Category: Product Management

Knowing what you’re not: defining your design principles

Successful products and services are those with a definite point of view, those that avoid an identity crisis by knowing exactly what they’re not.

Government Digital Service (GDS) has garnered much praise for its transparent and reasoned approach to design.

And whilst smaller organisations may not need ten principles (like GDS), those with a distinctive approach to digital experiences are gaining competitive advantage.

Here’s a revealing case study, from a tech startup founded in 2011, that I think provides food for thought for any business creating new online services.

Article Digital Transformation

Hive: A startup culture in a corporate behemoth

The team at Hive have an interesting story to tell.

Iterating a new product in a nascent part of an old industry, doing this within an enormous organisation like British Gas, while maintaining an independent, startup culture.

There’s a lesson in there for anybody.

Here’s what I learnt about Hive by listening to Tom Guy, product and commercial director, at #canvasconf, organised by 383.

Article Marketing Automation

Starbucks, Costa & Caffè Nero: how do they build customer loyalty?

The votes are in, the numbers are tallied and it’s official, we in Britain have turned on our tea drinking tradition and become a nation of coffee drinkers.

Today we consume around 1.7bn cups of coffee a year, with the majority of us drinking two cups a day and spending about £25 a week on coffee alone.

Article CRM

Four steps to help build customer loyalty in retail

Here’s an easy process to help you build ‘earned’ before ‘bought’ loyalty with customers.

Article Culture

Do retailers really need a customer loyalty program?

Are there alternative ways of generating customer loyalty other than cards or points to keep your customers engaged and coming back for more?

Article Product Management

How DevOps is changing the business of IT consulting

DevOps is a new trend becoming popular among information technology professionals.

It is a method in software development that emphasizes the need for communication, integration, collaboration, automation, and the measurement of cooperative efforts among software developers and IT professionals.

It is also making waves in the business of IT consulting.

Article Product Management

Four product marketing reasons why Tinder got really, really big

If you are looking to build an app or other online service there are some clever product marketing plays that enabled Tinder’s incredible success – these should be taken seriously.

Article Multichannel

Leaping towards localisation: Worldwide sales in 2014

As we draw towards the end of the year, it’s always interesting to review what products or services sold well to whom around the world.

It’s also a time when we try to foresee opportunities for the next year ahead.

Article Digital Strategy

How can London’s Tech City help startups get to series C funding?

Le Web is a hotbed of entrepreneurs and startups looking to network, make connections and hopefully bump into a generous venture capitalist.

Consequently one of the topics up for discussion is the differing appeal of Europe’s various startup ecosystems.

Article Product Management

How Northern & Shell harnessed user data to build a single customer view

Northern & Shell is one of the UK’s biggest publishers, owning titles including the Daily Express, Daily Star, OK!, New! and Star.

Until May this year it also operated three TV stations: Channel 5, 5* and 5USA.

So at a time when publishers are struggling to adapt to the new digital world, it’s worth taking note of the way in which N&S is attempting to monetise the massive amount of user data it collects.

Article Product Management

The importance of market research: Launching a new product

Launching a product in an established industry is extremely difficult.

Customers may have a perceived expectation of what the product should be, and how it should compare to products that are already in the market.

Understanding your customer is often quoted as essential in most areas of marketing.

Article Product Management

The rise of the marketing cloud. Will it conquer all?

I was recently invited by Adobe to join them at Dmexco, a veritable behemoth of an expo and conference, held in Cologne, Germany.

Attended by almost 32,000 digital marketing professionals, and with 807 exhibitors and 470 speakers, the event promised much in terms of digital discussion.