How can you manage product lifecycles in a crowded market?

In a fast paced marketplace, I would say get to minimum viable product within 3-6 months and start getting feedback. This could be crucial in cases where product-market fit is not very clear. Entrepreneurs who start with idea need to perfect the same by collaborating with the market participants. This combined with being nimble and open to pivot will prove successful in early stages.

Considering launching a new product? Your first move should be deep market analysis. Who exactly is your demographic? Adolescents? Millennials? Professionals? An understanding of their tastes, needs, and desires is crucial.

An effective answer to this question depends on Industry, timing and context. In general the answer is about differentiating in a crowded market by offering better value to the customers and creating societal impact. To achieve that you need to: 1. Analyze your customer needs and business ecosystem 2. Change your assumptions of your existing business model and create a new non disruptive one (outside your industry focus) 3. Leverage your social capital 4. Leverage your partnerships 5. Show can do mindset 6. Use optimally your resources/competencies

Thorough market research is the backbone of any successful product launch. By deeply understanding your target audience and the competitive landscape, you not only position your product effectively but also anticipate potential challenges. This proactive approach allows for better strategic planning and reduces the risk of costly pivots later on. It is not just about launching a product, it is about launching the right product that addresses a genuine need in the market. The more groundwork you do upfront, the smoother the product lifecycle tends to be.

We produce reporting and analyses. The news is the news - nothing new there. But with the fracturing of news sources, how to stay relevant and interesting? We keep trying to answer one question: "So what?" The answer evolves with the market. We try to evolve our reporting and analyses to stay relevant and attractive. This is how we are trying to manage our lifecycle in an ever ore crowded market.

We use Customer Value Tree (CVT) framework, which is the combination of two - The Tree of Life and Customer Value Journey (CVJ). First one we use to find the proof of concept and product market fit, the second one for the growth and scaling stages. Overall, it works great all together and shows a clear way between milestones and next steps.

Years ago and well before Amazon became the everything store, this made sense. This AI generated article topic is outdated. The market today and into the future is Amazon and to a far lesser degree, Walmart. As I wrote in my upcoming book, Take A Chance!, we are an Amazon Top 200 beauty reseller and work with Amazon to understand best selling practices. There are virtually unlimited ways to win the business and focused efforts win. But first, you have to take a chance!

The job of a startup is to learn as fast as possible. The key thing to remember is that what matter is not to launch a product, but to learn what should be launched and why. Yes, to make progress startups need to build, but it's done in service of learning, first and foremost.

Any road map should include a few wrong turns and detours. If you are not making mistakes, you are not being creative enough in your marketing. The secret is to limit the damage those mistakes might cause, while at the same time preparing yourself to leap on any idea that takes off like a rocket!

In the early stages of product development (especially in professional services) product development is a bit organic because you gain more insight into the ideal customer journey. Readiness is a good gage for how products align with the customer journey. I discovered this after releasing my first course to help speakers and consultants expand their businesses with a strategy. While the course was well received by those who were ready, others gave me feedback that they liked my approached and weren't quite ready. Now I have a "Get Ready" program that still includes and experience working with me over a short period of time (hours vs. weeks).

It’s also a great time to collaborate with customers. Invite customers to share feedback on the test and let them know about future plans. It’s not just good for developing the best product but also a good point of engagement for high-value relationships.

It is important not to overcomplicate the MVP. Get it working, test on the real market, then iterate to correct flaws and make it better. Aiming for a near perfect MVP is costly and risky.

As far as startups are considered you don't have the liberty to test and validate. Build your product and release it to your users and then listen. Have a team or mechanism in place to understand and gather feedback and then convert this feedback into actionable items. Speed it is key here. The more feedback you get the more you can improve your product.

Yes, when your project is on the product market fit stage you need to find CAMP, which is Campaign-Audience-Message-Product combination. It consists of two parts: user experience (UX) and predictable acquisition channel (PAC). Having a website or a product as UX part and Minimum Viable Campaigns (MVC) and finding CAMP - this is a testing period, also called the "valley of death" among startups. If you pass it you will get to the growth stage.

Be creative with customer feedback. Ask creative questions. For example, "If this product were a movie what movie would it be?" "If this product / service / brand was a person at a party what sort of person would they be? The life and soul and up dancing? Chatting to everyone or staying in the kitchen?" By being more creative you may get insights you would not have discovered with traditional questions.

In my experience, entrepreneurship has been a thrilling journey of turning ideas into tangible success. It's about embracing the unknown, taking calculated risks, and continually pushing the boundaries of innovation. Whether it's seizing opportunities, overcoming challenges, or fostering creativity, entrepreneurship has allowed me to carve my path and create a meaningful impact in the world of IT consulting. It's a dynamic and ever-evolving adventure that keeps me passionate about what I do.

Think of everything as a funnel! At the top of the funnel, you want to increase awareness as much as possible, as cheaply as possible. In early days, this is best done by carving out a hyper-niche (tied to your business) and GIVING insightful information and thoughts for free. This needs to be done frequently. Volume matters! Strive for daily, maybe even two times per day. Build an audience. That audience will become your first layer of funnel, leads, but they will also interact with your content and engage in conversation in comments. That is the gold mine to get a wide sense of your target audience’s needs, wants, and pains. The audience will inform early decisions in the product meant for them. This promotion is pre-launch.

When you launch and promote, how do you describe the impact of your product or service? Imagine talking to your ideal client at a networking meeting. How do you answer the "What do you do?" question in a way that effortlessly gets them interested in what you do? If you can't do that in a way that feels easy, authentic, and takes less than 30 seconds, then you've got more work to do :) It's easy to think "I can let the landing page do the work" but you're always dealing with humans. You need to know how you'd say it out loud before you can say it online.

