Upholding the value of good product design
A product designed well meets customers needs at scale
The Dangers of Excessive Customisation
In today’s highly competitive market, the temptation to meet every customer's specific demands through customisation can be overwhelming. It’s easy for teams to get sidetracked, equating customisation with being "customer-focused." or “customer-obsessed” Sales teams, eager to close deals, often say yes to customers even when the product design isn’t a good fit. This leaves product managers to manage variants with commercial and technical changes, while engineering and operations teams grapple with increased technical debt and lifecycle complexity.
Having seen this in practice, I’d like to share the dangers of excessive customisation and outline the importance of maintaining a balance between flexibility and consistency to preserve the integrity of the value proposition.
The Allure of Customisation
Customisation offers an enticing promise, by tailoring products to meet the precise needs of individual customers, businesses can differentiate themselves from competitors and win over more clients (tick!) This approach seems especially attractive in markets where differentiation is challenging, and customer expectations are high. However, excessive customisation can lead to several pitfalls that outweigh its short-term benefits.
Dilution of the Value Proposition
A well-defined value proposition is the foundation of good product design. It encapsulates the core benefits that a product delivers to its customers, creating a clear and compelling reason for them to choose it over alternatives. When product managers are forced to customise products they risk diluting this value proposition. Each deviation from the standard pattern introduces variations that can confuse customers about what the proposition stands for and what value it consistently delivers. Over time, this can also erode brand identity and weaken the perceived reliability of the product, making it harder to communicate a clear and consistent message to the market.
Operational Inefficiencies
Customisation can also wreak havoc on operational efficiency. Standardised products benefit from streamlined production processes, economies of scale, and predictable quality control measures. Introducing numerous customised variants disrupts these processes, leading to increased production complexity, longer lead times, and higher costs. This operational strain can result in resource allocation challenges, as teams must juggle multiple versions of the product, often requiring specialised training and different operational models. The net effect is a less efficient operation that struggles to maintain high standards of quality and timely delivery. Product lifecycle also becomes more complex as the product may have been customised with different hardware or software configurations.
Impact on Customer Satisfaction
While customisation aims to enhance customer satisfaction by addressing specific needs, it can paradoxically have the opposite effect. The complexity introduced by customisation can lead to inconsistencies in product quality and performance. If a customised solution falls short of expectations, it can damage the customer’s trust and satisfaction. Moreover, when resources are diverted to manage customised products, the support and development of standard offerings may suffer, potentially leading to a decline in overall product quality and customer experience.
Strategic Focus and Innovation
Excessive customisation can distract from a company’s strategic focus and innovation. Instead of investing time and resources in developing new features or improving core products, teams may find themselves bogged down by the demands of maintaining customised solutions. This reactive mode of operation hampers the ability to innovate and adapt to broader market trends, leaving the company vulnerable to competitors who maintain a clear strategic direction and continuously enhance their standard offerings. This slows organisations down and impacts product managers ability to drive cadence and velocity across wider Design teams.
Balancing Flexibility (configurability) with Consistency (standardisation)
To avoid the pitfalls of excessive customisation, product managers should establish clear guidelines that balance flexibility with consistency. Here are some approaches to achieving this balance:
Define Customisation Boundaries - Clearly delineate the extent to which products can be customised. Establishing boundaries ensures that any modifications align with the core value proposition and do not compromise operational efficiency or product quality. If part of your value proposition is based around delivering solutions to highly complex customers, think about how you build configurability into the design. This stops heavy “post-design” customisation.
Standardise Customisation Option - Offer a range of predefined configurable patterns that cater to common customer needs. This approach allows for flexibility while maintaining control over the production process and ensuring consistency in product quality.
Prioritise High-Impact Customisations - Focus on customisations that deliver the most significant value to the majority of customers. By prioritising high-impact changes, product managers can enhance the overall product offering without spreading resources too thin.
Continuous Feedback Loop - Implement a robust feedback mechanism to gather insights from customers about their needs and the performance of customised solutions. Use this feedback to refine and enhance standard offerings, ensuring they meet the evolving demands of the market. Ensure wider teams have asked and determined the reason for a “customised” request. Have sales teams really understood the problem the customer is trying to solve.
Educate and Train Sales Teams - Ensure that sales teams are well-versed in the value proposition and the limitations of customisation. Equip them with the tools and knowledge to sell the defined value proposition effectively, emphasising the benefits of the standard product. Would a customer trade 10% or 20% of what they say they need if the product could be delivered 50% quicker?
Walking the value proposition tightrope
Walking the tightrope between meeting customer demands and providing benefits at scale can be a tricky business
While customisation can be a powerful tool for meeting customer demands, excessive deviations from the standard value proposition can dilute its effectiveness and disrupt operational efficiency. Sales teams may feel compelled to agree to custom requests to secure deals, leading product managers to juggle variant designs with commercial and technical modifications. This, in turn, burdens engineering and operations teams with increased technical debt and lifecycle complexity.
By establishing clear guidelines and balancing flexibility with consistency, product managers can uphold the value of good product design, ensuring that their offerings remain compelling, reliable, and efficient. This strategic approach not only preserves the integrity of the value proposition but also positions the company for sustainable growth and success in the competitive marketplace.
