{"id":15991,"date":"2022-06-27T14:00:57","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T14:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revuze.it\/?p=15991"},"modified":"2022-06-27T14:00:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T14:00:57","slug":"how-to-improve-your-product","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revuze.it\/blog\/how-to-improve-your-product\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Improve Your Product"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Product improvement is a data-driven process that should not be taken lightly. With the digital revolution well underway and companies seeming to come up with new product modifications on a regular basis, you need to keep on top of features and design preferences if you want to stay competitive.<\/span><\/p>\n That being said, there\u2019s such a thing as overdoing it or missing the point. A good example of this is the recent release of Windows 11, which brought many new features, but prevented users from moving the taskbar. This led to a whole host of <\/span>complaints<\/span><\/a> and caused Microsoft to have to revert the change in late 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n Microsoft\u2019s main mistake was to think about features, not usability. It doesn\u2019t matter how brilliant or innovative your designs are if they\u2019re laid out in a way that the users don\u2019t like. <\/span>People don\u2019t like large amounts of change, and product improvement is no exception to that rule<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n What should you do when envisioning new features and upgrades? Think about your customer base and what they use your products for. If you\u2019re dealing with the general population, your products need to be easy to use and understand, at least on the surface level. If you\u2019re looking at a more specialized or niche target audience, you might get away with a less straightforward product that has more available features.<\/span><\/p>\n With all this in mind, let\u2019s dive into what happens when you improve your product, and how to go about doing it.<\/span><\/p>\n When you\u2019re starting out, the task of product improvement can seem like a daunting one. Fortunately, there are a few categories of product modifications that you might find yourself looking into, and there are some general rules for each that can be followed in order to get the most out of your alterations.<\/span><\/p>\n Exploring new opportunities and avenues<\/b> New opportunities (the \u201cO\u201d in a SWOT analysis) can be assessed by looking into usage cases of your product that you might have underestimated in the past. That is why completing a thorough <\/span>SWOT analysis <\/span>is key when starting to look into product improvement. Let\u2019s say you discover that a consumer-base that does not belong to your go-to audience has been using your product\u2014you would definitely want to tap into it.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s also possible to expand into new markets by creating new products specialized for them, but since that isn\u2019t classed as product improvement we won\u2019t talk about it here.<\/span><\/p>\n Addressing customer concerns<\/b><\/p>\n As evidenced by the Windows 11 example above, upgrades to features aren\u2019t always what your customers want. You need to keep their needs and desires in mind when you implement changes, especially with more specialized products.<\/span><\/p>\n This is where listening to the <\/span>Voice of the Customer<\/span><\/a> comes into play. Only if you monitor your customers\u2019 opinions in online reviews and social media you\u2019ll be able to know their concerns and address them in your product updates.<\/span><\/p>\n Changes that address customer concerns are by their nature reactive rather than proactive, happening after you\u2019ve received feedback on your product modifications. For this reason it can be helpful to keep receiving consumer feedback in the testing stages, rather than coming up with a finished design and hoping it goes down well. The term \u201cbeta testing\u201d covers this idea, and while it\u2019s mostly synonymous with the software industry it has applications elsewhere too.<\/span><\/p>\n Keeping up with the times<\/b> Or course this doesn\u2019t just apply to technology. Environmental impact and ease of disposal or replacement is a great customer concern in current times, and older, less green products are being rejected over time by more and more of the population.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Keeping up with the times is about knowing what\u2019s expected by consumers, which is distinct from what\u2019s desired. If something is taken as an absolute necessity and you fail to provide it, you\u2019re in for a bad time and bad publicity.<\/span><\/p>\n Depending on which of these categories your planned improvements fall into, you can adjust your approach to best suit it.<\/span><\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve figured out <\/span>how<\/span><\/i> you want to improve your product, you need to examine it and figure out what <\/span>can<\/span><\/i> be improved. You need to keep things practical after all, and whether it\u2019s technological limits or manufacturing constraints there will always be something limiting your ability to improve your product to the \u201cideal\u201d level.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cost is another crucial factor in product improvements, as improving revenue and profits are almost always the ultimate aim of any business. There is no clear line that can be drawn at what would be considered worth the cost or not, it\u2019s up to you to decide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As success of new features won\u2019t be visible in advance some organizations have adopted what\u2019s called the \u201c<\/span>minimum viable product<\/span><\/a>\u201d approach, creating the most basic form of a product or feature for release in order to get feedback before committing their full budget to any one idea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You should also prioritize features based on customer use, as these ones will see the most return on investment. Customer feedback will tell you which features are the most used, which are problem points and could do with some tweaks, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019re never going to be able to do everything exactly right. There\u2019s always going to be things that have been missed in the ideas stage, unforeseen factors that cause complications and so on. That\u2019s okay, everyone is only human and some mistakes are bound to crop up somewhere along the line. There are several key indicators that your modifications will prove successful, and some that indicate the opposite.<\/span><\/p>\n Signs of a great product modification plan:<\/span><\/p>\n The last item is especially important when it comes to product improvement as you need to assess how long this product will last on the market before a new one is required, and thus define what the limit of your improvements will be. Those products with relatively short life cycles such as mobile phones or software will receive far less in terms of upgrades with each iteration than products such as car models which require far more in order to be perceived by consumers as worth buying.