It is challenging enough to build any product, but it becomes particularly difficult when the product is intended to serve two or more different user groups.
Most product managers only have to think about a single type of user, but managing a platform that connects different groups, like buyers and sellers, or employers and job seekers, presents one with the challenge of managing their competing needs.
The product has to be a harmonious space where each group’s value depends on the existence and engagement of the other group.
This strategic deployment needs a certain quality of leadership. The core idea is understanding how different groups interact and creating an environment in which both can thrive.
This is an area HENRY ORIBE is skilled at, as a senior product manager. He’s great at handling the competing priorities, in a multi-sided market system, ensuring that new features intended for one set of users do not negatively impact other users.
Most product managers only have to think about a single type of user, but managing a platform that connects different groups, like buyers and sellers, or employers and job seekers, presents one with the challenge of managing their competing needs.
The trickiest aspect of multi-sided markets is getting started. You need buyers to attract sellers, and also, you need sellers to attract buyers. Henry employs various strategies to get around this.
Typically, he prioritizes getting one side active first, by extending some kind of deal or a valuable service that attracts a user base before the complete system is fully functional. This initiates action and then pulls in the other side to the platform.
Once you’ve attracted people to the platform, the next goal is to establish an active network. That’s what makes multi-sided markets valuable — the more people use it, the better it gets. For example, in a food delivery app, each new driver makes the service more valuable to customers by delivering faster.
In the same vein, each new customer makes the service more valuable to the drivers by increasing the chances of getting orders. Henry focuses on identifying and focusing on features that enhance this network, so operations continuously improve.
Henry endeavours to find solutions that are suitable for each end user, where possible. He looks for features that simultaneously benefit both sides, like a review system that allows buyers to make informed decisions and helps trustworthy sellers establish their reputation.
There’s always going to be some tension between different users. If you grant sellers more control or higher prices, buyers may find it unfavourable. If you lower prices to increase buyer satisfaction, sellers may be discouraged to join in.
Henry endeavours to find solutions that are suitable for each end user, where possible. He looks for features that simultaneously benefit both sides, like a review system that allows buyers to make informed decisions and helps trustworthy sellers establish their reputation.
When a win-win is not possible, it gets harder to decide. Henry focuses on features that facilitate engagement between all parties, keeping the entire platform sustainable.
He understands that if one side suffers, the entire system will collapse. His approach is a careful balancing act, ensuring that each feature maintains stability, so all user segments will be motivated to continue utilizing the platform.
Henry Oribe’s leadership demonstrates that building products for multi-sided markets encompasses more than just adding features. It’s about creating a system where everyone can thrive.
His strategic approach guarantees the platform is more than just a tool for two different groups, but a community where the success of one segment is the success of all.
