Patio Sessions with Two Tall Totems

As part of Vancouver Startup Week,  Two Tall Totems hosted a series of workshops where the Vancouver-based software development company talked bleeding edge technology and product launch strategy.To me, a lot of their advice had cross-industry appeal, so I thought I’d share three of their tips for flawless client communication and planning a smooth product release.

1. visualize your product as a pain, a gain and a strategy

Two Tall Totems make sure they’re on the same page as their client going into a project’s idea phase by asking the client to envision the product as a pain, a gain and a strategy.The pain is the problem the product aims to solve – what’s missing in the field? What is a problem consumers run into? What do consumers find themselves looking for?The gain is what the product is going to offer to alleviate the above pain(s). What does your product do? When will a consumer use or need it?Lastly, the strategy is the approach your client hopes to go about bringing this product to the consumer. How will they appeal to the consumer, what angle will they be using to market it?

2. Learn from the alternatives

You should also ask your client to list all of the ideas they’ve had about the product, including any different versions they may have considered.Two Tall Totems goes through what they call a Discovery Backlog, which first takes an idea from the client, analyzes it against the concepts discussed, and designs it accordingly for development. Once you’re ready for development, they undergo several sprints to finish the product and prepare it for launch.

3. Keep the big picture in mind, and remember to check in

Once you have your product ready for release, keep in mind your overall business strategy when thinking through your content and the the channels you’ll be marketing through.Once launched, it’s also important to ensure you’re consistently measuring user interactions with your product, and seeking feedback for continuous maintenance and support, as well as to inform any extensions you may add to the product.You can read more about Two Tall Totems here.Photo credit