如何優(yōu)雅地砍掉一個(gè)產(chǎn)品
????一家公司宣布將砍掉一款流行一時(shí)的產(chǎn)品。高管們將問題怪罪于銷量下滑和運(yùn)營(yíng)重點(diǎn)調(diào)整,。這樣的決定是公司運(yùn)營(yíng)的正常組成部分,。但它們還需要足夠深謀遠(yuǎn)慮,以避免疏遠(yuǎn)顧客,、違反合約和承擔(dān)額外開銷,。 ????一個(gè)最好的例子就是谷歌(Google)上周宣布即將關(guān)閉Reader。谷歌稱還有三個(gè)月才會(huì)關(guān)閉這項(xiàng)供人們創(chuàng)建博客和更新文章的服務(wù),。這段時(shí)間內(nèi),,用戶可以尋找替代性產(chǎn)品,也可以把Reader中的數(shù)據(jù)導(dǎo)出,。 ????Reader的粉絲仍然在網(wǎng)上批評(píng)谷歌,,希望他們收回決定。不過谷歌業(yè)務(wù)范圍廣泛,,至少給它提供了一些掩護(hù),。 ????公司在決定產(chǎn)品命運(yùn)時(shí),通常遵循標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的流程,。針對(duì)特殊目標(biāo)對(duì)收入,、利潤(rùn)、客戶互動(dòng)程度等重要指標(biāo)進(jìn)行分析——這些都是常規(guī)手段,。這項(xiàng)工作被稱為“產(chǎn)品壽命周期分析”,,或者更直白的說法——“死亡分析”。它的關(guān)鍵在于不帶感情地給出如何繼續(xù)工作的公正建議,。 ????計(jì)算公司在某款產(chǎn)品上的花銷是一項(xiàng)復(fù)雜的事,。任何嘗試都需要考慮到銷售和客戶支持等大量部門的員工薪水。涉及到在線產(chǎn)品,,帶寬成本可能相當(dāng)巨大,。更新升級(jí),、修復(fù)漏洞,讓產(chǎn)品能夠與新技術(shù)潮流,,比如最新的平板電腦兼容,,同樣耗費(fèi)不菲。如果在做決定時(shí)感情用事,,或是受公司政治左右,,將會(huì)十分危險(xiǎn)。不過這種情況非常普遍,。公司創(chuàng)始人可能對(duì)某款產(chǎn)品產(chǎn)生依戀,,拒絕將其淘汰。產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理則可能害怕承認(rèn)失敗將影響自己的職業(yè)生涯,。 ????Apartments.com是網(wǎng)絡(luò)分類巨頭Classified Ventures旗下的在線公寓租賃清單服務(wù)提供商,。公司產(chǎn)品管理副總裁克里斯?布朗說:“毫無疑問,如果決定砍掉的產(chǎn)品出自創(chuàng)始人之手,,牽扯到感情的羈絆時(shí),,你需要做足功課,解釋清楚,,為什么要做出這個(gè)決定,。” ????大多數(shù)情況下,,“生命周期”檢測(cè)都顯示可以維持某款產(chǎn)品,。其他情形下,分析可能會(huì)得出結(jié)論:公司需要在投資上有所傾斜,,開發(fā)新產(chǎn)品或改進(jìn)產(chǎn)品特色,。 ????實(shí)際上,被認(rèn)為徹底失敗的產(chǎn)品相對(duì)容易解決,。幾乎沒人會(huì)捍衛(wèi)大量虧損的項(xiàng)目,。而處理那些盡管贏得了一些顧客、但發(fā)展卻陷入停滯或者衰退的產(chǎn)品則要復(fù)雜得多,。許多高管不愿意犧牲短期收入,,盡管這么做對(duì)公司的長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)發(fā)展有利。布朗說:“告訴CEO你要把這桌上的收入拿掉一部分,,這太艱難了,。”多年來,,布朗已經(jīng)淘汰了大量產(chǎn)品,,砍掉了許多產(chǎn)品功能。 |
????A company announces plans to kill a once-popular product. Executives lay the blame on slumping sales and changing priorities. Such decisions are a routine part of doing business. They also require ample forethought to avoid alienating customers, violating contracts, and racking up extra costs. ????Google's (GOOG) announcement last week that it would shutter Reader, a service for creating a feed of blog posts and news articles, is a prime example. To minimize the impact on users, Google said it would wait more than three months before pulling the plug. During that time, users can find an alternative service. Those who want to export their data from Reader can do so. ????Fans still went online to criticize Google's decision and ask that it be rolled back. But the company's outreach at least gave it some cover. ????In deciding the fate of their products, companies generally follow a standard process. Analyzing important metrics like revenue, profit, and customer engagement against specific goals is routine. "Product life cycle analysis" or, more informally, "kill analysis" are just some of the names for the job. The point is to come up with a dispassionate, unbiased recommendation about how to proceed. ????Calculating how much a product costs a company can be complex. Any attempt must factor in employee salaries across a number of departments like sales and customer support. Bandwidth costs can be sizeable for an online product. So can upgrades, fixing bugs, and making products compatible with new technology such as the latest tablets. Basing decisions on emotions and internal corporate politics is dangerous. But it is all too common. A founder may feel an attachment to a product and resist shutting it down. Product managers may fear that admitting failure will hurt their careers. ????"Without a doubt, when you have products that are the babies of the founder -- that come with an emotional attachment -- those are the ones you really have to come in having done your homework about why you're making the decision," says Chris Brown, vice president of product management for Apartments.com, an online apartment rental listing service that is owned by online classified giant, Classified Ventures. ????In most cases, "life cycle" reviews show that sustaining a product is fine. In others, the analysis may conclude that the company needs to ramp up investment for new or improved features. ????Products deemed outright failures are, in fact, relatively easy to deal with. Big money losers have few defenders. Things get more complicated with products that have gained some customers but are nonetheless stagnant or in decline. Many executives dislike sacrificing short-term revenue, even if it is for the long-term good of the company. "Boy is it tough to tell a CEO that you want to take revenue off of the table," says Brown, who has shut down a number of products and features over the years. |