Lessons we learnt running a software product business

NagVP – Strategy & Marketing (ThoughtWorks Studios)

600+ customers, 30+ countries in 5 yearsRetail, Banking, Telco, Media + Publishing, High-tech, Energy, Government, Consumer…

20 lessons

• Targetting

• Product Features

• Pricing

• Messaging

• Business + Ops

TARGETTING

Markets are groups of people, not abstract entities. Built target personas and think about how you can solve their problems.

Sales

Marketing

Product team

Management must keep these vital departments pulling in the same direction.

It’s better to be loved by a few than to be liked by all.

PRODUCT FEATURES

You don’t really know what will work in the market.Envision and explore; don’t plan too much up-front.

Compete on value and uniqueness. Don’t chase features unless you’re the best funded player in the market.

Make your product aesthetically pleasing and funOnly then will people evangelise it.

No Enterprise software is an island. Your product has to work with other software, especially when you sell to Pragmatic customers. They expect the “whole product”.

It’s hard (but vital) to balance the immediate needs of your customers with your long-term product vision.

Make it friction-free to try and buy.

PRICING

It’s far easier to start with a high price and then cut, rather than the other way around.

The customer always thinks Total Cost of Ownership.

When the market matures, make an offering for every price and purpose.

There is usually a market for an affordable, good-enough offering, and for a full-featured, premium one.

Investigate price bundles.

MESSAGING

All three constituents are important. Have different messages for each.

User

Functional Buyer

Economic Buyer

You must effectively answer the question, “why now”?Create a sense of urgency.

BUSINESS + OPERATIONS

Required to create and expand a category: lots of patience, evangelism and competitors.

Work towards your category becoming part of the standard infrastructure ASAP.

When the market matures, you had better be #1, #2 or in a strong niche.

After you’ve established an early market, ask “who can I partner with?” Your reach will expand dramatically if you find a partner with a complementary product.

Map out the value stream (interest -> trials -> conversions -> repeats) early and monitor the metrics carefully.

Lower costs by co-opting your super-users to provide support.

Unfortunately, there aren’t that many early adopters in India.

THANK YOU