You’ve all heard the classic phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Usually, when I think of this phrase I think of embracing whatever is thrown your way and making the most of it. Being resourceful with what you have by taking something sour and turning it into something sweet will help you overcome difficulties that you may be faced with when it comes to your next product launch.

While it may look bleak, many companies take advantage of uncertain times by releasing amazing products. Zoom wasn’t hurting during the pandemic if you know what I mean. What uncertain times may mean for your product releases is that you could plan fewer, more impactful launches. So your goal during uncertain times? Nail your next product launch by maximizing on the resources you already have. When you're resourceful, you know how to turn lemons into lemonade.

Importance of Being Resourceful

Things rarely go fully according to plan, so it’s important to remain imaginative and adaptable to ensure your path to product launch is not affected by the challenges thrown your way. Resourcefulness makes you more visible and competitive, allowing you to maintain your momentum during uncertainty.

While being resourceful is inherently risky as it involves taking chances, it’s crucial in anticipating problems and being prepared. You don’t want to jeopardize the quality of your product or the success of your next launch because you didn’t find ways to overcome obstacles that would otherwise be a roadblock – the risk is worth it at the end of the day. 

Resourceful teams and organizations always come out as stronger. Proving you can work smarter and be more nimble during tough times will set you apart from the competition. 

Here are three ways you can turn a sour situation into something sweet.

1) Squeeze All You Can From Underutilized Resources

Businesses often overlook the potential of what they have available to them at any given time. It’s critical to identify the valuable resources your company already has and devise strategies to use them more effectively. 

Many product development leaders don’t realize they have an underutilized resource in customer testing and may not grasp that customers can be a cheap and effective resource to test products, find bugs, and validate fixes. Many companies have a beta program that’s supposed to help with this, but results aren't reliable. The best performing companies have taken that gamble and turned it into a system that works every time.

Being resourceful means using every tool at your disposal. Resourcefulness is critical to businesses that are feeling the weight of the economy. Businesses that make it through tough times, tend to become household names. The key is using the practices you are already doing and getting more out of them.

2) Slice Into the Right Tools

Your tools have a direct impact on your results – for better or worse. By utilizing the right tools in your toolkit, you’re avoiding the possibility of releasing poor quality products that will lead to negative reviews, returned products, and unhappy customers. Sacrificing the quality of your product should never be an option.

When you slice into the right tools, you can do things better, faster, and cheaper than your competitors. It’s established that software helps people get the job done more efficiently than they could have done otherwise. But not all tools are created equal. With limited resources and bandwidth, it’s important to have tools that work for you, not against you.

For example, turning your beta test into a delta test can help you accomplish all of these things. Delta testing is a powerful tool that allows you to do more with less. Incorporating delta testing throughout the product development life cycle enables you to expand your quality test and iterate quickly on updates, driving faster innovations that are essential to outpacing competitors, maintaining product quality, and overcoming the obstacles of a downturn.

3) View the Glass as Half Full

While no organization hopes for a recession, the reality is that some companies actually do quite well during periods of economic downturn. By remaining optimistic and continuing to innovate and adapt, you can position your company for long-term success no matter what the economy throws your way.

Leveraging the resources you already have available to you is often a balancing act, but when you keep your key objectives top of mind, you’ll continue to thrive during challenging times. How you respond to those challenges determines your success and future opportunities.

Don’t Lose Your Zest for Success

Successful organizations are able to weather the storm of uncertainty and come out stronger. Don’t give up when you can’t find an immediate solution or pathway – chances are you have resources that are right in front of you waiting to be fully utilized. Turn these challenges into opportunities to maintain enthusiasm and zest for success leading to your next product launch.

The new Delta Testing: A Survival Guide to Economic Downturn ebook, equips you with the necessary tools and supplies on your journey to a successful product launch by amplifying your user tests, ensuring you sell more lemonade than your competitors.