This past Saturday I attended Product Camp Vancouver 2014. This “unconference” brings together some of the top product management talent in Vancouver, along with some fabulous speakers. Participants suggest topics and ideas. Then people volunteer to lead those sessions.
When I arrived Saturday morning, the topic “Go To Market Strategy and Meanings” had many votes, but no facilitator. In the spirit of an unconference, I volunteered to lead the session. Before I knew it, I was in front of a room of fifty product managers leading the discussion.
As a facilitator, I don’t have to have all the answers. I started with a question—”What is your #1 challenge in taking products to market?” The audience responded with ten topics. In the thirty-five minutes we had to discuss them, we got through about six of the ten, although we touched on all of them.
As facilitator, I didn’t keep notes, but here is my memory of some of the key issues:
Strategy: Much more of the discussion centered on strategy rather than specific tactics. This included pre-launch communication, early release, feedback, first-to-market issues, channel education, and the plan for getting the second and third releases out after the first release.
First Mover Advantage: A significant amount of discussion was on first mover advantage. Is it really and advantage to be first? If you are second or third, how to you leverage the market to position your product against the early entrants? For first movers, what land mines can you deploy to create interference for those that are following you?
Organizational Readiness: War stories were shared of organizations that were not ready when a new product was first released. This included lack of internal training for support and account managers. Strategic organizational issues revolved around senior managements appetite to be realistic about the first release and the follow on resources that are required to continue building the product beyond first release to make it a whole product.
Releasing a new product is a dream many product managers have. As this discussion showed, figuring out the go to market strategy early, documenting it, and then measuring what you do against the strategy increases your chances of a successful new product release. Thanks to all those that participated in the Saturday morning session.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Lash.
