The Guide to The Best Utopian Product in the World
By: T.V. Vignesh
Tags: Startup, Product Development, Product, Product Management, Entrepreneurship

Often have I asked myself. What does the best product look like? And I am pretty sure that there are a lot of entrepreneurs and product managers asking the same question — a question for which there are no definite answers.

But having used a lot of amazing products and also having worked on developing some of my own I do have an idea on what can be the best “Utopian” product in the world.

Why Utopian?

Yes, as I said in my statement above, I have indeed used a lot of amazing products for a lot of usecases but all of them still have some flaws one way or another. Developing the best product is a never ending journey and to be honest, there is not a single “best product” in the world since all the point of views are just relative.

So, rather than trying to justify which is the best product, let us have a utopian view on how a great product can be developed.

Vision & Purpose

The first thing a product must communicate is its purpose. What is the problem which it aims to solve and why do you even want to use it? It should clearly communicate its vision, goals and even non-goals at the first glance so that every user knows what they are getting into without any confusion.

Choreography

People talk about user stories, storyboarding and what not. Ultimately, its all about choreographing the user moves. Not all users clearly know what to do next. So, it is the duty of your product to do the choreography. Hold their hand (not literally), take them through each and every step of the game till they get a hang of how to use your product.

While things may seem very intuitive for us, not all users are the same. They may come from different experiences and backgrounds. So, if you know that your audience is going to be diverse, then this is something to look after.

Get the flowchart ready from the onboarding to exit, have the mindmaps and what not to clearly understand all the paths the user can take while using your product and how you will handle it.

Usability & Simplicity

This has been a hard lesson for me. Its not about the tons of functionality or features you may offer, its about maintaining the simplicity while doing so. And as people say, working towards simplicity is not simple. Infact, its the most hardest thing to do. Abstract unnecessary details, don’t ask for unnecessary inputs, and make it feel for the users as if the product they use fades behind the scenes while they do all their important work with it and not deal with all the complex workflows you have to offer. Try to build the product in such a way that it adheres to all usability principles.

Call to Action

If you want to have clear usability, simplicity and want to choreograph the workflow of your users, you need to have a clear call to action. Try not to mess your application with a lot. Rather provide a clear call to action. For eg. if you want your users to buy something from you, try to make the “Add to cart” button more prominent and visible to the users more than the rest of the app. This way, the user clearly know what he/she has to do next.

Great support & service

When users buy something from you, they don’t just expect a great product, they expect a great service as well and all the phases are important — before, during and after the sale. Try to provide a great customer support, amazing service and to be honest, a lot of them don’t even mind paying an extra few bucks if you are going to offer them amazing customer support.

Try to make them feel comfortable as if they are a part of your family. Truly care for them, try to understand their opinions. You may not be able to satisfy 100% of the customers you have but try to be on the path to do justice to as much of them as possible from your end.

Observe the signals

People do say that a customer is always right. While they may not always be right, they are (most of the times). They are going to provide you feedback through various channels, in different ways and are going to respond differently to what you have to offer. Now, its your job to clearly understand what they are trying to say and see how you can fit in to solve their problem.

Have a clear feedback channel where people can share their opinions, upvote features they look forward to having and try to use all of these as signals to make your prioritization and roadmap as smooth as possible.

Don’t leave security and privacy as an after-thought

Almost all the products do collect some sort of data from its users and the more data you collect, the more responsible you need to act. Try to understand that security is very important for every product and it is not a “feature” but should rather belong with the core of your product.

I know that it can be hard trying to follow all the security standards from Day 1 and infact, I have delayed my product by more than 2–3 months just because of the fact that I wanted to concentrate more on security. But, its always good to take all the necessary precautions rather than sitting and crying later once all the data gets compromised. It also destroys all the reputation, brand and trust you have built with your customers over time in a jiffy.

Also, when it comes to privacy, just collect only the data you really need to do a specific operation and ask them for it only when you need it rather than hoarding a lot of data with you. Try to make sure that you don’t sell their data irresponsibly without their consent, for, they entrust you with it.

Also, try to make sure that you have a basic knowledge of all the govt. rules and laws where you are shipping your product. Be it GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA or anything for that matter. While the laws may be different, they state almost the same things differently — about the privacy and security of user’s data.

