Neta Coral | Takhles Episode: Start With the Business Reason, Only Then the Solution
Host: Eyal David · Guest: Neta Coral · About the host
Neta Coral, a product manager at Apiiro, says the first step in any new product initiative is to identify the reason you're entering it, such as reaching a new customer audience or meeting an RFP requirement to get a foot in the door. That reason sets the breadth of the solution, a full-blown replacement or a point solution, and only after it do you start the research: technology and domain, personas, AI, analysts, and conversations with existing customers and with customers you lost.
In this episode
- The first thing in a new product initiative is to identify the reason you're entering it. That reason steers the breadth of the solution.
- Common reasons to expand: reaching a new customer audience (even another team at an existing customer), and getting a foot in the door when a customer needs a specific capability so you can qualify to respond to an RFP.
- The reason decides whether you need a full-blown solution that could replace an existing system, or a point solution that's enough to say 'we have it'.
- Only once you have that answer do you start the research: technology, domain, personas, AI, and analyst reports on the market and competitors.
- Buzzwords in a new field are both a risk and an opportunity: everyone defines them differently, but if the space isn't well defined you can shape and define it yourself.
- Customers who asked for the capability are ideal design partners, and customers you lost in a POC are a great source: they probably evaluated your competitors too and can tell you what's missing.
Listen to this episode
Episode Description
A Takhles episode with Neta Coral of Apiiro: before jumping to a solution in a new initiative, identify why you're entering it at all. Neta describes common business reasons, such as reaching a new customer audience (even another team at an existing customer) or needing to meet RFP requirements, and explains how the reason steers the breadth of the solution. From there she moves to the research stage: technology and domain research with help from colleagues, relevant personas, consulting AI and analyst reports, being careful with buzzwords, and talking to customers who asked for the capability and can become design partners, as well as customers you lost in a POC.
Chapters
Full transcript with speakers and timestamps
Selected quotes
“My first thing is basically to identify the reason I'm entering, entering that initiative, that new initiative, and according to that, that's how I steer the solution”
“If I have customers who came and asked me for this, that's the most ideal thing there can be, because they can be excellent design partners.”
“So a customer like that, who I lost, probably isn't doing a POC only with me, they're probably also looking at my competitors and doing a POC with them, and they can also tell me.”
Questions & answers
What is the first step in a new product initiative?
According to Neta Coral, identify the reason you're entering the initiative. That reason is what steers the solution and its breadth.
What are the common business reasons for product expansion?
For example reaching a new customer audience, including additional teams at an existing customer, and getting a foot in the door, when a customer needs a specific capability in the system so you can qualify to respond to their RFP.
How does the business reason shape the solution?
It determines what the opportunity is worth and what it needs to deliver: whether to build a full-blown solution that could replace an existing system, or a point solution to a specific problem that's enough to say you have the capability.
What do you do once the reason is clear?
Start the research: technology research and learning the domain (with help from colleagues), finding relevant personas, consulting AI, analyst reports on the market and competitors, and talking to customers who asked for the capability and can become design partners.
Why talk to customers you lost?
A customer who did a POC with you and left because you weren't strong enough in some area probably ran a POC with your competitors too, so they can tell you what's missing and what others offer.
People & resources mentioned
People
Companies & orgs
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