As a senior product manager, entrepreneur, and thought leader in the field of product management, I’ve had the privilege of applying my insights and experiences to a variety of products. This year, I’ve been particularly involved with Advon Commerce and Dinesurf, two innovative platforms that have allowed me to further explore and define my approach to product management.
One valuable lesson I learned towards the end of last year has since become a cornerstone of my product development strategy: It’s not about everyone hearing about the product – it’s about those who use it successfully.
Two key things I put into action that allowed me succeed in driving product adoption were
- Prioritizing User Success
- Product-Led Onboarding
Prioritizing User Success
In the fast-paced world of tech and product development, it’s easy to get swept up in the rush to market and the obsession with visibility. We want our products to be seen, heard, and recognized. However, I’ve come to realize that visibility alone doesn’t guarantee success. What truly matters is how effectively users can navigate and benefit from our products.
The focus, therefore, should not just be on creating buzz around the product, but on ensuring that it delivers on its promise to the user. As product developers, we must strive to understand our users’ needs, anticipate their challenges, and deliver solutions that not only meet but exceed their expectations.
One particular scenario that comes to mind was when I built a new feature on Dinesurf, called Dinelist which allows users to curate, discover and save personalized restaurant recommendations. While the urge to go ahead in promoting the new shiny feature, I had to exercise restraint and rather focus on finding more from the early adopters and focusing on delivering value to them.
We also stopped (like brought to an absolute halt) all spend on promoting the Dinesurf Restaurant Marketplace way back in Feb 2023, and instead focused on improving the value by getting more restaurants on the platform and increasing our organic dining influence.
The results? increasing our catalog size by 5x, and our monthly organic traffic by 4x, and right now the organic traffic is on a growth trajectory of 40% month on month growth this quarter (July – Sept 2023)
Onboarding: The Key to Driving Product Adoption
One of the most crucial but often overlooked aspects of this user-centric approach is onboarding. A well-designed onboarding process can significantly impact product adoption by providing users with a clear understanding of how to navigate and utilize the product effectively.
At both Advon Commerce and Dinesurf, we’ve placed a significant emphasis on refining our onboarding processes. This has involved conducting user research to understand common pain points, developing intuitive interfaces that guide users through the product, and providing accessible and comprehensive support materials.
The results have been encouraging. For example our time-to-value has decreased for restaurants on dinesurf from 60-90 days to about a week, from better onboarding processes. We’ve also reduced the time it takes for a restaurant profile to get set up from weeks to minutes (less than 10 minutes).
By focusing on successful user onboarding, we’ve seen increased product adoption rates, higher user satisfaction scores, reduced churn and more positive feedback. More importantly, we’ve been able to foster a stronger connection between our users and our products.
Looking Ahead
As we move forward, my team and I remain committed to this approach. We understand that our success as product developers is intrinsically linked to the success of our users. Therefore, we will continue to prioritize effective onboarding and user-centric design in all our products.
In conclusion, the journey of product management is an ongoing process of learning, adapting, and evolving. The lessons we learn along the way shape our strategies and redefine our goals. For me, the realization that the key to product success lies in user success (assisted by great onboarding) has been transformative and I look forward to exploring this further in the future.
Remember, it’s not about everyone hearing about your product – it’s about those who use it successfully.
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