Growth Products: Staying Ahead Of The Competition
In the app world, competition has never been higher. Any time you set out to launch something new, there are only so many ways that you can stand out. When I think about growth products, it’s important to think about more than just adding new users. Ultimately, the biggest drivers for long-term success are retention and engagement.
Simply put, you want to double-down on users who are engaging with your product. This builds long-term value for your customers and makes them not want to go with another option. Plus, these users will post positive reviews and comments about your app – which of course will improve its placement within the app store.
Outside of focusing on your most active users, you need to be rigorous with your product lifecycle in setting up growth products for success. Too often, we rush with great ideas and inevitably critical steps go missing in the development process. Instead, you should put in the work up front. Most importantly, you need a keen understanding of your user and the unique solution that you can provide. When these steps are skipped or aren’t thought through, the quality of a product suffers and users won’t completely engage with your product.
When you look at the foundation of growth products, they need to solve a problem before anything else. I’m not suggesting that delight doesn’t play an important role in delivering value for customers. However, the ability to help people live fuller lives is more important than any delight that can be created. Striking a balance between the two is always ideal. That said, I try to focus on improving people’s lives through my product development process.
Finally, product managers need to get comfortable with the unknown – especially with growth products that represent completely new solutions or approaches to a problem. Ultimately, you aren’t going to know if a product will be successful until you get it out into the open. That said, you can increase your chances for success by fighting for your users in the decisions that you make. Simply put, if your product resonates with people and you are connected to them, your chances for success are much higher.
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