2013

Product Zombie Apocalypse

Dave Nash

2013

2013

Zombie Before & After • They were once living, thriving, growing products

• Now they’re undead, and they will kill you

• You must cross the ‘other Chasm’

2013

Have you seen these Zombies? Let’s Meet the Family

The ‘a few customers really love it’ Zombie

The ‘it’s not really costing us anything’ Zombie

The ‘it’s pure profit!’ Zombie

The ‘if we kill it, they will go elsewhere’ Zombie

2013

Why the Apocalypse?

• All your energy goes into creation & launch

• Different organizations take ownership

• Organizational incentives: eg. take MSS vs. maintain

• Change is Hard, for customers and for You

• …

• …

2013

Your Weapons • Compelling Value of new offering!

– Must exceed the switching cost

• The ever-popular business case

– Team up with the CFO/Controller, not just

the sales force!

– Discover & assert the hidden costs

• Your roadmap

– show what’s coming and what’s going

• Whole Products, including migration

• A culture of change & constant

improvement – no surprises

• Customer Community

2013

They’re Killing You

• Not all revenue is good revenue

• Your real costs:

– Support

– Maintenance of Technical Debt

– Operational Costs

• Opportunity Costs

– How much is not accelerating your new product costing?

2013

Your Roadmap

• Explicitly show EoL products

• Plenty of warning

• Migration must be integral & ongoing

• Learn from Microsoft

– Clear end-of-support periods

– Options for extended-support subscriptions

– Stop investing in keeping zombies alive

2013

Your Whole Product

Capabilities

Training

Help & Support

Adoption / Migration Tools

Community

2013

The Power of a Users group

You’re less likely to strand customers if you:

• Give away your last-gen knowledge base

• Give away older, still-useful support tools

• Enable them to self-support

2013

Zombie carrot & Stick

• Seducing customers with

special upgrade offers ‘just for

them’

• Understand & address

switching costs

• You won’t convert them all so

don’t have that as your goal

2013

My Zombies

• Dealer Data Access Programs

– More is better, right?

– Consolidated 9 programs into 1

• Terminal Emulation

– Technical debt

– New technology solution

2013

Happy Hunting

• Compelling Value of new offering!

– Must exceed the switching cost

• The ever popular business case

– Team up with the CFO/Controller, not just

the sales force

– Discover & assert the hidden costs

• Your roadmap

– show what’s coming and going

• Whole Products

• A culture of change & constant

improvement – no surprises

• Customer Community