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BUILDING SAAS PRODUCTS THAT DOMINATE THEIR MARKETS
PA U L P H I L P
P J P H I L P @ G M A I L . C O M ( 6 4 7 ) 9 2 7 - 8 5 7 4
Kick-Ass Software
You have: Built a product Built a team Landed some customers Attracted venture capital.
It’s time to grow the company - now what? I am an experienced, passionate, market-focused
product executive. I have the experience and system to make your vision
win.
You’re a Successful Entrepreneur
Your goals are clear . . .
You have a vision to redefine your market or industry
You are committed to building the absolute best product in its class
You want your customers to be ecstatic, and passionate champions
You want to work with the best and smartest people in the business
You have aggressive revenue and profit growth targets
. . . and there are problems.
Too many unhappy customersSales and marketing are blaming the productLow conversion and retention ratesThe board is demanding more growth, fasterTug of war between satisfying existing customers and
expanding the marketEngineers are complaining about changing requirements,
unclear prioritiesThe product architecture just won’t scaleIt seems like the competition doesn’t have any of these
issues They’re threatening to catch up to you
HOW DO I DO THAT . . . ?
“Kick-Ass Software” ?
MARKET FOCUSEDGREAT USER EXPERIENCE
REALITY BASEDRESULTS ORIENTED
INSPIREDAGILE
BUILDING REMARKABLE PRODUCTSTHAT WIN
Kick-Ass Software
Market Focused
Building remarkable products that people talk about starts with a laser focus on the market Focus on business-critical customer pain points Deliver compelling value propositions Offer clear differentiation based on customer value
Building teams that continuously engage with customers, influencers, marketing, sales.
M A R K E T F O C U S E DG R E A T C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E
R E A L I T Y B A S E DR E S U LT S O R I E N T E D
I N S P I R E DA G I L E
GreatCustomer Experience
Easy to installEasy to start usingIntuitive interface without instructionImmediately rewardingValue increases with use
Building products that act as their own best salesperson.
M A R K E T F O C U S E DG R E A T C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E
R E A L I T Y B A S E DR E S U LT S O R I E N T E D
I N S P I R E DA G I L E
Reality Based
The goal of software leadership is to absorb the sea of opinion and cut through to the facts Measure everything that matters
Use metrics to shape behaviors Say what you’re going to do, do what you say Continually achieve engineering buy-in No surprises Factual reporting is rewarded
No ‘vanity status’ allowed! Tough issues are faced up to and dealt with quickly
Relying on reports, conversations, metrics, external feedback and MBWA (Management by Walking Around).
M A R K E T F O C U S E DG R E A T C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E
R E A L I T Y B A S E DR E S U LT S O R I E N T E D
I N S P I R E DA G I L E
Results Oriented
Results orientation is the secret to power and effectiveness in Kick-Ass software companies Accountability isn’t really the magic bullet – but it’s sure close!
A results-oriented company has: Consistent and visible strategy Clear goals Unambiguous roles and territories Simple, defined process and metrics Regular, predictable reporting
Complaining, politics and ineffectiveness all have their root in a lack of focus on results
Holding leadership and everybody else accountable for their own results.
M A R K E T F O C U S E DG R E A T C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E
R E A L I T Y B A S E DR E S U LT S O R I E N T E D
I N S P I R E DA G I L E
Inspired
An aligned organization and an inspired team can move mountains Risk-taking in software is not gambling
It is the vision and strategy that show which risks to take, and which to avoid
It’s the purpose and vision that engages people’s passions Great people are inspired by being part of something that’s bigger
than them People love working on insanely great products
Committing to the CEO’s vision for the future, and ensuring that everybody is engaged and aligned.
M A R K E T F O C U S E DG R E A T C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E
R E A L I T Y B A S E DR E S U LT S O R I E N T E D
I N S P I R E DA G I L E
Agile
The product company that wins the category is always the fastest and most agile Very short feedback cycles Agile processes quickly reduce risk and identify winning solutions
You want agile product development, and agile customer development Continuously testing business hypotheses and product architecture and
design
It takes many iterations to get a working business model Agile does not mean ‘ad hoc’! Discipline matters.
Responding quickly and effectively to changing market conditions.
M A R K E T F O C U S E DG R E A T C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E
R E A L I T Y B A S E DR E S U LT S O R I E N T E D
I N S P I R E DA G I L E
THE FOLLOWING SLIDES CONTAIN PRACTICES THAT I ’VE SEEN TO BE
EFFECTIVE IN EACH CATEGORY.
FEEL FREE TO SCORE YOURSELF!
R AT E H O W Y O U A R E D O I N G W I T H E A C H P R A C T I C E :
1 - N O T AT A L L
2 - M A K I N G P R O G R E S S
3 - A L M O S T T H E R E
4 - N A I L E D I T ! !
