer
Being an expert marketer means keeping your customers happy with what they’re getting from you. This means having a good product roadmap, holding sales calls with customers and providing them with their expectations, making sure not to let any negative word about your product go unnoticed and much more…
Conclusion:
There is no easy way around building trust with customers. You can hustle and make the best product at the right time, but it won’t mean anything if you’re not building trust with your customers.
The future of technology is evolving at a rapid rate, but that doesn’t mean it will change everything. I now know that trust and enduring long-lasting relationships are more important than tech improvements.
As an entrepreneur you have to be ready to learn new things and adapt accordingly because the world is changing quickly, but never forget that there are a lot of really smart people out there who can help you tweak your business plan to become more profitable by following a few simple rules which we just talked about above.
