Iterating vs. Pivoting – What’s the Difference
Date : November 6, 2022 By
As an entrepreneur, you’re always looking for ways to improve your business. And if you’re building a startup, you need to find product-market fit as quickly as possible. One of the most effective ways to build products and services that customers really want is to iterate quickly or pivot when things aren’t working.
You may have heard the terms “iterating” and “pivoting” thrown around, but what do they really mean? And more importantly, how do you know which one is right for your business?
The answer lies in the data. If your business is struggling, take a look at the data and see if there are any patterns. Based on what you see, decide whether making small tweaks (iterating) or major changes (pivoting) is the right move for your business. There’s no wrong answer – it all depends on what will help your business succeed.
Iterating vs. Pivoting
Iterating is making small changes to your product or service based on feedback from customers or data. For example, if you own a clothing boutique, you might make a few changes to your inventory based on what’s selling well and what’s not. Or, if you have a subscription service, you might make some changes to your pricing based on customer usage data. Iterating is all about making incremental improvements to your business.
Pivoting, on the other hand, is making a radical change to your business model in response to feedback or data. For example, if you own a food truck that’s not doing well, you might pivot to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Or, if you have a software company that’s struggling to find customers, you might pivot to enterprise sales. Pivoting is about making major changes to your business in order to find success.
Examples of Iterating
An example of a tech company that iterated its product quickly is Snapchat. When the app first launched, it was only available to college students. However, the company quickly realized that the app had potential beyond college students and began to expand its user base. Today, Snapchat is used by people of all ages.
Some other examples of tech companies that iterated their product quickly include Facebook, Google, and Apple. All of these companies released multiple versions of their products before finding one that appealed to consumers and made them successful.
Some tech companies have had to learn the hard way that a product wasn’t working or meeting customer needs. For example, Microsoft released the Kin phone in 2010, but it was unsuccessful and was discontinued after only two months. Another example is BlackBerry, which saw its market share decline significantly in the early 2010s due to the release of iPhone and Android smartphones.
There are a few key techniques for iterating on your product or service:
- Always be listening to your customers. Make sure you are gathering feedback and incorporating it into your next iteration.
- Be willing to make changes quickly. If you see that a change is needed, don’t hesitate to make it.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment. Try new things and see what works best for your customers.
- Keep track of your successes and failures. This will help you learn what works and what doesn’t.
Some of the worst things to do when your product isn’t working and customers don’t like it are to ignore their feedback, be resistant to change, and not track your successes and failures.
Listening to Customers
One of the best ways to listen and track customer feedback is to have a system in place where customers can easily provide feedback. This could be through surveys, interviews, or even social media. You can also track customer behavior to see what they are interested in and what they are not. By tracking this information, you can make changes to your product quickly and effectively.
- Be open to change – When you are open to change, you are more likely to be able to adapt your product to what the customer wants. This means that you are willing to listen to feedback and make changes based on that feedback. If you are resistant to change, you may miss out on important information from the customer that could help improve your product.
- Fail fast, learn fast – When you are able to track your successes and failures, you can learn from your mistakes and improve your product quickly. This is important in the customer development process, as it allows you to make changes and test them with real customers quickly. By doing this, you can find out what works and what doesn’t work for your product.
- Engage with customers – The best way to get feedback from customers is to engage with them directly. This could be through surveys, interviews, or social media. You can also track customer behavior to see what they are interested in and what they are not. By doing this, you can get a better understanding of what the customer wants from your product.
Examples of Pivoting
Some notable examples of tech companies that pivoted to success include Amazon and Netflix.
Amazon started out as an online bookstore, but it soon expanded into other areas such as electronics, home goods, and cloud computing. Today, Amazon is one of the world’s largest online retailers and is worth over $1 trillion.
Netflix was a DVD rental service that pivoted to streaming video in 2007. At first, this was a risky move because broadband speeds were not fast enough to support streaming video. However, Netflix saw the potential for streaming video and invested in making its own content. Today, Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in the world and is worth over $150 billion.
Examples of tech companies where their first product completely failed and they tried something totally different include Google and Facebook. Google was founded in 1998 as a search engine, but its first product, Google Talk, was a total failure. In 2004, Google released Gmail, which became a massive success. Facebook was founded in 2004 as a social networking site for university students, but its first product, Facemash, was a total failure. In 2005, Facebook released its News Feed feature, which became a massive success.
So how can you avoid pivot-itis? First, it’s important to have a clear strategy and goal for your business. This will help you stay focused on what you’re trying to achieve, even when new opportunities arise. Second, make sure that you truly understand the problem you’re solving for your customers.
If you’re not solving a real problem that they care about, then no matter how great your product or service is, you’re not going to be successful. Finally, listen to feedback from your customers and team members. If they’re not excited about your latest pivot, it’s probably best to hold off and rethink your strategy. By following these tips, you can avoid wasting time and resources on pivoting too early and staying focused on building a successful business.
It’s not enough to simply identify a problem; businesses need to find solutions that people are actually willing to pay for. After all, no matter how clever or innovative a solution may be, it won’t do any good if nobody is interested in using it. That’s why it’s so important for businesses to focus on solving problems that people are actually impacted by. By identifying and addressing real-world problems, businesses can not only improve their bottom line but also make a lasting positive impact on the world around them.
Wrapping Up
As an entrepreneur, you need to know it’s time to pivot the business or product. When you see that the original idea is not working and they need to try something new in order to be successful. If they are seeing low user engagement or no growth, then it’s time to make a change. pivoting is never easy, but it’s often necessary in order to stay competitive in today’s market.
The most important thing to remember is that feedback and data are your friends. Even bad news is good news when you’re learning about how your business services customers. Use them to make informed decisions about your business, and don’t be afraid to make changes – even if they’re big ones. Your business will thank you for it in the long run.