Also #entrepreneurship offers a huge advantage in the launch and promote stage, i.e., you can move fast, fail fast and revive even faster. My quick points would be: 1. Take quick actions, find gaps and fill them. Launch and test. 2. Learn from the experience, follow the insights and promote in a better way. Promote. 3. Now you have data, insights and analytics to empower your campaign, rebrand (or polish your USP), once again Launch and Promote.

In a crowded market, besides the framework mentioned, the important thing "Differentiation", identifying and communicating as to how your product is different from the other available options in the market. As the market is crowded, price competition is going to be a given, so you'll need to stress on differentiation and the value proposition of your product. The communication message and promotion will need to be very different from whats already being used in the market. For example, when Pepsi went with colour BLUE and exact opposite to the RED of Coke. Other e.g. are of HARRY's and Dollar Shave Club, they launched in crowded markets, but their messaging was so different from their competitors that they were able to carve out a niche.

When the product is live in your market appropriate feedback and response processes have to be in place. Put the ego aside and pay attention to all the data, customer feedback and competitor comments that occur. You company reputation is on the line for every launch.

Managing product lifecycles in a crowded market is a challenge. You need to balance innovation, customer satisfaction, profitability, and competition, but in an era where trust is increasingly rare, remember that actions speak louder than words. People are not to be fooled. Your audience will see through the facade if you communicate your commitment to improvement but don't follow through. Building and maintaining trust is a long-term effort that hinges on consistency and authenticity in your actions and communication. In an environment where customers have many choices, every step should contribute to building trust with your audience, ensuring they know, like, and trust it. Trust is the currency of success in a competitive marketplace.

It's so easy to think the investments you've made to get your product launched are sufficient enough. I've seen some entrepreneurs absolutely ogle over their launch & then be inherently reluctant to want to change things as minor feedback comes in. Major feedback always gets addressed. But its when you listen to the minor feedback, truly understand the "why" & improve the product in kind that you realize how so many small improvements can make such a large impact over time. Strongly recommend constant iteration & never assume anything is "done". It can always be made better!!!

In the past I we offered a free gift - just a digital download - in exchange for feedback. How many little things like taking part in a survey for example, do you mean to get around too but never do? Your business will never be as important to your customer as it will be to you - so an incentive to get some feedback may help you get more.

Cultivate strong relationships with your customers. Actively listen to their feedback, address their concerns, and provide excellent customer support. Engage with them through various channels to foster loyalty and satisfaction.

In this fast-paced market, adaptability is your best asset. By constantly evolving based on insights and feedback, your product remains not just relevant, but in demand.

Hit the refresh button often ! The commitment to continuously improve the existing product and services a brand offers is the key to maintaining competitive advantage. Most continuous improvement opportunities come from a customer perspective and deep understanding of who buys the product and why. What else is possible? The innovation mandate presents higher ground to gain. Strategic thinking and creativity present options but economics guide us as to the priorities for commercialization of good ideas. Both things - newly improved and truly new- are galvanizing internally and newsworthy externally for a growing company.

Speed is what separates market winners from losers! Needing to innovate and iterate is table stakes. It is expected that you make product updates, fix bugs, and potentially pivot. How quickly one founder moves with these actions is what allows him/her to succeed versus another startup, or against the large incumbent in a given market. Speed unlocks the power of compounding! Compounding is leverage that creates a widening lead and puts a product on a path to be 10X better. Iteration cycles had daily, weekly, or biweekly can be the difference between compounding 365, 52, or 26 times. This matters when 1% daily improvements can lead to a 38X gain in one year. Iteration cycles are influenced by: - deciding - building - shipping

While innovation is exciting, it's essential to be prepared for uncertainties. Use scenario planning to anticipate potential disruptions and develop strategies for risk mitigation. Being agile and having contingency plans in place can help your product survive in a rapidly changing environment.

Completely agreed. One should remember that innovation should be woven into your product's DNA. There's nothing wrong in seeking unconventional solutions and creating unique experiences to set your product class apart and captivate your targetted consumers. Differentiation, agility, and strategic marketing are essential, but innovation will be your standout advantage.

Managing product lifecycles in a crowded market requires adaptability, a deep understanding of your customers, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

In a crowded market, flexibility and agility are crucial in managing product lifecycles. Be prepared to adapt your strategies and make changes based on market trends, customer feedback, and competitor activities. This may include adjusting pricing, updating product features, or even pivoting to a new product line altogether. Maintain a proactive approach to stay ahead of the competition and ensure the success of your products.

dont forget to involve your current workforce! they often know exactly how to improve both process and product. I see it too often that expensive new people get introduced from outside without checking the richness already present. also dont forget to share and celebrate new achievements (especially the non financial achievements). people love to be proud of the company they work for.

They key really is to have a product people want or need, so key here is understanding your customer. That understanding really comes first, then adapt and test, get feedback and adjust. Don’t try and come up with perfection in the first step, let your testing of the market guide you on how to adapt the product. It is one approach to differentiate your product in a crowded market.

#1 Tell a Compelling Story Every product has a story. It’s not just about what you offer; it’s about the journey. As a fractional CCO at UP Inc, I’ve learned that this is where the magic happens. We don’t just sell products; we share a vision. Your story sets you apart and resonates with your audience. #2 Adapt and Pivot In the dynamic world of business, adaptability is your secret weapon. It’s not about changing core values; it’s about adjusting to meet changing market conditions. Embrace change to thrive in crowded markets. #3 Sustainability Matters It’s not just a trend; it’s our responsibility. Make sustainability a core pillar in a crowded market. It’s not just good for the planet; it’s good for your business & customers.