How to create products that customers love

1. Make customer-centricity and data the foundation of everything you do 

Nothing is more important in product management than understanding the customers' needs and problems. Customer-centricity should be more than just empty words – it should be a hands-on approach visible in all work. The product team should regularly stay in touch with customers to understand how the product meets their needs and how they use it. 

Customer feedback and user data should be collected and analysed continuously, so that development is based on research and real customer needs, not guesswork. A product should be built in a way that enables continuous collection and analysis of usage data. The product team can use that data to identify potential problems before they occur. Moreover, user data helps the team understand customer behaviour and evolving needs early on.  

A good product leader also keeps their eyes and ears open. World events and market trends, even from entirely different industries, may offer helpful ideas and insights for business.

2. Leading with a product vision requires a strategy and measurable goals

Successful product management requires a clear product vision and strategy as its backbone, along with concrete, measurable goals. Product leaders must ensure the entire team understands and commits to the shared vision and goals.

A product vision clarifies your product’s purpose and the customer problems it solves. In a way, the product vision describes a long-term dream of a product but is always based on verified customer needs. Leading with a product vision is a great way to ensure development stays focused only on areas that drive its realisation. Otherwise, there is always a risk of the team getting bogged down in tactical details or merely reacting to competitors' actions. 

The product strategy, on the other hand, defines the concrete actions and resources needed to achieve the vision. It serves as a roadmap that aligns the team’s daily work with long-term goals. A good strategy is updated through continuous customer understanding to remain relevant amidst changing customer needs and market conditions.

Setting measurable goals directs the team’s focus on the right matters, such as delivering customer value and business impact. Instead of tracking how many features the team can develop within a specific time, it is more worthwhile to follow how well the product solves customer problems.

3. Experiment with new ideas quickly – and let go of those that do not fly

The best solutions often emerge from agile experiments with various ideas, while promptly setting aside those that do not succeed. It is essential for the product leaders to promote and maintain a psychologically safe culture where failure is embraced and letting go of ineffective ideas is encouraged. 

If months are spent on designing the perfect solution, at worst, the work may become costly if the solution proves useless. Practical experiments with lightweight prototypes quickly reveal what works for customers and what does not. This way, the team avoids producing features that ultimately no one wants to use. When each experiment has clear hypotheses and metrics, the team can evaluate the results objectively and gain valuable learnings for the future. 

Although new ideas should be tested with a low threshold, they still need to meet certain criteria, making sure the usability and technical implementation are in order. Additionally, the idea must be economically viable and scalable. Namely, producing one-off solutions for a single use case is rather pointless.

4. The product is not a project – it needs to evolve constantly

In product development, the operating environment is constantly changing: competitors launch new features, customer needs change, and technology evolves rapidly. Rigid practices and long-term plans set in stone may quickly become a burden. 

The product should not be treated as a project with a beginning and an end – it needs to evolve continuously. Besides, true development work begins when the product enters the market. The product team needs to monitor and optimise constantly to ensure the product meets customer needs in the best possible way. 

It is worth moving on to production with the smallest viable product that can provide the customer with the value they need and continuing to develop the product systematically. However, it is crucial to ensure that the product does not hit the market unfinished – otherwise, there is a risk of disappointed customers never returning to the finished product. 

Modern product management is about constant learning, adapting, and always putting the customer first. Companies that master this are rewarded with a successful product that truly matters to their customers. 

Are you interested in finding out how you can develop products customers love? Check out our Product Discovery training!