Pivot Strategy

What is a Pivot Strategy?

A pivot strategy is when someone in a leadership position decides to change things up and shift gears into a new strategic direction regarding the product or overall business. It’s a change of course, where you move from an unsuccessful Plan A to a different Plan B, or C, and even D to stop you from running into trouble down the road.

Things can go wrong in business, and certainly in Product Management. Sometimes, despite hours of market research, detailed roadmapping, and planning, your product just may not hit. This could be due to market changes, a drastic shift in customer needs, or a drop in performance.

In the world of Product Management, following a pivot strategy might mean refocusing on a different feature, shifting to a new market, or adopting a whole new product strategy. When you realize your meticulously designed product isn’t quite resonating with customers, you need to steer the ship in a new direction before hitting the iceberg.

Pivots can be small corrections; a lane change instead of a huge u-turn. You won’t be ripping up the original playbook every time. Yes, many pivots have resulted in a drastic change in business identity, but a pivot can also be as subtle as marketing to a different audience, or changing sales channels. 

Whatever way you decide to pivot your product, adopting a pivot strategy isn’t something that you should take lightly. It’s a big change and takes a lot of planning and research to get right. That said, it’s not a final gambit either. Don’t treat a pivot strategy as your last chance to fix things if performance starts to go south. It’s a more calculated decision, looking at customer feedback and market data to determine what’s best for your business. It is not something to panic about, and needing to adopt a pivot strategy isn’t necessarily a sign of failure either.

When should you consider a pivot strategy? 

Knowing when to pivot can be harder than the actual pivot itself. Timing is essential when getting this right. You never want to pivot too early and not give your current approach a chance to breathe, yet you also don’t want to leave it too late and leave money on the table. Making this change at the right time can be what gives your product the edge. Here are some signs that it may be time to pivot:

• You’re always playing catch-up: If your business seems to be stuck in slow motion no matter how hard you hustle, it might be time to change direction. This doesn’t necessarily mean your entire company needs a pivot – maybe it’s just your product or revenue model that needs a facelift.
  
• There’s too much competition: Competition shouldn’t drive you away but if a bigger player comes along with more money and resources, you could find yourself in trouble. Sometimes the only way to survive is to zig when everyone else is zagging.
  
• Your company hits a plateau: If your product’s growth has stalled, and no amount of new features or marketing campaigns seems to help in improving your profit margins, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Even a small pivot could unlock new potential.
  
• One feature is working, but the rest of your product isn’t: If one feature of your product is killing it, while the rest is floundering, you need to change. Use this insight to change your product scope and focus on what works. If customers love one part of your offering, there’s gold to mine there.
  
• Market feedback is lukewarm: You’ve launched the product, and… crickets. Although low early adoption is expected from the product adoption curve, if the response is really dry, then you may need to rethink your target market. Even if the initial response was enthusiastic, if that enthusiasm fizzles out, it’s a good sign that a pivot is needed.
  
• Your perspective has changed: If you’re in a situation where that dream idea now feels outdated or impractical, move on. If your goals, vision, or market insights have evolved, your product should, too.
  
• Your teams are ineffective: If you’re finding that your team members aren’t working in harmony, missing deadlines, or communicating poorly, you could do an internal organizational pivot and rethink your product team structure to benefit performance. 

What are the advantages of a pivot strategy? 

In short, a pivot strategy can save your product and be the change you need to improve its performance and make it a success. By adapting a core area of your strategy, you can unlock the true potential of your product vision. 

Adopting a pivot strategy can be pretty scary, and comes with a lot of hard work, but it can be one of the most strategically rewarding moves a Product Manager or business leader can make. A more detailed breakdown of the benefits of a pivot strategy includes: 

Pivoting lets you stay agile in a rapidly changing market

The market can be unpredictable, but pivoting keeps your business light on its feet. When a strategy isn’t working, pivoting lets you quickly adjust instead of doubling down on a losing battle. It’s like hitting “refresh” on your entire approach – letting you dodge industry landmines and chase new opportunities faster than your competition.

