Feature Parity is a Trap

March 11, 2024

Happy Monday everyone! There is lots going on in the Cleveland Product scene, so let’s get to it!

Article of the Week

You’re not acquiring customers as fast as you were. You’re losing market share. You're getting bad reviews on your product. But why? Speculation is that you are losing your customers and market share to your competition, who recently launched some new features. So you build what your competition has, as a means to close the gap. But guess what - that didn’t work. Why not?

Because you fell into the Feature Parity Trap.

Copying what your competition is doing is easy. It’s a shortcut to getting features out the door. You can tell your bosses that you have all the features and capabilities that your competition has, so customers in theory have no good reason to leave. But that doesn’t mean that those features are the ones your customers actually need.

I recently read an article by Martin Wilson that shared the dangers of feature parity. Here are my three favorite takeaways:

  1. Lack of innovation - By implementing similar features as your competition, you are not thinking creatively to solve the problems of your customers, hindering innovation and preventing you from making significant strides for your customers and your organization.

  2. Not all features are valuable - As Martin says, “Feature parity assumes that all product features are necessary/valuable, but this is rarely the case.“ All features are built within the constraints of the technology, schedule, or organizational dynamics, so these features are probably limited in some capacity. So don’t assume that all the features of your competition are valuable.

  3. You forgot somebody - By focusing on your competition, you forgot about a key group - your customers. Focus on the problems your customers are having by talking to them constantly, to make sure you are creating the features that help them the most, regardless of whether your competition has the same or similar features.

Build the Product that solves the problems your customers have. Read on for more reasons why feature parity is a trap!

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About the Author

My name is Shawn Leitner. I started the Cleveland Product networking group in 2017, which helps to connect Product professionals around Cleveland, providing them with a forum to network, learn, and share stories. For my day job, I'm a Product Consultant & Coach for Pathfinder Product and help clients implement strong Product practices so they can create products that their teams love building and their customers love using. Connect with me on LinkedIn or feel free to attend one of my events either virtually or in-person. Always up for meeting for a cup of coffee also!2