{"id":82828,"date":"2024-09-12T16:41:56","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T15:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/?post_type=pp_glossary&p=82828"},"modified":"2024-09-12T16:41:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T15:41:57","slug":"pivot-strategy","status":"publish","type":"pp_glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/glossary\/pivot-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Pivot Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What is a Pivot Strategy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A pivot strategy is when someone in a leadership position decides to change things up and shift gears into a new strategic direction regarding the product or overall business. It\u2019s a change of course, where you move from an unsuccessful Plan A to a different Plan B, or C, and even D to stop you from running into trouble down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a structured course correction designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product, strategy, and engine of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

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– Eric Ries, Founder of Lean Startup Co<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Things can go wrong in business, and certainly in Product Management. Sometimes, despite hours of market research, detailed roadmapping<\/a>, and planning, your product just may not hit. This could be due to market changes, a drastic shift in customer needs, or a drop in performance.

In the world of Product Management, following a pivot strategy might mean refocusing on a different feature, shifting to a new market, or adopting a whole new product strategy<\/a>. When you realize your meticulously designed product isn\u2019t quite resonating with customers, you need to steer the ship in a new direction before hitting the iceberg.

Pivots can be small corrections; a lane change instead of a huge u-turn. You won\u2019t be ripping up the original playbook every time. Yes, many pivots have resulted in a drastic change in business identity, but a pivot can also be as subtle as marketing to a different audience, or changing sales channels. 

Whatever way you decide to pivot your product, adopting a pivot strategy isn\u2019t something that you should take lightly. It\u2019s a big change and takes a lot of planning and research to get right. That said, it\u2019s not a final gambit either. Don\u2019t treat a pivot strategy as your last chance to fix things if performance starts to go south. It\u2019s a more calculated decision, looking at customer feedback and market data to determine what\u2019s best for your business. It is not something to panic about, and needing to adopt a pivot strategy isn\u2019t necessarily a sign of failure either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When should you consider a pivot strategy? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Knowing when to pivot can be harder than the actual pivot itself. Timing is essential when getting this right. You never want to pivot too early and not give your current approach a chance to breathe, yet you also don\u2019t want to leave it too late and leave money on the table. Making this change at the right time can be what gives your product the edge. Here are some signs that it may be time to pivot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n