What is product optimization?
What exactly does “product optimization” entail? Product optimization is the process of refining and upgrading a product to make it more beneficial to current consumers while also appealing to new ones. Evaluation of similar products or things that are already on the market and may be utilized in their place is an important part of product optimization. The benefits that a product has over those of its competitors need to be outlined, and any potential competition from other types of products or services should be taken into account.
Based on this analysis, adjustments may be made to the important characteristics of the product so that it can be improved. These enhancements can be evaluated by putting them to the test with either existing or potential clients.
The information about the requirements and preferences of customers may be the single most important factor in product optimization. The characteristics of the product that offer the greatest advantage to the consumer should be prioritized during the process of optimizing various aspects of the product.
The business organization is required to do an analysis not only of the existing state of the market but also of the upcoming trends. The company can improve its product offering and stay one step ahead of rivals by forecasting upcoming shifts in consumer preference and industry trends.
How does product optimization work?
How exactly does one go about optimizing a product? There are several possible interpretations of the term “product optimization.” And product optimization frameworks are different depending on the goals of the firm. When you have determined what you want to accomplish, you will be able to start taking the proper actions to improve your product.
The purpose you want to achieve will determine the framework you go with. However, the first step is always the same no matter what: Identify your aim.
Step 1: Identify your aim.
Let’s say your company offers software as a service (SaaS), and your team is working to make your app more intuitive for users.
Step 2: Determine the measures by which you will judge your success.
Next, you will need a method to measure whether or whether the work that your team does makes your product easier for customers to use. In this scenario, your success metric would be determined by whether or not customers can perform a particular task in your product in a shorter amount of time or with fewer clicks.
Step 3: Conceive and put your plan for product optimization into action.
You will now need to devise a specific strategy to make your app more user-friendly.
When you have finished formulating your plan, kindly distribute it to the members of your development team. You are going to want to have a conversation with them about the specifics because your developers might have suggestions to simplify the workflow that your team hasn’t considered yet.
Step 4: Test your work against your success criteria.
When the new feature has been developed by development, you will want to put it through user testing to see whether or not the updated version meets your objectives. In this particular scenario, we suggest carrying out an A/B test.
How to conduct an A/B test?
Since you now have both the old and new versions of your application, you are in a position to establish a testing group that will compare and contrast the two versions. You and your team have concluded that the new edition offers a method that is easier to understand when it comes to accomplishing a task.
However, users of your app may not share your perspective, and they may consider the newly added functionality to be more perplexing than the user flow in the version of the program that is now in use.
You will need to solicit feedback from a sample population of customers to carry out the A/B test. You are going to give them all the identical assignments within the app, and your staff is going to monitor how well they execute them.
Your original program will be used by half of these users to carry out the work, while the updated version will be utilized by the other half of these users.
You are going to keep a record of everyone’s actions and the amount of time it takes them to do the activity in question. Then you will be able to evaluate the sessions of both groups to decide whether or not your more recent version of the software has made it more user-friendly and intuitive.
Strategies for product optimization: A/B Testing vs. Personalization
A/B Testing
Testing anything using the A/B method allows you to compare two different variants of the same thing to determine which one works better. We recommend it as one of the most crucial procedures for testing out major fundamental changes in the product because it is one of the most important procedures.
Advantages:
- Makes it possible to differentiate between correlation and causation
- Tools that are streamlined and simple to use are at your disposal (ex. Optimizely).
- Has the potential to bring about considerable improvements to the KPI goals.
Cons:
- Does not optimize value across audiences.
- It is difficult to respond quickly to shifting patterns of user behavior or situations in the market.
- It may take some time to obtain results that are statistically significant and provide value to the business.
Use Cases
- Suitable for putting significant alterations in the way one interacts with websites to the test.
- Conduct experiments to see how the number of steps and the organization of questions on online forms change (Ex. LMB).
- Conduct experiments with fundamentally different user experiences or designs (Ex. LMB).
- Forms that are longer and move deeper within the funnel (Ex. LT).
Personalization
Personalization is the process of tailoring a service or a product to the unique requirements of a subset of customers to fulfill their requirements. When a visitor visits your website and searches for a particular term, for instance, you need to ensure that the appropriate headlines are displayed in any advertorials or forms that you have on your website.
Benefits:
- Maximizes the company value from specific consumer groups.
- Presents specific consumer groups with the finest customer experience possible.
Cons:
- It is challenging to identify variances between target audiences.
- Implementing tailored experiences at scale can be very expensive.
Product optimization best practices for product managers
You should adhere to a few product-optimization best practices that are universal and can be used in any circumstance, regardless of the strategic goal you have in mind or the framework that you choose to use.
1. Communicate your plan to the relevant parties.
Before you start making modifications to your product roadmap or adding new priorities to your product roadmap, you should consult with the key stakeholders to discuss your ideas and explain your reasoning.
Your employees will be more willing to assist you once they have an understanding of your goal, which is to continuously improve your product by making it better, faster, and more valuable to users. On the other hand, if your team notices that you are adding or eliminating features without explaining why you are doing so, they will be less likely to support you as a leader.
2. Establish a schedule for each of the optimizations.
An initiative to optimize a product can be carried on indefinitely. You can continue to adjust and perfect your product upgrades even if the newly added functionality is never made available to your customers. Put together a schedule for yourself as a defense mechanism.
Compare the work of your team to the standards you’ve set for success. If your optimization method was successful, which means that it matched your requirements, then you should cease making adjustments and release the product. Keep in mind that optimization is an iterative process, which means that you may always make further adjustments at a later time.
3. Be open to suggestions for optimization that come from your internal stakeholders.
It is not appropriate for the department of product management in a corporation to have sole authority over product optimization. Other people and teams throughout your firm may have observations and ideas that could help improve your product.
For example, the people working on your sales and customer success teams are presumably privy to information from the market that you may use to improve your product. You should actively encourage their suggestions.
4. Keep your customers in the loop about what’s going on.
You should also let your user base know that your team is continually looking for methods to make your product more beneficial to them. This is something that you should communicate to your user base.
When you have the product optimized, you should communicate this to your customers. It’s clear evidence that you care about them and want your product to be as helpful to them as it can be, which is a very powerful message to give.
5. Ensure that the process of product optimization plays an ongoing part in the lifecycle of your product.
You should also keep in mind that the process of optimizing your product is ongoing and never complete. There is no such thing as a fully optimized product; rather, there is always room for improvement both in terms of quality and the amount of utility it provides to customers.
Integrate optimization into the continual process of product planning that your company uses.
At Lunar Sky Games, we are a team of gaming product consultants with over 10 years of expertise in the industry. We work in partnership with web3 companies to help them build and grow their products. Our services include Game design, Tokenomics /Game Economy Modeling, Retention & Monetization, Product Optimization & Strategy, and KPI Reporting. We help turn your vision into a reality. Contact us now for a consultation.
