Blogs

Design Action Guide: Experience Mapping

By Georgina Donahue posted 2 days ago
In our previous guides, we’ve covered defining user personas and using them to guide your design process . Now, let's take the next step: exploring the problem space through experience mapping. Start by capturing how your persona currently experiences the problem . This understanding will help you uncover the root causes—whether it’s a broken process or a mismatch in user expectations—and guide you toward more effective solutions. How to Explore the Current Experience Identify What’s Broken : Pinpoint specific areas where the user experience fails – we recommend ...

Design Action Guide: User Personas

By Georgina Donahue posted 2 days ago
Previously, we discussed the resources available to help you apply your Design knowledge. Now, let’s dive deeper into one of the most powerful tools you can use: developing and utilizing user personas. What Is a User Persona? A user persona is an archetype of potential users that represents actual patterns observed during research. It’s a powerful tool for generating and evaluating potential solutions, building empathy within your organization, and ensuring that your products empower users to tackle their problems and achieve their goals. What to Do N ext : ...

Design Action Guide: Human-Centered Design

By Georgina Donahue posted 2 days ago
Now that you’ve completed the Design course, it’s time to put those lessons into action by focusing on human-centered design . Why is Human-Centered Design Important? Human-centered design ensures that your products resonate with users by deeply understanding their needs, behaviors, and challenges. This approach not only enhances usability but also drives innovation and reduces the risk of product failure. Next Steps: Define Your Target: T o effectively define a target, focus on understanding your audience rather than your organization's ...

Launch Action Guide: Sales Enablement

By Georgina Donahue posted 9 days ago
In the last action guide, we talked about assembling your launch team . Now, we’ll focus on supporting one particular arm of team support: Sales Enablement. What Does Good Enablement Look Like? Sales enablement equips the sales team with the tools and training needed to confidently sell the a product, ensuring it stays top of mind and overcomes any sales resistance. Excellent enablement offers sales members knowledge of who they’ll be selling to and how they buy. Salespeople naturally gravitate towards the quickest path to quota— sales enablement carves that path by emphasizing market expertise over product features. ...

Launch Action Guide: Launch Team

By Georgina Donahue posted 9 days ago
With your Launch Strategy mapped out, it's time to assemble a motivated team with a shared goal. Including key functional reps ensures expertise, coordination, alignment, and resource allocation. Who Should Be on the Launch Team? Launch Owner: The person accountable for the entire launch, coordinating the plan and strategy , and serving as the decision-maker and problem-solver to keep the launch on track. Executive Sponsor: A senior leader (significantly impacted by the launch) who provides guidance, removes barriers, and ensures alignment with business goals. Functional Area Reps: Sales: Provide market ...

Launch Action Guide: Launch Strategy

By Georgina Donahue posted 9 days ago
Now that you've completed the Launch course, it's time to turn your knowledge into skills by mapping your Launch Strategy . A successful product launch begins with a solid strategy, as it sets the foundation for balancing goals, segments, budget, and timelines while coordinating cross-functional teams. Remember, a product launch is a business decision, not just a technical one, and detailed planning is essential to ensure your tactics align with your overarching objectives. Initial Components of Your Launch Strategy: Set Goals: Define what success looks like with clear metrics, amounts, and timeframes (e.g., $10M revenue in 9 ...

Price Action Guide: Price Segmentation

By Georgina Donahue posted 24 days ago
Last time, we explored Willingness to Pay . Today, let's take it further with Pricing Segmentation —using good/better/best models to optimize pricing. Why Segment Prices? Some customers are willing to pay more, while others may not—but we still want their business. Pricing segmentation allows you to charge higher prices to those who value your product more, and offer lower prices to price-sensitive customers, maximizing revenue and capturing more of the value you’ve created. What To Do Next: Identify Differences in Willingness to Pay: Customer Characteristics: In B2B, segment by industry, region, or company growth. In ...

Price Action Guide: Willingness To Pay

By Georgina Donahue posted 24 days ago
In our last action guide, we explored “Will I” vs. “Which One” products. Understanding which type of product you offer is key to accurately determining the next critical step: Willingness to Pay (WTP). What is Willingness to Pay? WTP is the highest price a customer is willing to pay for a product, reflecting its perceived value. By understanding WTP, you can capture the maximum value your product delivers. Calculating WTP for a “Will I” Product: Economic Value Pricing: Set your price as a portion of the economic value your product provides. For example, if your product solves a $100,000 problem, pricing at 10% of that value could ...

Price Action Guide: Will I or Which One Products

By Georgina Donahue posted 24 days ago
In the Pricing course, you learned about value-based pricing —a model designed to capture the maximum share of your buyer's wallet. "Will I? vs. "Which One?" Unlike cost-based or competitor-focused pricing, value-based pricing sets prices according to what a customer is willing to pay . But how do you determine that willingness? It hinges on whether the customer is making a "Will I?" decision or a "Which One?" decision. "Will I?" Decision: The buyer is deciding whether to purchase a product at all, without considering competitive alternatives. Example: Apple Watch, where the decision revolves around whether to own a smartwatch. "Which ...

Market Action Guide: Marketing Canvas

By Georgina Donahue posted 24 days ago
It’s time to consolidate your Market knowledge into a streamlined plan with the Product Marketing Canvas . What is the Product Marketing Canvas? The canvas maps marketing plans at a strategic level. This one-page plan communicates why you’re doing the things you’re doing and connects to the three big picture goals your management team cares about (awareness, revenue and retention). It's a living tool for reporting, tracking progress, and enabling teams. The canvas ensures that you're focusing on programs aligned with your product goals and ensures they are delivering the intended results. Marketing plans get stuffed into drawers; ...

