From WordPress developer to product designer

Who wants to be in the client services field when you can be in product? After all, the road to the Golden Chalice is lined with riches and bountiful treasures.

Create an MVP, launch it, and splash into your pool of coins like Uncle Scrooge.

No one ever warns you about the long weekends, iterations, support and the hurtle of marketing. Who will pay us for our goods? There's a lot more sweat equity that today's startup buzz doesn't warn you about. Not only do you have to build the product, but you have to build the platform you plan to sell and promote it on.

Then there's the task of choosing the right price to support growth and your existing customer base. Phew, just when we thought it was easy peasy.

Today I sit down with famed WordPress developer Andrew Norcross to discuss his journey and the launch of Genesis Design Palette Pro. He's here to share his insight about all that good stuff and more!

Interview with Andrew Norcross
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgyTLcm92Tg
Listen to the audio version
Also find me on iTunes

Understanding your customer
If you're a WordPress developer or a product lead -- don't miss this episode.

Understanding the customer is a recurring trend that I'm picking up on with featured Matt Report guests. We're talking deeper than just understanding the customers problem you're solving. I mean really know them and how they will interact with your product. How will they request support from you and your team? What's their level of expectation?

All of this should go into the planning, marketing and promotion of your product. This isn't rocket science, it's been around since the 1960's as the Four P's.

Product
Price
Promotion
Place

But as developers we get lost in the mix of building. 

We like code. We like tight, clean, efficient code. Even if it works we want it to be better. Why? It works for the customer, just let it go.

After all, everything on the web is iterative. Isn't this why we have versions and github?

My advice to developers

At least from the business and marketing side -- don't forget about the little people.

People that don't understand what's going on under the hood and don't care for that matter. They bought your product to solve a specific problem but once the purchase is made, you have to take off your engineer hat (in most cases) and throw on the white gloves.

It's about customer service.
It's about getting feedback.
It's about business development.
Oh, and it's also about your next version.

Provide great customer service to get better feedback and ask for referrals (biz dev). Use all of this cache to enhance your next version.

Granted you will have some customers that don't alight perfectly and that's OK. It's business. Invest in your first 100 customers and roll from there.
About the featured guest

Andrew on Twitter
Reaktiv Studios
Genesis design palette pro

What are your thoughts on launching an MVP vs a refined product? Let us know in the comments below!