A pivot could be the lifeline that saves your business

When your original idea starts sinking, a well-timed pivot can be the life raft. By redirecting your focus to a more promising area, you avoid wasting valuable resources on a failing concept. It’s not just survival of the fittest, it’s survival of the smartest. Pivoting gives you a chance to fight another day with a sharper, more relevant product in hand.

Pivots are a goldmine for sparking innovation

When you’re pushed out of your comfort zone and forced to reconsider what you originally planned for your product, you’re forced to see things from new angles. This can spark exciting ideas and the most brilliant solutions. Often, some of the most revolutionary products emerge when you rethink the challenge you’re facing. A pivot strategy makes you question everything, leading to insights you wouldn’t have uncovered while stuck on autopilot.

Pivoting can give you a competitive edge when you’re behind

Falling behind your competitors? A pivot strategy can act like a slingshot that can propel you back into the lead. By shifting your focus to an untapped market or repositioning your product to better resonate with customers, you regain momentum. It’s a strategic move that shows you’re not just reactive but proactive in finding new ways to stay relevant and ahead of the pack.

Choosing the right pivot strategy

There are multiple ways to pivot from an original idea and plan. A pivot strategy can involve changing every aspect of your business, essentially abandoning ship and starting a new one. However, more commonly, a pivot strategy is where you change one specific area of your business. 

To assess the severity of the pivot strategy you want to adopt, you can follow the Pivot Pyramid. 

The Pivot Pyramid

The pivot pyramid matrix was created by Selcuk Atli. It’s a diagram that helps you work out what you need to rethink if you want to pivot in a certain area.

The Pyramid builds a hierarchy of different areas, with Growth at the top, followed by Technology, then Solution and Problem, with Customers sitting at the base. 

Each level of the pyramid represents an aspect of a business model, where each level defines how the levels above it are constructed. If you’re making changes or pivoting a certain aspect at the base of the pyramid, then you’ll also need to make changes to the areas above it.

Pretend each section is a building block. If you take out a block to replace it with a new one at the bottom of the structure, the rest above it will fall down, so you’ll need to rebuild them too. 

If you’re looking to pivot away from your current customers and target market, as this sits at the bottom of the pyramid, you’re going to have to reconsider everything else above it. This indicates that a change in target customers is a pretty large pivot and one that requires a lot of resources. 

If you’ve got your customers right but aren’t solving the right problem for them and have a weak value proposition, then you may need to pivot here. When doing so, you’ll have to re-evaluate everything else above this point in the pyramid. 

Maybe you have nailed the problem that your users are facing, but your solution isn’t up to par or dealing with that issue in the best way possible. Then, you need to look at your solution while also paying attention to technology and growth. 

As it’s toward the top of the pyramid, a change in the technology you use can help you garner more success without needing to adapt in many other areas. All you have to do is think about your growth tactics. 

If all you want to change and pivot from is the way you try and grow and market your product, then this is the least intensive approach, as it doesn’t require you to change other aspects of your business. 

The different types of pivot strategy

The pivot pyramid helps you wrap your head around the work involved when pivoting in different business areas, but it doesn’t provide a comprehensive overview of all the different types of pivots you can try to implement. 

Here’s a look at many of the changes you can make to your product and business strategy to improve performance. 

Target market pivot

If you’re barking up the wrong tree, a target market pivot is all about finding the right one. This strategy is where you shift your focus to a new demographic or market segment that better suits your product. That can include a new age group, industry, or location. 

This sits in the Customer section of the pivot pyramid, meaning you’ll have to reconsider everything else above it.

Customer need pivot

This pivot is all about ensuring that you’re solving the right problem for your target customer. What you could be offering is fantastic, but it may not be what your audience wants or needs. A customer need pivot involves getting customer feedback to learn about their pain points and wants, and then tweaking your product to suit that. 

This pivot is in the Problem section of the pivot pyramid. 

Product feature pivot 

A product feature pivot is where you make changes to your current product. With this pivot, you can enhance the features you already have using incremental innovation, or choose to offer new features altogether. 

A subcategory of this type of pivot is a zoom-in pivot. This is where you evaluate all the features you offer and just focus on one high-performing feature and position it as your main offering. 

You can also do the opposite and perform a zoom-out pivot, where you build on a single feature and start to adopt related solutions to improve overall value to your customers. 

