Honestly, it’s what @RagnarLothbrok said, especially since it depends on the product. But one strategy is to discover a pain point about your product that you don’t like and try to “fix” it.
Case in point, our long term customers remember when you had to listen to hours on hours of your stack to get results. One time, I was listening so much that my inner ear got infected because I constantly had earbuds in, which facilitates a moist environment for infections.
So, I decided to shift all research to lowering listening time while maintaining stackability. By doing this, I created value in the experience of listening to titles.
Same thing when we created Solace. We wanted to make the listening experience much less intrusive. I listen to my loops with AirPods on transparency mode and the track just vanishes into the ambiance of my space.
Value. Where can you improve an existing product, not to “beat” your competitors, but improve the experience for your customers.
Pay attention to the moves Microsoft is making in this generation of the console wars. I called it awhile ago and all my friends thought I was crazy. They are abandoning the console game as we know it and turning themselves into a content provider.
Pay attention to the pricing and models of this gen XBOX, notice the companies they just bought and note how they priced and push Gamepass.
I mean, they just shot Sony and Nintendo. It’s game over for them in about a decade. They own Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, meaning they now own Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Call of Duty, StarCraft, Warcraft, World of Warcraft, Diablo, etc., putting those franchises on Gamepass for an affordable monthly fee. Then, selling a cheap Xbox at low price, pushing these franchises on Cloud Gaming so you can use a mobile device. They’re also pushing developers to cross release every Xbox game on PC and made it easy to do so.
VALUE.
At least on the surface.
Can anyone who understands the economics say why this may be a bad idea (outside of the fact that they’re creating a monopoly)?
Hint: Think about how these studios will now be funded. Pay attention to Modern Warfare 3.
And yes, we spend an incredible amount of time analyzing businesses getting ideas. It’s why we crack up when people try and say SubClub is a cult or some nonsense. No, we just understand value, marketing and business principles. Do we succeed all the time? No, but no company does.