By Marty Cagan · svpg.com · LinkedIn
Marty Cagan argues that 'specials'—large customer or partner deals that come with a condition to build exactly what they request—can derail a product company. Although the cash is tempting, especially for cash-strapped startups, specials confuse customer requirements with product requirements, delay higher-value work, and make the product rigid. A commercial product must serve a broad market and adapt quickly, and each special adds build, test, release, and support burden. The piece also extends the warning to consumer internet advertising deals that pull users away from a site's core experience. Cagan suggests product managers reframe requests around underlying problems, keep the core product general-purpose, and let partners or integrators handle tailoring.
01Key takeaways
- Distinguish customer requests for specific solutions from the underlying product requirements they point to.
- Every special adds build, testing, documentation, and support costs that compound and slow the whole company down.
- Keep the core product general purpose, and offer customization through extensibility or partner integrators rather than bespoke builds.
- Before accepting a deal, ask what work it delays and what the opportunity cost of that delay is.
- Evaluate advertising or partner deals by whether they strengthen the user experience or trade it for short-term revenue.
02Key sections
- What a special is
- A special is a large payment from a prospect or partner conditional on the company building specific features. It appears in enterprise software and in consumer advertising deals alike.
- Why specials are tempting
- Large customers have understandable reasons to ask, and small companies short on cash may find it hard to refuse, since the features would be built anyway.
- Why specials are dangerous
- Customers struggle to articulate needs, and specials divert scarce effort while making the product less nimble. Each special adds ongoing maintenance and support cost that slows releases over time.
- How product managers can respond
- PMs should uncover the root problem with the customer, keep the product general purpose, and enable customization through extensibility and trusted solution-provider partners.
- The consumer internet version
- Advertising deals that send users off-site can erode the user experience. Cagan contrasts LinkedIn's value-added engagement with Friendster's ad-driven distraction, urging synergistic partnerships instead.
03From the post
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Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.