Better Product Managers, and Product Management

It’s easy to improve on already-existing products.

I’m going to come right out and say that, because I think we give ourselves too much credit for simply improving upon the status quo. And it’s really not that hard.  If you use a product regularly, it’s not hard to notice the little flaws or omissions that would make it better.

So then we think, great, our product will be better.  We will do all the things that our competitor does well, AND we’ll fix those flaws and add in those missing pieces.

Congratulations, you now have a superior product.  What you do not have: customers beating down your door.

You’ve done the first step: make it better.  But you still have several more steps:  make it even better.  And then, make it even better than that.  And then, when you’re convinced you can’t improve it any more, make it just a tiny bit better still.

There are two reasons why you need to keep improving your product to a point that seems like fanaticism:

Everyone exaggerates.

Your website says “The best way to do X” or “The easiest way to do X”.  Guess what? So does everyone else’s.  Your competitor – the one whose shoddy product inspired you in the first place – makes the exact same claim on their website.

People are fundamentally wired to not change their behaviors.

(I hear the phrase “users hate change” a lot, and I dislike it – it sets up that us vs. them mentality, that “if only our customers were smarter, they’d get it” excuse.  It’s not that your dumb users hate change. It’s that everyone, even smart people who pride themselves on trying new things, default to retreading familiar patterns.    OK, rant over.  Back to the post.)

It takes work to try a new product.

It requires learning (even if the new product is simple).

It requires risk (what if I invest time and then the new product doesn’t work?)

It’s much easier to use the thing you know, even if you the thing you know kind of sucks.   So even if I know, objectively and absolutely, that your product is 20% better than the alternative, I won’t switch.  Even if I’d recoup the lost time within a week, it’s not worth changing my behavior.  If your product is 50% better?  Maybe.  If your product is 200% better?  Now we’re talking.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have two products to make better.  Much, much better.

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