Ways to Quickly “Get Into” a Domain: A Guide for Product Agencies
Navigating the product development process within an agency presents a unique challenge: you need to constantly dive into new business domains. Working on a specific product, such as a fintech app, means you become intimately familiar with the fintech sector, deepening your expertise over time.
However, the scenario shifts when you’re part of an agency. Your focus domain shifts from one client to the next: one day it’s fintech, the next it’s travel, followed by education. This variability demands that your team possess the ability to swiftly grasp new subject matters and unearth insights that enable the creation of effective products.
So, here’s the guide:
Talk to the client and their customers
No one understands a domain quite like those who have built a business within it. Engage with your client to learn about their competitors, the market leaders, and the reasons behind their belief in their idea. Discover why customers are drawn to their product or why they will be in the future.
Important! The client usually has a subjective view, so rely on their experience but verify the conclusions yourself.
Carefully research the market
Identify key players in the market that interest you, review rankings and analyses, compare features and marketing strategies, and stay updated with news and insights. We’ll make a separate post about how to plan such an analysis and visualize the information obtained.
Important! Steps 1 and 2 should be linked: complementing and refining each other.
Turn to neural networks
Want to speed up the collection and processing of information? Ask ChatGPT to do it for you.
Important! Create a separate thread for each domain. Then the neural network will learn, and you will accumulate useful information in one place.
Analyze your past user experience
If the domain is somewhat familiar, chances are you’ve encountered similar or related products. Consider what aspects you found user-friendly, what was lacking, and how you discovered these services.
Important! Your experience is subjective, so use it to augment your perspective rather than as the sole basis for judgment.
Attend industry events
Whenever possible, make time for industry events, whether in-person or online. This direct engagement will clue you into the latest trends and connect you with key market players, possibly even unveiling fresh market insights.
Continuously accumulate industry knowledge within your company
This is crucial! To avoid starting each research from scratch, build a knowledge base by domains: collect documents in one place, grow experts in a specific area, study, and delve deeper. Then you will have not only a broad view but also deep immersion. And that’s a serious competitive advantage.
Are there any agencies here? Tell us in the comments what you do to boost your expertise? And maybe we’ve missed something?
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