MEASURING SUCCESS

We absolutely love nerding out on (good) data, but product success is notoriously difficult to quantify.

There are so many variables at play and data alone doesn’t paint the whole picture.

Consumer & editorial reviews, awards, feedback from buyers & athletes, and at least a hundred other points of input all matter.

And to get the full picture, interpreting all of this is key. 

Let’s dive in and setup some metrics that the team can buy into and track season after season.

  • The foundation of measuring success is the quality of the data, that is both internal and external data. But knowing the right questions to ask, having the right amount of data and having it in digestible formats is critical to informed decision making.

  • Ultimately, a product needs to make money, right? Most of the time maximizing your revenue while reducing cost is the key. Sometimes, there’s also ROI from market impact. Having the right balance of cash cows and peacocks in the line is the key.

  • The process of cutting can be painful, especially to product people that only see the potential. Again, balance is key. You need a line big enough to create excitement and hold retail space, while also capitalizing on scale.

  • Always the holy grail of business health, margin can be found everywhere along the product lifecycle. Knowing where to look and what levers to pull for year after year sustained growth matters most.

  • Getting relevant, meaningful media coverage can’t be under emphasized. Knowing where your target customers are looking is important for effectiveness. How to design products for that coverage is also important.

  • How you get direct consumer reviews and where you utilize them in your process are fundamental components of listening to your consumers.