The Power of Product: How Rotate° Delivers Long-Term Value
Over the past 20 years 'Product' has become somewhat of a buzzword but what does it really mean? In the technology and engineering space, the term 'Product' typically refers to the ongoing process involved in developing and building a solution as opposed to the finished product alone. Product promises to deliver value and whilst some find this to be unrealistic, at Rotate° we believe it is critical.
We see Product as an essential discipline and its sole aim is to deliver value to users by solving problems. In our case that could be for our retail clients, their internal teams or even their customers. It is the glue between a business, its users, and Design and Engineering. A good Product team will work with a business to identify and then solve problems that the business or its users are experiencing. Here, value is delivered to all parties, whether that’s helping customers discover desired products faster, or increasing the business’ conversion rate by 10% (more on this later…).
What does Product look like at Rotate°?
We are constantly evolving and embracing new opportunities to improve and this iterative process is also reflected in our approach to Product. A lot of our process has been inspired by the “Shape Up” methodology invented by American software company 37Signals , as well as ideas from industry experts such as Marty Cagan, Teresa Torres and Eric Ries. When working in partnership with our clients, we strive to create value-driven, impactful digital experiences for their customers and/or their internal teams. The process typically involves 5 key aspects:
Defining a long-term strategy
Establishing short-term “wins”
Identifying and analysing opportunities to improve performance
Validating new product features early on
Refining and optimising those features to ensure best-in-class solutions
Our process
First, we work with our clients to form a medium to long-term strategy and overarching vision for the project. This is a comprehensive plan of action that includes key goals, milestones and a roadmap to success. We use this to ensure the project stays aligned with the agreed-upon objectives. We then determine shorter-term goals that will enable us to measure our strategic progress towards the main vision.
During a deep dive into all of our client’s data, we look for opportunities to deliver value, identify potential risks and challenges we might encounter, and compare industry averages to better understand how the client is performing versus the market. Taking all of this data, we run a process called “Shaping” to figure out the best solutions to each problem.
To validate new features, we start by building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This is a smaller version of the end product we’re working towards - for example, a solution with two key features as opposed to the ten key features that the finished product will have. An MVP allows us to effectively user-test solutions, validating their performance and ensuring the product is solving the problem it’s intended to.
We then split-test new initiatives and features to be certain that we’re delivering value. We’re not a feature factory, we’re a data-informed, value-delivering technology studio who always challenge our clients to provide best-in-class back-end and front-end experiences.
What does the “Shaping” process involve?
We briefly mentioned that we use a process called “Shaping” to come up with the best solutions for our clients’ needs, but what does this look like? Shaping is a three week process where a client is assigned to a dedicated Rotate° Product Manager, Senior Technical Lead and Design Lead. Over those three weeks, we delve into the following key objectives:
1. Understanding your problems
All too often, people try to solve problems without having a full understanding of them. At Rotate°, the “problem space” is a crucial area and interrogating this data is key to creating best-in-class solutions fit for your business.
2. Crafting tailored solutions
Here, we ideate and then create a Minimum Loveable Product (MLP). Similar to an MVP, MLPs are early versions of a product that are data-informed, solve user problems and have an intuitive UI.
3. Validating those solutions
We then validate those solutions through user-testing. This approach helps us detect errors or opportunities to optimise early on and also allows us to quickly adapt solutions if needed.
4. Fine-tuning details for Engineering
Finally, we prepare tickets for Engineering. To ensure maximum velocity during sprints, we make sure to include bullet-proof requirements, detailed design handovers and non-ambiguous acceptance criteria. We utilise Gherkin criteria to ensure each team member is writing in a consistent and efficient manner. This has resulted in more alignment between teams and projects.
For some of our clients, users might be their internal employees, the customers that visit their eCommerce store, or both. Regardless, we’re as accustomed to building stellar back-end solutions as we are industry-leading front-ends.
Product Example – Big Green Egg: Crafting a Seamless Path to the Perfect Purchase
Identifying the problem
Following feedback from their customer service team on pre- and post-purchase enquiries, this premium barbecue brand noticed that customers were finding it hard to understand which products would suit their needs. In particular, they needed more guidance when selecting the barbecue's size and the appropriate base. If they addressed this issue with their previous eCommerce experience, they would not only save customer service resources but could potentially unlock additional sales that were being lost too.
Developing a strategy
To solve this issue, Big Green Egg needed a simple yet effective way to educate customers on their product range, allowing them to easily compare the difference between their small, medium and large eggs as well as understanding what accessories and bases were needed to complete the order. By educating and guiding the customer through the buying process, we also anticipated that this would improve both their conversion rate and customer satisfaction.
Shaping the solution
We designed a “Build Your Egg” flow to help guide customers to the right products. The new video walkthrough served to educate customers on key product details, provide an easy product comparison view and empower customers to build their perfect barbecue set up along the way.
Delivering value
Throughout this project , testing and iterations allowed us to craft the perfect solution for Big Green Egg which resulted in:
36% increase in Average Order Value (AOV)
19% increase in Conversion Rate (CR)
60% increase in revenue year on year
A reduction in returns and complaints
At Rotate°, we believe true value is delivered through well-crafted, data-informed solutions. Our iterative approach to Product allows us to deliver best-in-class results that support our clients’ long-term goals whilst unlocking early wins along the way. We don’t just build products, we craft meaningful, tailored solutions that drive client growth and enhance user experiences long-term.