How do you know if you’re a product-first production company? Is it the foundation the business was built upon, or is there a secret recipe you can follow to get you there?
I have found similarities between these companies that tie them all together. They face similar challenges and team backgrounds. They seem to follow a journey, and although each journey is individual, there are often moments of triumph and setbacks that can help reveal an underlying weakness.
Fortunately, the product-first mindset applies whether you are developing a new product or operating within a well-established corporation.
So with that said, let's take a look at some of the factors that product-first production companies have in common:
The Makeup of a Product-First Company:
The composition of a product-first production company is as follows: the leadership team, the aligned mission, and product engagement. Let's take a closer look at each in turn:
The Leadership Team: These companies are generally dominated by product teams (e.g. engineering, user experience and product experts). As a result, leadership teams typically have a background in the product rather than business or sales.
The Aligned Mission: A production company should have a clearly outlined mission that remains at the forefront of all decision-making.
While product features during the development phase are designed to enhance the customer experience, leadership might sometimes have to make difficult decisions to ensure the project stays on track. By this, we mean there will be times when the customer may come second so that the product vision can remain first. This doesn’t mean customer feedback is ignored; instead, it is accepted and incorporated when it aligns with the mission.
Product Engagement Drives Conversions: By putting the product first, it shows confidence in what the company or organisation have built and, as a result, can offer a low barrier to entry. Often running a free trial, a chance to subscribe, or a money-back period communicates to the customers that they trust that their product/service is good enough that people will stick around for longer.
The outcome is that product-first companies are typically beloved companies. There is no immediate pressure for users to become customers, which automatically builds trust and loyalty. Instead, growth is generated by cultivating an experience; users become customers and promoters. This leads to companies scaling organically without extra costs or funding.