Why you shouldn't fulfill your customers' every wish

You have developed a product that works to some extent. Customers are showing interest. Demand is increasing. Actually, everything is going great – but with each new customer comes a “Can we adjust this?” or “But for us it should work a little differently”.

And because you are still close to the project business, you say: “Sure, we can do that.”

This results in dozens of individual versions of your product. Some need an export function, others want to redesign the dashboard. Still others insist on their own rights concept. And suddenly you are no longer a product provider – but a full-service agency again, with many variants of the same tool.

The problem is that you don't achieve any real economies of scale. Instead of becoming more efficient with each customer, you struggle through a jungle of special solutions.

From customization to modularization

Customization is not inherently bad. On the contrary: it can help to improve your product, especially in the early stages. You understand the target group better, discover new requirements, and develop new modules.

The only important thing is how you deal with these requirements.

The solution: modularization.

Instead of integrating each feature individually, you develop function modules that you can configure. This creates a product that is flexible – without becoming confusing. New customers don't get a special package, but a clever combination of existing components.

This means

• you retain control over the code base.
• Your support team knows what it's all about.
• Maintenance remains manageable.
• Your margin improves with each new customer.

Because true scaling begins with reusability.

Customization with clear limits

In this phase, it's worth taking a very close look: Which functions are really in demand often? Which are one-off requests? And how can you advise your customers so that they are happy with the existing range of functions – instead of demanding custom-made products?

The clearer your standard, the less often you have to make exceptions. And the better you communicate what your product can (and cannot) do, the more likely you are to attract the right customers.

Customization should never dilute your product. It should sharpen it.

Leadtime is designed for precisely this transition phase: with flexible work packages, modular templates, individual customer questionnaires and a scalable ticket system, you can bring structure to complex projects – and maintain an overview, even if not everything has been standardized yet. So that your product grows – and not your chaos.