I’m about to launch a website. Any advice?

I’m about to launch a website. Any advice?

Here’s another question I was asked recently:

“I’m about to launch a website selling scotch whisky. Can you offer any advice?”

Hi there,

The main piece of advice I can offer is to put yourself in the shoes of the people who are (or will be) visiting your website.

  • Who are they and what do they need?
  • Are they looking for a gift for someone they know is a whisky-lover but don’t know where to start?
  • Are they whisky experts who are looking for something interesting that they’ve not come across before?
  • Are they people wanting to get into whisky, but are a bit intimidated by it all?

Only you can determine what problem you’re trying to solve and for whom, but try not be all things to all people to begin with – apply focus and solve a problem for a specific group of people as best you can.

Once you’ve become adept as serving their needs (which you measure in terms of their success in achieving what they set out to do) you can move on to solve another group’s needs.

But above all, remember that you’re not your customers. The only way to really understand what kinds of people might want to visit your site and what they want from it, is to talk to them. By which I mean LISTEN to them. You’ll learn something from them each time.

Cheers and best of luck,

Jock


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The Practitioner's Guide to Product Management book cover

The Practitioner's Guide To Product Management

by Jock Busuttil

“This is a great book for Product Managers or those considering a career in Product Management.”

— Lyndsay Denton

Jock Busuttil is a freelance head of product, product management coach and author. He has spent over two decades working with technology companies to improve their product management practices, from startups to multinationals. In 2012 Jock founded Product People Limited, which provides product management consultancy, coaching and training. Its clients include BBC, University of Cambridge, Ometria, Prolific and the UK’s Ministry of Justice and Government Digital Service (GDS). Jock holds a master’s degree in Classics from the University of Cambridge. He is the author of the popular book The Practitioner’s Guide To Product Management, which was published in January 2015 by Grand Central Publishing in the US and Piatkus in the UK. He writes the blog I Manage Products and weekly product management newsletter PRODUCTHEAD. You can find him on Mastodon, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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