4 Steps to pilot a product - part art and part science

Remember the first iPod had that spinning wheel to tip and turn? It was an incredible feature which grabbed an entirely new group of customers and if you have been reading the book on Steve Jobs, you will know he delayed the launch in order to build in this feature. So how can you bring the focus and excitement to your new products? Andrew Brown has researched a powerful article in Financial Post and here is what I liked:

Products with tremendous potential are launched too early or designed in ways that don’t capture the imagination of would-be customers.  The consequences can be severe: losing credibility with customers and exposing important points of distinction to competitors. Furthermore, such “failures” reduce the appetite to experiment and lead to adopting cumbersome processes that squash the ability to innovate rapidly.

To overcome these pitfalls, successful product innovators pilot their products. Just as with any business  process, piloting a product is part art and part science. Here are four piloting practices that consistently generate insights that lead to profitable products:

Limit the scope of the pilot. Keep the scope of the pilot focused. Leaders from every department bring their wish list of features and functionalities that they want included. The result is a product whose benefit to the end-user is buried or lost.  According to Chris Perretta, the CIO of State Street, which provides financial solutions to sophisticated institutional investors, “given the complexity of our clients’ needs, when we do pilot a product, we have laser-like focus on prioritizing features. At the same time,  we discuss with clients what is planned for future versions of our products so that they have a clear sense of immediate and upcoming features.”

Ensure quality. When customers participate in any pilot project, respect their time and candid insights by creating a positive experience.  According to Michael Wexler, VP at Radialpoint, “customers assume the reliability and quality of your pilot product reflects what your company is capable of delivering” The Montreal-based company, which provides remote technical support is constantly honing its sophisticated software. Nevertheless, according to Wexler, “When we pilot products, we only pilot those features that function at 100%.”

Choose hardcore users. One of the critical benefits of piloting products is to help companies identify faulty assumptions about current and prospective customers. 

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