Coming out of the pandemic, the global economy is at a crossroads. Throughout Europe and North America, inflation remains stubbornly persistent, markets are in a slump, and tech faces growing economic headwinds. It’s a time that will make or break businesses. It has many leaders scrambling to plan for the uncertainty ahead.
For businesses in this economy, the only way out is through. But how can companies ensure they come out of these times not only intact, but stronger than they’ve ever been? The most forward-thinking leaders are embracing the product-led movement as the answer.
Drive growth and prioritise with confidence
In high-flying economic times, it’s easy for companies to prioritise growth at any cost. Now, however, growth must come at the right cost. Exponential hiring curves are a luxury many businesses can’t afford. So, they’re leveraging their product to pick up the slack.
For product-led companies, the product itself is now at the centre of business models. It’s the place to create new sales opportunities, market new promotions and features, and drive cross-sell and upsell opportunities. In short, it’s become the centre for the critical functions that drive the business forward.
Companies are leveraging the power of in-app messaging to assist sales and marketing teams. They are now reaching out to the customer where and when it matters most. But being product-led doesn’t stop at the front end of an application. Organisations can and should harness the power of product analytics and feedback on the back end to become more efficient.
Examining usage data to see what features users engage with most; actively soliciting and managing feedback to see what they’re requesting; and learning how they feel about given parts of the app will go a long way in helping developer teams get their priorities in order. The unfortunate reality is that 80% of a product’s features go unused. This means that engineering teams are wasting the bulk of their time and resources.
Knowing what users care about and where they realise the most value from a product will in turn help companies build better product roadmaps and better allocate developer funds and hours. Companies can also make sure the goals of engineering are aligned with the goals of the business – leading to higher growth, efficiency, and user satisfaction.
Support your users at scale
In a similar way to how they benefit engineering, product-led strategies and tactics help IT and support teams free up precious hours and resources. Teams can again turn to the power of in-app notifications and guidance. This will automate onboarding and support to guide customers to achieve goals without having to have other humans present. Building an always-on help centre in the app, for example, creates a helpful channel for self- service help and training, product updates, and ways to contact support.
Using the power of analytics, teams can create customised support and onboarding guides for different groups and segments of users reflective of their specific roles, wants, and needs. What’s more, analytics usage data can help teams identify “at risk” accounts and proactively reach out to them to troubleshoot any issues, drive better adoption of features, and generally increase satisfaction.
In these precarious economic times, businesses must ensure they’re providing real value to their customers if they want to continue driving growth. By drawing on the power of the product-led movement, organisations can grow faster, scale efficiently, and come out on the other end with happier users. In short, they’ll be building a better tomorrow for company and customer alike.