Product Modernization is a crucial strategy that involves enhancement/change of product features, product design & product delivery models, to align with the evolving trends and customer expectations. These innovations usually encompass enhancements in the user interface, multi-channel user experience, mobile-centric design, creating efficient workflows, adoption of cloud, and implementation of new avenues of digital revenues. According to reports, effective product modernization can boost annual revenue by 14% and reduce product maintenance costs by 30-50%.
Under the right guidance, product modernization can yield significant benefits thereby directly impacting revenue growth fostering customer acquisitions & retentions significantly. Modernization also creates opportunities for new revenue streams through upselling, cross-selling, or introducing premium features, thereby diversifying income sources. Furthermore, it provides a competitive advantage by enabling businesses to capture market share and command premium pricing. However, without proper supervision and expertise, a product modernization journey can be ineffective and financially unviable. We have recognized the following four steps and the 5 key strategies to help businesses embark on a successful product modernization journey:
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Identify the business need for modernization and thoroughly assess your current product ecosystem
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Choose specific modernization initiatives aligned with your business goals and select service providers accordingly
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Create a roadmap that coordinates modernization efforts while ensuring business continuity
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Tune your data governance, cybersecurity, and any other aligned technology and business skills, to effectively modernize your products
5 Strategies for Effective Product Modernization Include:
- Customer Research: Customer research guides product development & modernization in a way that maximizes revenue potential and drives sustainable growth. Valuable insights can be gathered through surveys, feedback, & market research. By understanding what customers want and how their needs have evolved over time, businesses can make strategic updates to their products or services to better align with demands. Additionally, modernized products are often perceived as more valuable and relevant, allowing businesses to command higher prices or expand their market share.
- Agile Development: The adoption of agile methodologies facilitates quicker and more efficient development cycles and allows faster recovery in case of failure. By regularly releasing updates and improvements businesses can adapt to changing demands more effectively. Additionally, agile methods enable quicker response to competitive challenges and opportunities, allowing businesses to seize market share and generate revenue more rapidly than traditional, slower development approaches.
- Automation: Automation in product modernization can boost revenue growth by optimizing processes, reducing human error, and accelerating time-to-market. By automating tasks such as process analysis, quality assurance, testing, and deployment, companies can ensure quicker and more reliable updates to their products. Moreover, automation can help optimize resource allocation, lower operational costs, and free up personnel to focus on innovation and strategic initiatives, ultimately driving revenue growth through improved product performance and competitiveness. By incorporating automation to tailor your products and deploy customizations, businesses can effortlessly adapt to meet customer’s specific requirements, leading to improved digital sales and an enriched customer journey.
- Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Implementing CI/CD as part of product modernization can significantly boost revenue growth for businesses by enabling faster and more reliable software updates. This agility allows companies to swiftly roll out new features, and fix issues promptly, resulting in improved customer satisfaction and retention. Moreover, the reduced downtime and enhanced product quality lead to increased user engagement and expanded user bases, ultimately translating into higher revenues. Additionally, CI/CD's data-driven approach facilitates better decision-making, ensuring that product improvements align with customer preferences and market trends, further driving revenue growth through competitive advantages and innovation.
- User Experience (UX) Design: A user-friendly interface and data-driven intuitive design can make a significant difference in retaining and attracting customers. Enhancing a product’s usability, accessibility, and aesthetic appeal can be achieved through the implementation of modern UI design principles, optimizing navigation, and incorporating additional features to elevate the overall user experience.
