Product School is a Business Reporter client
CAC (Customer Acquisition Costs) is skyrocketing 222 percent over the last decade, and marketing budgets are shrinking in light of economic uncertaintymore and more companies in all industries are looking at their product as a means of retaining and attracting customers.
Ten years ago, famed venture capitalist Marc Andriessen wrote “Software is eating the world.” Today, as McKinsey In other words, software hasn’t just taken over the world, it is the world.
Every company is engaged in software development. Whether you’re selling financial products or french fries, in other words, you’re also in the software business.
This is important because it means your competitive edge is the customer experience you provide.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Costs) is skyrocketing 222 percent over the last decade, and marketing budgets are shrinking in light of economic uncertaintymore and more companies in all industries are looking at their product as a means of retaining and attracting customers.
You can’t fake a great customer experience
Your customer will know when their needs are truly met and when they are not (just ask Netflix). On the other hand, if you do it right, your Product itself can become a key customer acquisition channel. This is called Product-Driven Growth, or PLG.
Product-driven growth doesn’t just mean giving someone a free SaaS product trial or in-app purchase option. It is an organization-wide product mindset that understands that sustainable growth depends on customer experience, and customer experience is everyone’s responsibility.
Product-driven growth (PLG) isn’t just for product managers or technology companies.
Even traditional sales organizations can use the Product-Led Growth methodology: your sales team can use data provided by your product team to qualify leads. Your product team can work with your sales team to provide a world-class experience early on so that your salespeople connect with potential customers who have already experienced the value your product can provide.
Delivering a world-class customer experience can result in:
- Customer retention: When users get real value, they stay.
- Expand your customer base: Use existing users as an inbound distribution channel to attract new customers.
The product has moved to the center and to the top
Product managers—if the company hired them at all—used to report to the chief marketing officer and were considered a Silicon Valley phenomenon.
Today, more than one third Fortune 100 companies have Chief Product Officers (CPOs) — a 41% growth over the past few years, and the trend is only accelerating with more than 2000 CPO jobs currently open on LinkedIn in the US only.
As the product becomes a strategic priority, product leaders as well as L&D leaders focus on aligning product talents with product-adjacent roles such as product marketing, sales, and customer success. Product team training can speed up this process and improve efficiency by creating common frameworks and best practices throughout the organization.
The product deserves a place at the table
A majority L&D executives know that the product will be more important in the future than it is now, and LinkedIn reports that 41% of L&D leaders expect their budgets to grow this year. This reflects the understanding that how companies recruit, match and use product management talent is critical to their success, especially in an environment of economic uncertainty.
Learn how to use the product to drive growth, cut costs, and stay ahead of the curve in The Future of Product Management 2023: Be the first to read this.
Originally posted on business reporter
Credit: www.independent.co.uk /