A Note on Product Strategy – Phil Libin

Posted by – February 8, 2010

Todd Sattersten captured this strategy advice during an interview with Evernote’s CEO, Phil Libin:

  • Make a product that a billion people will fall in love with and use for the rest of their lives.
  • Make it easy for a single-digit percentage of them to pay you a few bucks a month once in a while.
  • Make sure your variable costs are low enough that you can make a mountain of profit if you get #1 and #2 right.
  • Simple enough but that first one sure is a big step.

    On a side note, I haven’t given up on Evernote yet but I am still not using it on a daily basis.  I do like how they have incorporated a great demo video (see Don’t Hide the Demo Button) on their front page for showing how Evernote can save you from the note monster.

    Trendspotting January 2010

    Posted by – February 3, 2010

    Ad Age’s Want to Be a Smarter Marketer? Here’s What’s Worth Learning:

    Numbers, schmumbers. The quest to measure the success of new media in marketing has staged a dangerous illusion that massive traffic is the holy grail. Richer veins of loyalty and brand advocacy (with smaller cohorts of consumers) are paying off more handsomely for brands in the near and long term.

    Entrepreneur on 10 [and 1/2] Trends to Watch:

    Everyone’s eating lower on the food chain these days. Consumer spending is down more than 30 percent from this time last year, to an average of $57 a day, according to a Gallup poll. And even those who can still afford to spend are beset by “luxury shame,” which means high-end retailers are out, and discount shopping is in. Wal-Mart’s earnings increased more than 5 percent this year, while Neiman Marcus reported a 14.8 percent drop in sales.

    Gapingvoid’s “selling by giving”, or, “gift economics”:

    I could see that in another five years, ANYONE who wants to market ANYTHING successfully- be they small mom n’ pop shops to large companies, will have to be fluent in Gift Economics, to a level that seemed COMPLETELY alien only a few years ago.

    Microsoft’s Study on Data Privacy Day:

    Our study found 70% of surveyed HR professionals in U.S. (41% in the UK) have rejected a candidate based on online reputation information. Reputation can also have a positive effect as in the United States, 86% of HR professionals (and at least two thirds of those in the U.K. and Germany) stated that a positive online reputation influences the candidate’s application to some extent; almost half stated that it does so to a great extent.

    Photo credit:  MoreInterpretation’s Flickr

    Being Remarkable Never Goes Out of Style

    Posted by – February 1, 2010

    I have been looking forward to reading Seth Godin’s latest book, Linchpin.  While waiting for the release, I went back and read my favorite book from Seth, Purple Cow.

    Purple Cow was published in 2003, way before Facebook, Twitter, and social media became household names.  There are so many gems in this book it is hard to know where to start and the best part is that save for a couple of dated examples, Seth’s points are even more relevant today (the dated examples actually prove another of Seth’s beliefs that it is hard to maintain a remarkable position).

    Seth’s thoughts on the end of mass media advertising:

    After Advertising, we’re almost back where we started.  But instead of product succeeding by slow and awkward word of mouth, the power of our new networks allows remarkable ideas to diffuse through segments of the population at rock speed.

    On the new rule:

    Create remarkable products that the right people seek out.

    and on ideas that spread:

    It’s not an accident that some products catch on and some don’t.  When an ideavirus occurs, it’s often because all the viral pieces work together.

    Read Purple Cow again or for a first time.   You won’t regret it.

    Favorite Product Management Posts Jannuary 2010

    Posted by – January 31, 2010

    I have decided not to wait till the end of the year to publish a best of 2010.  The list will be way too long and you’ll never have time to read it all.  Instead, I am going to focus one month at a time on some of my favorite product posts that I think are worth reading (or reading again).

    Enjoy!

    Outside-in-view -A New Roadmap to Consider:

    As I peruse my product roadmap, I was thinking about what the benefits would be for a product marketing roadmap, how would we change behaviors? We could start product positioning sooner, define the product benefits, do internal education while product is being developed, test potential messages as we test the features – matching critical product launch elements to the product roadmap process.

    My Product Management Opinion – The Power of Advanced Research for Product Management

    But, are you making the most of some of the advanced research techniques that have become more accessible over the last decade?  Do you understand your market’s preferences for specific features or messaging?  Do you know how various segments will react to price changes?  Can you conduct robust competitive what-if analysis?

    Strategic Product Manager – Art or Science?

    Since building and delivering software or other high-tech products is generally done with the goal of making a dollar and sustaining a business, I sure hope decisioning is not done within the realm of “human creativity” but with quantitative predictions.

    Where the Product Management Tribe Gathers -  Product Management Leadership – Converting Theory into Action

    Product management leadership is all about action. It’s converting the theory of product management into sustainable methods. It’s organizing, guiding and enabling a team and teaching them a common language that builds momentum as a team, creates consistency in your activities and ensures product management maintains a level of credibility across organization and with executive management.

    Software Product Manager – Software product manager’s first 30 days at a new job ….

    Understand people dynamics – This is the most important part, more important than even your product in the first 30 days. You have to start building relationships from day one. Every company has some form of internal people dynamics that you need to observe and learn as you get used to your new position especially in a new company.

    Mohan Sawhney – Do Dedicated Devices Die? Principles of Convergence

    My take is that, like all questions in marketing and strategy, the right answer is – it depends!  I believe that convergence (and the consequent death of dedicated devices) is a function of several contingent factors.  So, rather than taking one side or another of this debate, I would like to reflect on som principles that will help predict whether we will see convergence win out in a specific context.

    Rocketwatcher’s Everything You Say Matters

    In your own company you can probably think of a dozen messages like the LinkedIn subject line, that you are putting in front of your customers everyday.  Do they all reflect your company’s value as much as they could?

    Product Potluck January 2010

    Posted by – January 25, 2010

    Product Potluck is a monthly gathering of product managers here in Austin, TX.  The event starts with an hour of networking during which time you get to enjoy a beverage and vote on the topics for the night.

    Usually there are 3-4 speakers who have prepared material and the two with the top votes win.  The best part of Product Potluck is the collaboration that occurs during the presentation.  Attendees are encouraged to share their own expertise and experience.  The shared discussion is packed with information and usually very entertaining.

    More…

    Crazy Ideas

    Posted by – January 18, 2010

    I spent last week putting the final touches on a Voice of the Customer research effort we conducted near the end of 2009.  As a product manager there is something very satisfying about coming back to the office with a list of potential ideas.

    Listening to your customers is a great way to generate ideas.  Some of these ideas will align nicely with your current thinking and some will present challenges.  Then there are ideas that sound just plain crazy.

    The just crazy ideas are usually the quickest to be dismissed.  The idea maybe technically impossible or cost prohibitive.  Often, it comes down to a belief that customers just won’t buy it.

    However, paying attention to crazy ideas can pay off, and LEGOs are a great case study to prove it.  LEGO (eventually) started listening to the 5% minority of their customers (adults) who had become enthusiastic fans of the product line.  This minority set of customers were spending 50 times more a year than the 95% majority customer (the Gaspedal word of mouth marketing blog has a good overview of the LEGO case here).

    More…

    It’s 2010 & Everything Matters

    Posted by – January 10, 2010

    So, the first week of January is already over and I have not gotten around to making any New Year’s resolutions.  I am blaming it on a case of strep throat that went through the family, building up speed until it took me out of commission for a several days.

    Instead, I am going to start off with a couple of articles that I think are worth thinking about as 2010 gets going.

    More…

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