2021 trends: Product strategy
I love this time of year because I get to reflect on what’s happened and what’s to come next. This year’s themes arise from what the world experienced in 2020 — pandemic, natural disasters, social injustice, and more.
I’m starting my series of trend blogs with a general look at what to expect in the world of product management and business development.
Kindness: Intrinsic to products and services
America is re-learning a basic skill, and that’s kindness. This newly (re)found ability to exhibit overt empathy is something that comes from painful experiences. So in 2021, a focus on kindness will permeate personal interactions, user experiences, and certainly offerings. Commercial examples are already out there, such as gratitude mobile apps. What I predict is how kindness will be baked into user experiences, where we will see less dark design patterns, more nurturing user journeys, and additional respect for at-risk populations, such as children and seniors.
The virtual & digital life
Counter-intuitively, I do see people craving neè demanding contactless methods to accomplish a task. One I heard articulated this week is about frictionless delivery and pickup. Why go inside a business when you can sit in your car, and hot supper is deposited in the trunk? Digital ways of interacting with products and services are now baked into our expectations, and so should all products reflect that.
Many companies are already signaling remote work as not just an option but as an expectation. Companies that provide support and services to enterprises are also signaling a deep investment in remote work technologies, such as Wipro and Samsung.
A corollary to this is less work travel. For me, I’d like to spend more time digging into the need for less physical contact while still having social interactions.
Inspiration for experimentation: Space exploration
The pace of aerospace technologies is increasing rapidly. Five years ago, many would scoff at the thought of space startups and their lofty goals. Now we’re watching companies like SpaceX and Orbit’s Edge experiment with their methods and technologies. For example, you can re-watch successful experiments like the Starship SN8 launch and flip maneuvers.
What this means is other companies can see how even “expensive” experimentation is essential to developing new products and services. I look forward to other experiments we’ll see in the marketplace. If you haven’t heard about growth hacking, take a Google spin to see how experimentation helps you quickly try out business and market strategies without over-investing or confusing your customers.
I’m intentionally keeping these product management trends short and sweet. What do you expect the markets to embrace this year? What will fall by the wayside?
Want to hear what others are saying?
- Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/12/07/the-10-biggest-business-trends-for-2021-everyone-must-be-ready-for/?sh=1aca36f9c585
- Inc.: https://www.inc.com/anis-uzzaman/top-business-technology-trends-in-2021.html
- WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/heres-a-market-forecast-2021-will-be-hard-to-predict-11608392924