<\/span><\/p>\n Aside from the opposite of the above, there are a few signs that your product plan needs rethinking:<\/span><\/p>\n None of these by themselves are reasons to drop your plans, merely signs that you need to re-assess them. The last point is especially important, as no matter how good your product is, people aren\u2019t willing to wait forever and will lose interest over time. That being said, you shouldn\u2019t rush the work either or you may end up with faulty products that fail to live up to expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re unsure on any of these points, you need to test, test, test! Alpha versions of products can be checked by your in-house team, with beta versions being made available to a small range of volunteer consumers in return for detailed feedback. Your plan should never be static, since new data means new information and new insights into what your customers want and how you might provide this.<\/span><\/p>\n Data is complicated, and you\u2019re not going to be able to fully analyze it without software since the sheer volume would overwhelm any human who attempts it. Below you\u2019ll find some of the commonly used analysis tools and a brief description of what they do:<\/span><\/p>\n Sentimate offers customer sentiment on all products within its database, so if you need to find out what is and isn\u2019t being received well, you can simply <\/span>sign up<\/span><\/a> and access our huge database of product insights.<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to making product improvements, you can\u2019t simply put them in and call it a day. If you don\u2019t advertise your new products or features then consumers won\u2019t be aware of them, and if consumers aren\u2019t aware of them they won\u2019t buy them. Marketing is key here, and you need to keep on your toes and keep your marketing department informed of the changes you\u2019re implementing and what you intend to improve on in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Key to this, especially if you\u2019re looking at a long process that might take several revisions, is a vision of what you want to produce in the end and how it will be seen by your customer base. If your vision is aligned with that of customer desires, you\u2019ll be able to use marketing to drum up a buzz and get people excited about it. A consumer base who want to buy your products before they\u2019ve even hit the shelves is a valuable asset indeed.<\/span><\/p>\n There are all sorts of product modifications going on on a daily basis, some successful and some not. Let\u2019s take a moment to look at some of the more successful examples that you might be able to learn from.<\/span><\/p>\n Koumeican came up with a brilliant solution to this – a cord that can even go <\/span>underneath<\/span><\/i> the carpet if necessary, and is flat so as to not be a trip hazard if simply placed on the floor. They looked at an issue that customers were having and solved it in a simple manner, a definite upgrade.<\/span> What the iPhone did was completely transform the way phone technology was used, as well as expanding Apple\u2019s market reach beyond computers and portable music players to reach a whole new range of consumers. Everywhere you look today you\u2019ll see smartphones and similar devices with multifunctional capacities like tablets and smart watches, all offshoots of the original iPhone\u2019s vision.<\/span> Sentimate offers a wide range of features that can be used to gleam insight into your products. There\u2019s a lot of information you can gather from customer feedback, though it usually comes at great effort. Fortunately, we\u2019ve done it all for you and can give you all the insight you need at the touch of a button.<\/span><\/p>\nHow to get started on improving your product<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n<\/span>If you want to expand, you\u2019ve got to grow. One of the best ways to do this is by tapping into markets that you haven\u2019t explored before. This kind of product improvement can come in two ways, adding new features to attract new customers, or expanding existing ones so that they reach a wider audience.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>All products, but technology especially, can become stale and behind the times. Upgrading your products to match current expectations will keep your customer base interested, as well as have the potential to produce new features.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhat can be improved in a product<\/span><\/h2>\n
What works and what doesn\u2019t<\/span><\/h2>\n
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How to analyze product data<\/span><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/span><\/a>Text mining is the process of reading through unsorted text and extracting information that might be useful to you. Generally any software that collects information from raw text will also transform it into an easy to read form, simplifying it by factoring in synonyms and other linguistic quirks.<\/span><\/li>\n
\n<\/span><\/a>Sentiment analysis is similar to text mining, except instead of simply pulling words out it looks at the meaning behind the words, or the <\/span>sentiment<\/span><\/i> that the text is meant to convey. This type of analysis is particularly useful for analyzing internet reviews or other short-form pieces of text that may contain slang or metaphors that simple text mining wouldn\u2019t be able to pick up on<\/span>
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\n<\/span>Customer sentiment is a general measure of how customers feel about interactions with you. It\u2019s gathered in a similar way to sentiment analysis, but goes a step further to sum up all the interactions or feedback you receive into a sliding scale of positive to negative. While simplistic, it\u2019s a great way of checking\u00a0 how your products are doing in the early stages of testing or release.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nHow to implement your changes<\/span><\/h2>\n
What examples of product improvements can we see today?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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\n<\/span>Extension cords are a familiar sight to anyone who\u2019s ever worked around any electronics. They do, unfortunately come with a bit of a drawback. Most extension cords simply use regular circular wires, which can lead to you tripping over them and issues pushing anything on wheels past without ripping the cord from its socket.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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\n<\/span>This one is a bit old, but you can\u2019t deny it was innovative. While touchscreen phones, portable music players and devices with mobile internet access had existed before, the <\/span>original 2007 iPhone<\/span><\/a> was the first to place them all within one device, saving space in consumers pockets and simplifying their device needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\nUsing Sentimate to improve your product<\/span><\/h2>\n