Introduction
Products have lifecycles. Understanding how they are developed, promoted and replaced is key in today’s fast-moving market. This article looks at the Netflix documentary “Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy.” We’ll explore its lessons from the lens of product manager.
Key Insights from the Documentary
Have you already watched it? Have you already watched it? The Netflix documentary “Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy” reveals how brands drive consumerism. It shows how companies use storytelling to push constant buying. Through insider accounts, the film exposes overconsumption’s impact on the environment and society. It also highlights how corporations prioritize profits over sustainability.
Watching the documentary with a product manager’s mindset helped me analyze key insights for the industry.
Early in my career, I wondered why companies replaced working products with similar new ones. Eric Liedtke (ex-Adidas Executive Board and Global Brand) explained it well in the documentary. He said, “People don’t need a new pair of shoes—what they need is a compelling reason to buy them.” That’s exactly what companies aim for with new products: encourage customers buying through new compelling stories.
These words resonated with me as a product manager. Customers may not need new products and features right away. The key is giving them compelling reasons to adopt through effective storytelling.
Another impactful moment from the documentary was Eric’s push for companies to plan for the end of a product’s life. Throughout my career, I’ve seen companies replace products where the migration becomes an unexpected burden or cost to customers. This presents an opportunity to consider a product’s end of life and make it easier for customers to migrate—reducing the effort needed to adopt new solutions, technologies, and whatever compelling reasons companies develop for future products.
Software Industry Dynamics
I have dedicated my career to the software, which constantly evolves, with new technologies and products emerging at a rapid pace. While there aren’t precise statistics on the exact frequency of new software launches, several trends give us insights into the industry’s dynamics:
- Growth of Startups: The industry sees significant investment in innovation. For example, in 2022, investments in software startups reached a record $120 billion, indicating a highly active market for new products and services .
- Trends in Development: Technologies like microservices, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions are key drivers of innovation. For instance, the number of IoT devices is projected to reach 65 billion by 2025, reflecting the surge in software products designed to support such systems .
- Rate of Developer Growth: The number of software developers is expected to grow by 25% annually between 2022 and 2032, suggesting a growing capacity for software creation and innovation .
Understanding the Product Life Cycle Phases
Products are not forever, and it is essential for product managers to understand the product life cycle, which typically consists of four main phases:
- Introduction: Product is launched; sales grow slowly as awareness builds.
- Growth: Sales increase rapidly as the product gains market acceptance.
- Maturity: Sales peak and stabilize, with competition intensifying.
- Decline: Sales and demand decrease, often leading to discontinuation.
If you’re new to or interested in product management, understanding these product phases is your first step to ensure you’re working appropriately for each phase.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with products in different phases, each requiring different abilities. As a product manager, your job isn’t just to build and ship features—you need to wear different hats to help the company achieve its goals and strategy for each product phase.
How can we leverage the documentary learn into the PM role?
Going back to what we learned from the documentary, software companies should follow the example of physical product manufacturers by creating sustainable products and planning for their end of life. The software industry has a chance to make product transitions smoother and help customers adopt new technologies more easily. While we shouldn’t completely eliminate existing systems, since partner companies rely on them, we should focus on helping customers meet their business goals rather than just moving them from one software to another.
While we can’t see exactly what the future holds, there are steps we can take now to make future software upgrades easier for our customers.
As a Product Manager working with customizable software, I need to guide customers on using these features wisely. While customization offers flexibility, it’s important to use it carefully. When customers request custom extensions, I often ask them important questions like:
- Why do you need this custom extension?
- Have you tried using the standard feature?
- Have you checked with your users if this customization is really necessary?
- Would your users be able to work with the standard feature instead?
So what?
In conclusion, while the documentary “Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy” primarily focuses on physical consumer goods, its lessons are equally valuable for the software industry. As product managers, we must balance innovation and customer needs, ensuring sustainable product lifecycles and smooth transitions. The key is not just to create new products, but to provide genuine value while being mindful about the impacts of our decisions. By understanding product lifecycles and planning for end-of-life scenarios, we can build better products that serve both business objectives and customer needs responsibly.