A product feature pivot sits in the Solution section right in the middle of the pyramid. You won’t need to rethink your customers and problems, but the technology and growth methods you use may have to be adapted. 

If you’re creating a new feature, learn how to make it stick by checking out the blog below 🔽:

Technology pivot

A technology pivot is where you update or change the technology that you use. This helps ensure that your product is current and leverages the technology that your competitors are. Examples of a technology pivot include incorporating AI or by upgrading to a cloud infrastructure. 

As you’d expect, this falls in the Tech section of the pivot pyramid towards the top of the matrix.  

Channel pivot

A channel pivot is all about changing how you sell your product to your customers. The most common example of this is moving from a brick-and-mortar store to a digital eCommerce platform, but can also include things like going from direct sales to partnerships. 

This involves tweaking your distribution method to make your channel approach best suit the expectations of your customers. Changing your product pricing strategy is another example of a channel pivot. 

This change belongs in the Growth section of the pivot pyramid. 

Pricing model pivot 

A pricing model pivot is where you change how customers buy your products. If your current revenue streams aren’t doing it, you could decide to move from a free trial to a reverse trial approach to improve your adoption rate. You could also go from a subscription-based model to a one-time purchase or make changes to your pricing tiers. A change to your pricing model should be dictated by your customers and what suits them. 

This sits in the Growth section of the pivot pyramid too, as you don’t need to make changes to the other areas below it. 

Product value pivot

A product value pivot focuses on changing how you position your product. If customers don’t ‘get it’, this pivot helps you rethink how you communicate the value of your product. This can involve rebranding, changing your marketing strategy, or other product positioning tasks. 

If you need support in better positioning your product, we’ve spoken to positioning expert April Dunford on how to do it successfully. You can watch the webinar VOD below 👇:

This is part of the Growth section of the pyramid, as it’s a change in how you market your product and not a change in the product itself.

Pivot strategy examples

One of the best ways to illustrate a pivot strategy is through real-life examples. Plenty of businesses have pivoted and moved away from their original concept, and there are many examples of a pivot being the catalyst that propelled their success. 

In fact, adopting a pivot strategy is so common that many believe that it’s not a question of If you need to pivot, but when. Pivoting is seen by many as a necessary step in business, so it’s not something to fear, or to see as a failure.

Here are some popular examples of a business pivoting their strategy in the past:

• Nintendo: Not to hit you with gaming trivia, but did you know that Nintendo first sold playing cards before moving to console gaming? This is an example of a technology pivot, where adopting advancing technology can open more doors for you. Nintendo capitalized on technology to offer exciting new products that changed their entire business identity. 
• Netflix: The streaming service giant got its start providing mail-order DVDs. As they moved to streaming they’ve pivoted their product, allowing them to become an industry-dominant brand. 
• Amazon: The eCommerce giant was first a physical bookstore. It then made a channel pivot to move sales to an online model and never looked back. 
• Slack: The communication platform first started as a failed gaming company, but they saw potential in their internal messaging system. So, they made a zoom-in pivot to focus on this feature as the main premise of their service. 

What can go wrong when using a pivot strategy? 

You shouldn’t be super quick to turn to a pivot strategy. As discussed, it’s a big change in how you do things, augmenting an aspect of your product or business. This makes it a little bit risky, especially if it’s not properly considered. This isn’t something you should rush into. Make sure that it’s right for you. 

The drawbacks of using a pivot strategy and getting it wrong can be really harmful. Here are some of the biggest dangers to try and avoid:

Pivoting too late

When the warning signs are flashing red and you delay a pivot, you’re just wasting resources on a doomed product. The later you pivot, the more damage control you’ll have to do, and sometimes it’s too late to salvage anything.

Poor execution can sabotage the best ideas

Even a brilliant, well-considered pivot can flop if the execution is messy. Whether it’s teams not being on the same page, failing to communicate the changes to customers, or mismanaging resources, a well-thought-out strategy is only as good as how well it’s carried out.

Losing your core audience in the process

If your pivot alienates the very customers who supported you from the start, it could backfire spectacularly. A drastic change that didn’t need to happen might leave your loyal audience wondering what happened to the product they loved, leading to lost trust and revenue.

