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![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/product-portfolio-dots-1024x594.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat is a feature factory?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Factories are focused on production, on assembly line-enabled, non-stop output. Put that in a product development<\/a> context and the meaning is pretty clear: This section could also be titled, \u201cHow to learn from your competitors without copying them.\u201d Of course you want to stay aware of what they\u2019re up to, but you can\u2019t know the systems or culture in place that\u2019s driving their decisions. Maybe their product management team isn\u2019t doing discovery work<\/a>. Maybe the tool is actually outdated or for a slightly different market than your own. Don\u2019t assume your competitor is another company<\/strong> So maybe you don\u2019t need to highlight how you\u2019re different from Company A (indeed, that could just be boosting awareness of a competitor). In this case, you\u2019re fighting inertia and simultaneously trying to educate the user about why they need to change. Highlight how you are better than the old way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evaluate your tool through the lens of customers<\/strong> Remember that you are not building something for everybody <\/em>to use, but for particular groups with particular problems to solve or jobs to do. You stand out based on how well you help them with those specific things. So evaluate your product in this more niche way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you compare yourself against a wider market or generic user, it\u2019s just broad strokes and hard to make meaningful conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think beyond the tool<\/strong> (This is also a polite way of saying \u201cno\u201d to your customers<\/a> when you\u2019re sure you won\u2019t build their request…at least not right now.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talk to users however you can<\/strong> Come back to the roadmap<\/a><\/strong> Product differentiation is important from the very start of any company, but as time goes on, the drive to \u201cdifferentiate\u201d can become quite narrowly focused on product features and market…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"pp_uni_tag":[],"class_list":["post-76665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-product-leadership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
A feature factory is a team that focuses on building and releasing new features, for the sake of output and \u201cgrowth\u201d rather than following a defined vision. This vision is also called a product strategy<\/a>, informed by research and experimentation.
Product management expert John Cutler<\/a> coined this term a few years back to describe what happens inside many software companies that are desperate to grow.
The result is a bloated \u201cFrankenstein\u201d product with many different features and functions that at best, are not cohesive, and at worst, cause a lot of extra noise so that your customer is confused about how to use your product\u2026 or what to use it for.
The bottom line: a feature factory approach is not the best use of resources and likely won\u2019t drive revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to avoid becoming a feature factory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Don\u2019t assume your competitor is building the right feature. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. If a competitor has built something interesting, test their product yourself.<\/strong>
You usually have the opportunity to explore any curiosity (or suspicion) as a user! Go in as a researcher. Test the features, enter user forums or other related online discussions. Ask other people how they use that product and how well it works.
You might find some hidden opportunities, things that tool is missing that you can take advantage of. Or you find people hate certain features, and you can cross those off your list. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to ensure you have product differentiation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Your direct competition might not be a business at all. It could be whatever manual, jerry-rigged process the user came up with years ago! We all know old habits die hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like I said up top, differentiation comes down to how your product is perceived in the market. So it depends on the types of people who use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A differentiated product is more than the tool itself. Because your product is not just the code. It\u2019s not just the features, it\u2019s the entire development and support ecosystem.
Perhaps you offer more user support, more reliability, faster iteration. These are things that can\u2019t be easily replicated.
If another company copied everything pixel by pixel, would you still have a business and a differentiated product? The answer should be yes.
Defend your product:<\/strong> Explain why not<\/strong>
In some respect, part of product differentiation is explaining and defending your choices, especially when it comes to not <\/em>building a certain feature.
It\u2019s perfectly okay to have opinionated software that doesn\u2019t jump on the feature bandwagon! And if you take the time to explain the reasons why you aren\u2019t building XYZ, it could actually benefit your team in the eyes of the customers.
Explaining your product decisions to users:<\/p>\n\n\n\n4 ways to check your product differentiation is on track<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Figure out what other tools they have considered or are considering. Figure out what processes they had before they bought, or what they\u2019d go back to if they cancelled. This is very much like finding product\/market fit<\/a> all over again, which is appropriate given PMF is a moving target.
Talk to the people in limbo<\/strong>
The customers who tried the product but didn\u2019t buy. The trials that fail to convert. The people lingering in your drip campaign, subscribed to your emails but not your product. Ask them what they think! This contingent of users (or almost-users) is often overlooked by teams, but they have a wealth of knowledge.
Collect feedback<\/a> from company surveys<\/strong>
Some practices like Net Promoter Score surveys or \u201cexit interviews” with cancelling customers can yield helpful information, too. Of course you should check these results for any insight about the product\u2019s perceived usefulness. Ideally you could ask churned users directly, but the thing is \u2014 they usually don\u2019t want to talk to you. Worth a shot, though!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The roadmap is the prototype of your strategy. It can keep you focused on the long game, but also facilitate the conversations and pivots along the way. To keep a strong company-wide footing in your product strategy, it\u2019s crucial to have a roadmap that everyone can understand<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"