How to profit from market changes during development

Want to know the secret to staying ahead of your competition? It's simple: learn to welcome change, even late in your projects.

Most companies try to avoid changes during development—and for good reason. Their plans are rigid and inflexible, and so they reason that it's safer to stick to the original plan. But in today's fast-moving markets, that approach can lead to launching outdated products. Let's look at a better way.

Listen to what the market is telling you

Every time the market shifts during your project, it's giving you valuable information. Smart companies use this information to get ahead.

Take Netflix, for example. They started as a DVD rental service. But when streaming became a possibility, they didn't ignore this change. Instead, they rebuilt their entire system to match what customers wanted. The result? According to recent studies, 80% of what Netflix customers watch comes from personalized suggestions, and they keep 20% more viewers than before.¹

(Remember Blockbuster? They ignored streaming because they were stuck in their old ways of thinking. They went bankrupt while Netflix grew stronger.)

Make decisions based on clear rules

First, you can't simply make course changes based on personal whim. That's a recipe for disaster—your teams need to trust that the decisions you make have valid reasoning behind them, especially when issuing course corrections late in a development cycle.

You need a simple way to decide which changes are worth making. Write down what matters most to your business. How do you measure each impact? Then use this list to evaluate each potential change.

Test small changes first

You don't want to make big changes all at once. Start small and learn from the results using the metrics you've established.

Starbucks did this perfectly with their mobile app. They started with basic features and kept improving based on what customers used most. Now, a quarter of all Starbucks orders come through their app.¹ That's huge! But they got there step by step, not all at once.

Keep checking what works

Set up regular ways to learn what your customers want. This could be as simple as tracking what they buy, asking them what they think of your product, and paying attention to feedback channels like customer support. Make sure you have people in your organization paying attention to these signals.

When you spot changes early, you can act quickly. This keeps you ahead of competitors who are still trying to figure out what's happening.

Create teams that adapt

Teach your teams that it's okay to change plans when the market shifts. They should understand the metrics and decision-making rules that you've established. Get them trained in Agile and Lean methodologies that are focused on adapting to change based on feedback.

My wish for your success

I hope you'll start seeing changes in the market as opportunities, not problems. You don't need to—and you shouldn't!—chase every new trend. But when you have a clear way to evaluate changes, you can pick the ones that will help your business grow, with teams that trust your decision-making and can adapt.

Good luck! Your competitors won't know what hit them.

I send out short articles like this every week on Tuesday. I write about how businesses can effectively innovate through software.

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