How to design your products in the era of speed, innovation, change, and disruption.

Every product strategy must start with the customer and work backwards – focusing on the customer problems we are trying to address and the expectations we must meet. This higher consumer expectations for personalization are fueling the emergence of more niche, consumer-specific sites with services that appeal to Gen Z and Millennials.

At XOOTS, we believe that the world is going to face 5-10 major paradigm shifts as radical as the rise of the internet—but moving much faster and all colliding in the next decade or two. Here are some ingredients of success in the era of speed, innovation, change, and disruption:

1. Mind the product silos: Emphasize agility and flexibility to adapt to changing conditions and market feedback, which entails listening to your customers and maintaining a lean approach to avoid overinvesting in unproven ideas.
2. Think big, act quicker: “Few but Big and Bold” products should be the underlying principle of your product strategy. This shift to global products will also improve time to markets globally. Stay focused and execute with speed. Identify the few very important milestones ahead of you, execute them well, and be relentless in working towards your execution goals.
3. Responsible Product Design: This means prioritizing privacy, security, sustainability, and inclusion in every product decision to turn these values into a source of customer value and differentiation. Why companies need to embrace responsible product design? Data privacy and security features are seldom monetizable, but without trust, there are no transactions, and without transactions, there is no business.
4. Don’t compromise on product quality: Focus on excellence in key areas of differentiation for your brand, such as flexible fulfillment, personalization, and meeting customer expectations. Understand that today’s customers are not delighted by fast or free fulfillment experiences – they expect them as a standard.
5. Don’t stop innovating: Position yourself as either a fast follower or market disruptor. Continuously engage with the emotions of your customers and surprise them with easy-to-use solutions that help them find what they are looking for.
6. Data: Unlock the value of Data at scale for your customers and treat data as a product. Data, information, and customer insights are incredibly valuable assets, but most companies are barely scratching the surface of their capabilities. Extract more value at scale from the goldmine of data you are sitting on.
7. Cloud: Public cloud is the enabler for speed and growth if implemented at scale globally. Cloud-native technologies will enable faster product innovation at the top of the stack by commoditizing the bottom of the stack. You do not need to reinvent the cloud transformation model, which has been successfully implemented across thousands of companies globally.
8. People: To deliver world-class products, you must create a world-class team. To become a world-class team, you must put the development and growth of your people as your highest priority, with a focus on talent retention and recognition.
9. Effective operating model: If you have the right idea, the right people, the right execution, and a rock-solid “why” behind it all, with the right operating model, the sky’s the limit, and you can create a global impact at a massive scale. Having a transparent and effective operating model is fundamental to your success.