Market Action Guide: Buyer Journey

By Georgina Donahue posted 24 days ago
In the last action guide, we discussed applying your Market knowledge to create Buyer Personas . Now, let's focus on mapping a Buyer Journey for those personas. Why Map the Buyer Journey? Up to two-thirds of the buyer journey occurs before we even know a potential customer is considering our product . Buyers often identify problems, define solutions, and evaluate options independently, relying on referrals, reviews, thought leadership, websites, and peers. How can we engage with buyers when much of their decision-making happens before they contact our sales team? A clear view of your buyers' journey allows you to participate in it. ...

Market Action Guide: Buyer Persona

By Georgina Donahue posted 24 days ago
Now that you've completed the Market course, it's time to turn your lessons into habits by building a Buyer Persona . Why Are Buyer Personas Important? Buyer Personas align your sales, marketing, and product teams with your target audience's needs. They help you communicate how your product addresses specific challenges, refine product positioning, and tailor messaging. This ensures your efforts are targeted and effective throughout the buyer's journey. Next Steps: Conduct Interviews: Start small. Work with your sales or client service team to identify 4-8 recent clients for interviews. These insights are key to understanding your ...

Focus Action Guide: Strategy Matrix

By Georgina Donahue posted 07-12-2024
Now that you've completed the Focus course, let's apply what you learned using the Strategy Matrix . Why the Strategy Matrix? The Strategy Matrix helps your organization synchronize on four key product strategies to win market share. These will guide your investment choices and align them with your company's strengths, priorities, and objectives . Next Steps: Invite your product team to this exercise : Complete the matrix based on the most reliable market data and align with the existing roadmap. This forms your implicit strategy, reflecting the market's ...

Focus Action Plan: Opportunity Scoring

By Georgina Donahue posted 07-12-2024
You are making great progress applying your Focus knowledge! Your next step is to further focus your ideas and decide which to prioritize. You will use the Opportunity Scoring Table to identify which to pursue. It’s a systematic and quantifiable method that scores opportunities against four attributes: Distinctive Competency : How well does the opportunity align with your organization's strengths and ability to deliver value ? Competitive Landscape: What is the level of competition or alternative offerings in the market? ...

Focus Action Guide: Roadmap

By Georgina Donahue posted 07-12-2024
It's time to bring all your Focus training to culmination by creating a strong, achievable roadmap. A product roadmap is a strategic blueprint that outlines your product's direction and acts as a critical communication tool to bring stakeholders together. Designed to be flexible, the roadmap adjusts to market shifts and organizational changes, guiding rather than dictating development. What makes a good roadmap? Your roadmap should be both visionary and practical, balancing ambitious future goals with the realistic constraints of current ...

Build Action Guide: Estimating with Development

By Georgina Donahue posted 07-12-2024
You’ve identified and prioritized the key problems, now let's size them with Development partners. You have organized your key problems with use scenarios and impact scales. Now, let's take the next step together to turn these plans into products. What to do next: Kickstart an impactful discussion with the development team to size-estimate the top 5 prioritized problems. Here's how: Who to Invite: Key stakeholders from Product Management, Engineering, Design, Architecture, QA, and Project Management. Aim for 8-12 participants to ensure diverse expertise ...

Build Action Guide: Prioritizing Market Problems

By Georgina Donahue posted 07-11-2024
You have Captured the Problems in your market - Now, it’s time to prioritize them. Most companies use high/medium/low labels or employee voting, but these methods don't reflect market facts. Instead, we’ll use evidence and impact to create your prioritization ranking . Here’s what to do next: Pull up the “cards” you created with the Capturing the Problem Worksheet . For each card, add market evidence and impact. Use the Market Problems Table . Evidence: Evidence is the number of times you've seen the problem or the percentage ...

Build Action Guide: Capturing the Problem

By Georgina Donahue posted 07-11-2024
Now that you've completed the Build course, it’s time to start Capturing the Problem. Why Capture the Problem? In Foundations , you learned to identify market problems through NIHITO interviews. In Design , you developed research-driven user personas . Now, bring these elements together by capturing the problems and pain points within a persona and documenting key use scenarios . This task equips your Design and Development teams with essential market context, enabling them to connect deeply with your product's users and make informed ...

Foundations Action Guide: Positioning Statement

By Georgina Donahue posted 07-11-2024
It's time to master the Positioning Document—our alumni's most coveted resource Why It Matters The Positioning Document is a strategic blueprint that defines your product's market fit and differentiation. It zeroes in on a target persona, detailing their challenges and your unique solutions. This tool aligns your team, guiding everything from messaging to strategy, ensuring a unified approach to your product's value. Dedicate time to perfect it. A well-crafted document is the cornerstone of team unity and strategic clarity. What to do now: By the end of this ...

Foundations Action Guide: NIHITO Visits

By Georgina Donahue posted 07-11-2024
It's time to listen and learn: NIHITO visits Talking to the market is what many consider the highlight of their role as product professionals, and it’s crucial for business success. This quarter, aim for 10 NIHITO visits to deeply understand your market. Engage with: Your customers Competitors' customers Evaluators Potential customers What to do now: Send out requests for 30-minute interviews, limiting to under 10 at a time and adjusting based on ...