? - D O N ’ T K N O W
I ’D BE PLEASED TO DISCUSS YOUR RESULTS WITH YOU.
Kick-Ass Scorecard
Market Focused
1 - N O T A T A L L 2 - M A K I N G P R O G R E S S 3 - A L M O S T T H E R E 4 - N A I L E D I T ! !
Practice Examples Score
Target an urgent business pain. Detailed segmentation, quantification of pain, validation.
1 2 3 4
?
Be different: Are you the only vendor solving this pain?
Competitive analysis. 1 2 3 4
?
Solve customer’s hardest problems first.
ROI, field experience. 1 2 3 4
?
Clear ROI for your solution. A day in the life before/after,best alternative (Economic Buyer, Technical Buyer).
1 2 3 4
?
Have an active online community. Content Marketing, Social Media.
1 2 3 4
?
Great Customer Experience
1 - N O T A T A L L 2 - M A K I N G P R O G R E S S 3 - A L M O S T T H E R E 4 - N A I L E D I T ! !
Practice Examples Score
Understand the customer’s business.
Customer interviews, use-cases, workflows.
1 2 3 4
?
Build world-class usability expertise.
Hire usability experts, train QA in usability.
1 2 3 4
?
Evaluate the customer experience. Usability reviews, instrumentation.
1 2 3 4
?
Obtain customer feedback (formal and informal).
Interviews, usability lab, observation, questionnaires, forums.
1 2 3 4
?
Reality Based
Practice Examples Score
Measure key customer acquisition and retention factors.
Funnel metrics, conversion rates, customer satisfaction.
1 2 3 4
?
Instrument your product to measure customer behavior.
Key page usage, time spent on product, repeat visits.
1 2 3 4
?
Use a product roadmap to turn vision into reality.
Prioritized feature backlog, prioritized use cases, long-term market goals.
1 2 3 4
?
Manage feature cost/benefits. Risk assessment, feature costing, resource commitment, engineering buy-in.
1 2 3 4
?
Establish a culture of fact-based decision-making.
Spreadsheets, data, trade-offs, A/B tests.
1 2 3 4
?
Surface issues before they become fires.
One-on-ones, MBWA, solution performance, scalability.
1 2 3 4
?
1 - N O T A T A L L 2 - M A K I N G P R O G R E S S 3 - A L M O S T T H E R E 4 - N A I L E D I T ! !
Results Oriented
Practice Examples Score
Have a consistent and visible strategy.
Target customers, value propositions, business model.
1 2 3 4
?
Establish clear goals: specific measurable results in each area of the business, based on the strategy.
Customer acquisition, product delivery, lead generation, customer satisfaction/retention, product value.
1 2 3 4
?
Agree to unambiguous roles and territories.
SLAs in all functional areas. 1 2 3 4
?
Use a simple, defined process and metrics.
Acquisition, product management, product operations, product development.
1 2 3 4
?
Establish a regular, predictable reporting heartbeat.
Executive level, team level. 1 2 3 4
?
Celebrate and reward accomplishment.
Release parties, performance-based bonuses.
1 2 3 4
?
1 - N O T A T A L L 2 - M A K I N G P R O G R E S S 3 - A L M O S T T H E R E 4 - N A I L E D I T ! !
Inspired
Practice Examples Score
Have a compelling, unique, actionable vision. A simple concrete statement of purpose.
Microsoft’s “A computer on every desk”; Google’s “Organize all the world’s information and make it accessible for everyone.”
1 2 3 4
?
Continuous and transparent communication about progress across the company implementing the strategy.
All hands meetings, internal blogs. E.G. product updates, sales wins, financial status.
1 2 3 4
?
Challenge people and expect excellence.
“Insanely Great Product”. 1 2 3 4
?
Give them what it takes to do the job.
Remove obstacles, give them the best tools.
1 2 3 4
?
1 - N O T A T A L L 2 - M A K I N G P R O G R E S S 3 - A L M O S T T H E R E 4 - N A I L E D I T ! !
Agile
Practice Examples Score
Work closely with paying customers to define product goals.
One-on-ones, customer questionnaires, user group meetings.
1 2 3 4
?
Short product cycles and continuous deployment.
2-week iterations, very low-cost deployment.
1 2 3 4
?
Defined Agile development process.
Regular planning structure, prioritized feature backlog.
1 2 3 4
?
Perform continuous operational monitoring.
System performance, application performance, application usage.
1 2 3 4
?
1 - N O T A T A L L 2 - M A K I N G P R O G R E S S 3 - A L M O S T T H E R E 4 - N A I L E D I T ! !
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