Audit for performance with scale

Developers need to understand the fact that not all the devices are created equal, not all the ISPs are the same, not all the Operating systems behave the same. While your product might work well on your end, it might not be the case on the user’s side as well. So, try to audit your product for performance with scale. You can even go to the extent of DDOSing your own product and see how much and how well can it handle.

Try to use the various tools you have to audit them as well. For eg. if your product is a Web app, try out Lighthouse and see if you can fit in all the recommendations it has to offer you. And this can vary depending on the product you develop.

Try to integrate with the ecosystem

I know that a lot of people are ambitious to make their own Google, Facebook, Whatsapp, LinkedIn and what not (I was once as well). And all the best for that. But that does not mean that you shouldn’t integrate with the existing ecosystem. Migration from one product to another is a costly and painful exercise. So, rather than actually wanting the users to migrate to your product, see if you can integrate with th existing ecosystem of products as well. There is no use re-inventing the wheel.

Be at the top of Technology Trends

Some people think about technology a lot, and some people don’t at all. Technology empowers you to do whatever you want to do even better than you might have imagined. Try to embrace it and stay on top of all the trends so that you know what to use, when to use and how to use it when the need arises. You may wonder, why am I even talking about this in this blog.

But, to be honest trying to make a great product with poor technology is going to be a lot harder and probably not scalable for the future. You need not pick all the shiny tech around. But try to pick the ones which has a thriving community using it, something which avoids vendor lockin at all costs and something which can truly fullfill your goal at the least amount of time without any clutter.

Experiment

Not everything is clear to everyone everytime. So, try not to boil yourself making everything perfect. Rather, try to build the best version you think would suit your customers, and then start experimenting and iterating based on all the feedback you receive. I have seen YC and others asking people to ship MVPs within 2–3 weeks and then have them iterate, but to be honest, what you want to build is an MLP (Minimum Lovable Product).

Having your product in front of a user or prospect is like a blessing in disguise for you. So, rather than shipping an MVP and wasting the opportunity, shattering their first-time impression, take your time and build a great experience for the first comers.

Also, when you do build the MLP, also think of how you will scale in the future as well. It matters a lot to build things short-term with a long-term vision in mind.

Mind the space

Try not to fill the screen always. Remember that space is also an important element of design. So, try to maintain the right amount of space where and when you need it. This gives a clear train of though for your users.

Reduce the steps, increase the value

Don’t make the users jump through hoops or 5 different steps just to get something done. Try to increase their return, save their time and get their job done as quick as possible. They will appreciate you over the long run for that.

Establish confidence

I have seen a lot of users not offer a “Try it yourself” or a self-signup option just because they are not sure if the users will actually will buy the product after giving it a try. A lot of questions do pop up in their mind. This is all because of the lack of confidence they have in the product they are building and it can be actually devastating for the growth of your product over a long run.

Its rather better to have people try your product and spit at you rather than having it all under covers. This is how you grow. With confidence.

Look for inspirations

Often times, you might not have all the best ideas in the world. This is when you need to start searching for inspirations, even if you do that with your competitors. The inspiration can be as simple as changing the color of a button to the most awakening thought you have ever had.

Ultimately, its all a learning experience and it doesn’t matter who we learn from. All that matters is what we learn, how well we learn it and what we do with what we have learnt. And building a great product requires a lot of it.

Product Development is an Art, Not a Process

Try to see Product Development as an art. You ought to use a lot of your creativity, think differently to make your product stand out amongst all the competition you might otherwise have.

Try to build a product which is unique in its own way, which speaks to the customer in its own way rather than the customer trying hard to acclimatize with it. Art takes time and effort and product development does too.

Make the pricing clear

I see a lot of products offerring a lot of pricing tiers or mislead users into opting in for a tier when it really has nothing much to offer or asking for too much of upfront payments.

Yes, generating revenue is very important. But, it should not be at the cost of trust, values and integrity. Try to be as transparent as possible about your pricing model and let the users know what would be the best for them when they get it.

Product Managers in Toptal: https://www.toptal.com/product-managers/lead-product-mangers

I hope all of these points do resonate with you in some way or the other. If you have anything to add to this blog, do let us know in the comments below. Will catch you all in the next blog. See you soon.