Focus on the Solution, not the Product

As I watched the frenzy over the iPad this past week and the number of people at the airport using iPad's it became fairly certain that Apple is winning the war in consumer electronics as of late. It is amazing to think how a company focused on products moved to a company focused on solutions and a closed ecosystem. Similar to Amazon who stared as a large eCommerce retailer and is quickly becoming a service leader themselves both of these companies have succeeded and trounced their competition by offering a solution to their customers.

In the included analysis I found at the HBR blog the author Ron Adner talks directly to this focus on the solution as the new winning strategy for companies and the product that is part of that solution doesn't even need to be the best. This echoes other research I have read and clearly shows that products and services need to solve a problem and provide value to the consumer. This is why companies such as HTC, Samsung, Motorola and LG will keep making bigger, faster and more technicaly advanced phones. They are competing based on product specs, which is what ultimately doomed the PC industry and ultimately made it extremely commoditized.

I would encourage all product managers, strategists and corporate planners to think about how their products and service strategies add value to the customer and ultimately create a solution for a high value consumer problem. If it doesn't then there will be trouble down the road as other competitors wise up and deliver this value in your place.