Chasing the wrong opportunity can cost you

Not every shiny new market or trend is the golden goose. If your pivot is based on a hunch rather than solid data and research, you could end up investing in the wrong direction, burning time and money with little return.

Failing to iterate after the pivot

Pivoting is rarely a one-time fix. If you assume everything will fall into place after the initial shift and stop iterating, you risk stagnating. Successful pivots need ongoing monitoring, adjustments, and fine-tuning based on performance and customer feedback.

How do I implement a pivot strategy well? 

Implementing a pivot strategy is not a simple task. You need to approach this change with the right focus and planning. Follow these pivot strategy best practices to give yourself the foundations to perform a quality pivot.

1. Assess if a pivot is necessary

Before making any drastic changes, it’s essential to evaluate whether a pivot is the right move. Analyze your business performance, dig into customer feedback, study market trends, and review your financial metrics. If things aren’t aligning, and there’s nothing else you can try first, then you can adopt a pivot strategy to get you back on track.

2. Develop a clear and focused pivot plan

A pivot without a plan is just chaotic. Define your new strategy with clear objectives, outlining how the pivot will align with your long-term business goals. Whether it’s entering a new market, changing your customer base, or adopting new technology, your plan needs to be detailed and actionable.

You may need to realign your goals to the new pivot strategy if your change is drastic enough. It’s worth rethinking your product vision and Objectives and Key results. If you’ve found that a pivot requires that you change these, you can use our list of ready-made OKRs to help you find the right goals to work to that suit your new approach.

3. Have a customer-centric approach 

Look to get customer feedback to guide you in how to change and alter your product or approach. After all, you don’t want to change what’s already working for your customers, and you certainly don’t want to implement any changes that lead to an increase in customer dissatisfaction or customer churn. Pay close attention to your customer metrics, like Pirate Metrics. It will often do a lot of the heavy lifting on strategic thinking for you. 

4. Ensure your team understands the pivot and their roles

A pivot can’t happen in a vacuum. Communicate the reasons behind the pivot clearly to your team, making sure everyone understands their role in the new strategy. When your team is aligned, they’ll be more effective in executing the pivot successfully. 

5. Allocate your resources effectively

Every pivot needs resources – money, people, and time. Once the new direction is clear, reassess and reallocate your resources accordingly. You might need to hire new talent, shift budgets, or even cut certain projects to focus on what matters most for the pivot’s success. To make sure you’re putting resources into the right change, you can do a Proof of Concept (PoC) to get a better insight into whether the change will work. 

6. Once started, do it quickly

Whether it’s developing a new product, targeting a new customer segment, or updating your operations, execution needs to be swift yet strategic. Keep an eye on progress and be prepared to tweak things as you go, because no pivot is set in stone.

7. Get buy-in from your customers

Your customers need to know why this pivot benefits them. Communicate your new direction confidently, explaining how it solves their problems or brings added value. Customer buy-in is critical to ensuring your pivot sticks and strengthens your relationship with your audience.

Change your destiny

A pivot strategy can change how your product and business unfold. It requires the ability to not get too attached to your original plan and adapt it for the benefit of your product. It can be terrifying if done too late, but thrilling and rewarding if timed just right.

The truth is, no matter how much you think that you’re onto a winner, sometimes the only way to survive is to change course. Whether you’re adjusting your product to better-fit customer needs or making a wild leap into new markets, a well-timed pivot could be the move that transforms your product from ‘meh’ to ‘must-have.’

Of course, you’re not going to wake up one day and decide to go back to the drawing board on a whim. Deciding on a pivot strategy requires a lot of analysis and research to make sure it’s the right option, and planning and structure for when you do pivot. It’s about being adaptable, agile, and laser-focused on what really matters. It takes guts, research, and the right tools to make it happen.

Speaking of the right tools, if you’re ready to leave behind the frustrations of your current roadmap and pivot to something more aligned with your goals, ProdPad has your back. With intuitive features for roadmapping, customer feedback management, and team collaboration, moving to ProdPad is a beneficial change to your process. Ready to chart a new course? Let ProdPad help you turn into a better Product Manager.