Product is not an app. Product is not even technology. Sometimes those are part of a product, but often they are given nearly all of the attention.
A thread.
Where tech people get this wrong is thinking the app is where nearly all of the attention should be.
Uber鈥檚 product is affordable, worldwide drivers on demand. Their app facilitates booking and payments for that product.
Function鈥檚 product is affordable, preventative health to empower you live the healthiest, longest life possible. Our app facilitates booking and payments for that product.
All 3 products have existed, in some form, without an app and deep technology in the past.
That鈥檚 not to say the app or the technology is simple; of course all three examples have many other features, but the psychology of the end to end experience is paramount.
It鈥檚 important to understand that product is deeper than an app, and that the whole thing from marketing through booking and receiving value, must make sense to consumers who perceive product as much more than an app.
What you find looking at career pages of a company (and sometimes even the entire marketing site) is that it鈥檚 all framed around the app and the technology. That鈥檚 a problem.
It means employees, recruits, investors, etc think and talk through this lens too.
Tangentially related, customer support is often viewed as a cost of doing business. However, in hospitality and luxury, it鈥檚 part of the product itself.
It鈥檚 a reframe of customer support (boring) to concierge (premium).
Many businesses miss this opportunity and end up losing customers where they could be gaining lifelong fans.
In fact, this frame is so pervasive that anything above bare minimum effort can be mind blowing for customers.
