It’s the season of love! For the #LovedUp gang, it’s a time of happiness, gift giving and most importantly tormenting the rest of us #Singletons with images and videos of their love lives.

How does it feel to be God’s favourite’s guys?

While we #Singletons watch and wonder where we got it all wrong and how we offended God.

Anyways, I bring you good news, there is hope!

It’s time to show your product and product team love this season. While you can easily wile away your time looking at other people express and accept various forms of love, it would do you better to focus on what truly matters most to you; Your product and the people working hard to help build it.

Relationship with man/woman may end; your product’s impact is forever. Okay maybe not, but it sounded nice to say.

FAQ: I don’t have a product or work in a team, what do I do?

Let’s relearn some definitions, shall we?

Product: a thing or person that is the result of an action or process

Product Team: a person or group of people working together to achieve the goal of a product, bringing the idea to reality by doing a cross-functional set of work. This could range from ideation, design, development, content creation, social media management, marketing, sales and customer support. Really it could be anyone who just sits and listen to you talk/rant about what you want to achieve.

There’s no literal meaning to what your product is or who your product team is, it’s relative to you. Your product could be a software product, a YouTube channel, a podcast, a community, etc. While your product team could be just you or the people who cheer you on and help out in bringing your idea to life.

This post elaborates on 5 ways you can show love to your product or product team this period (and beyond, because love never really ends, does it?)

These ways are inspired by the 5 love languages by Gary Chapman

5 ways to show love to your Product or Product Team

1. Re-affirm your users of the vision you have and value your provide

#1 Love Language is Words of Affirmation, which uses words to express love.

While this love language is often taken lightly in couple relationships (I mean you say ‘I love you’ every time, is it really special anymore?), it is one of the most important when building a product. An example will be Piggyvest’s use of words of affirmation to its users during the ban on cryptocurrency and challenges with virtual accounts.

Piggyvest did not keep quiet.

Piggyvest calmed its users who were concerned by replying to each and every one who reached out with a complaint through social media and other outlets.

Piggyvest released a press statement to educate its users generally on the challenges faced.

Piggyvest did not just stop at words, they took action (automatic new NUBAN numbers ON A SUNDAY, Nigerian public offices could never!)

Be like Piggyvest!

Invest in putting your vision into words for your users or clients, show you care and understand what they are going through. Show your love, commitment and value through words your users can understand. Post on social media, create content they can relate with, talk to them, and do not be quiet on matters important to them.

Note: Study has shown that brands that develop strong and relatable opinions and content around societal issues or issues affecting their customers outside the product value tend to be more marketable. Your words are powerful, even as a brand/product.

2. Add a new feature your users have been asking for

#2 Love Language is Acts of Service, which shows that actions are better than words.

Have your users or product team been asking for a new feature or a guide to improve their product experience? This is a good time to show them you have been listening and care about their success. Adding a new feature that meets your product goal and in turn helps your users shows that;

• You have been watching and listening to their needs(the data speaks, users speak too)
• You understand why they want that feature
• You prioritize their needs so far as its in line with your goal (even if it isn’t, something’s are just needed)
• You have worked with your team to meet that need

To you it might be just a feature, to your users it’s a need.

Note: A feature does not necessarily mean having to build additional software, it could be a community or user guide people have been asking for. It may also be someone people want to see on your talk show/YouTube/podcast.

3. Create a special gift for your users or customers

#3 Love Language is Receiving Gifts, because for some people this is what makes them feel most loved.

While a value-driven product that ensures customer/user success is the best gift you’d give your users or customers, it should not stop at that.

Curate special gifts you can give your users, this could be in form of discounts, loyalty programs, a free guide or workbook you have developed. Like in couple relationships, gifts do not necessarily have to be materialistic or expensive; they just need to be thoughtful.

Have your users been struggling with something for a while, create something to help and send to them free or discounted this period. Can you do free deliveries for a day? Do it! Chances are because of that you get new users and customers. People love receiving gifts, especially if it’s something they have always wanted. Let your product be the gift that keeps on giving.

4. Take time to know your team members

#4 Love Language is Quality Time, all about giving the other person your attention.

Let’s pause on the product for now; the people building it are also just as important.

“The success of your product is as strong as the weakest person on your team.”

It’s very easy to forget your team and focus on the product only, that’s wrong.

Spending time, quality time especially with your team (individually and in groups) helps you build better relationships and a better product.

When you take time to know your team members, you understand their strengths and their weaknesses and know when and how to help them become better. Don’t be that boss or team member who only cares about results (that’s important, yes), but the process to achieving those results is just as important and your team is a driving force to that.

Take time off work to get to know a team member, have a coffee chat over zoom, take them on a date, organize team bonding activities, and go to lunch as a team.

Watch how spending quality time with your team members helps you build a better product.

5. Time to rebrand your product experience

#5 Love Language is Physical touch, nothing speaks more deeply than appropriate touch.

Your product needs a touch, it’s craving for it. But there you are not caring about that.

Truth is your users see the challenges with your product as much as you do or even more and would love a solution to it (whether they say it or not). While the value of your product might not be in the appearance, it is important to touch up your product experience once in a while and when so needed.

Work through your product experience as a user or customer would and look for areas that need improvement. Rebranding your experience could mean but not limited to;

• Removing unnecessary colors, images, buttons or widgets from your website, app, page
• Designing a new logo or website
• Decreasing the number of steps to carry out an activity on your platform
• Working with a designer and developer to revamp your page

Your product’s success lies in your team and user success. How you show love to them matters as well as how often. Love is not a season; it’s a lifestyle!

How are you going to show love to your product or team today? Tell me by tweeting with #LovexBTP or shooting me an email here.

Cheers to building better relationships and products!

I know you may not hear this on Sunday (and really that’s totally fine), but let me be the first to say Happy Valentine’s Day ❤.

I love you in and out of season!

Keep Being the Product!

Ajoke