ProductTank Wellington recently hosted an insightful event, “Launching Revolut in New Zealand: The Power of Product Localisation,” featuring Georgia Grange, Head of NZ from Revolut. The event delved into Revolut’s journey, emphasising the significance of product localisation, achieving product-market fit, and the transition from product roles to senior leadership.

Kicking off the session, Georgia highlighted the company’s mission: “offering banking and payments in a much easier and seamless way, making it accessible to everybody, no matter what corner of the globe you’re in.”

Revolut’s background

Revolut, a Financial technology company founded in London in 2015, has experienced remarkable growth, now operating in over 40 markets with over 30 million customers worldwide. Georgia highlighted the company’s mission: “offering banking and payments in a much easier and seamless way, making it accessible to everybody, no matter what corner of the globe you’re in.”

Localisation strategies: a five-step process

A key focus of the discussion was on product localisation. Georgia shared insights into how Revolut tailors its offerings to meet specific market needs. This involves not just copying successful features from one region to another but customizing the product to resonate with local users. They followed a five-step approach to ensuring that product localisation was introduced effectively.

“It’s not copying and pasting what’s worked well in London and assuming it’ll fly in New Zealand. It’s about making the product speak to people locally.”

Georgia elaborated on features designed for the New Zealand market, such as enhanced fraud prevention measures and catering to the unique needs of cross-border payments.

Product market fit

The conversation expanded to the crucial concept of product-market fit. Georgia emphasised the importance of understanding and meeting customer needs before scaling operations.

“Finding your product-market fit is so important. You need to know that you’re actually solving a customer problem before you expand and invest too much.”

She highlighted the risk of companies trying to grow before addressing a customer pain point, leading to challenges like slower onboarding rates and financial struggles.

Transition to senior leadership

The discussion also touched on the transition from product roles to senior leadership. Georgia shared valuable insights for product managers aspiring to take on leadership roles. She highlighted the importance of honing skills beyond traditional product responsibilities.

“As you transition to senior leadership, you need to level up to the overarching P&L and understand how the product’s performance translates to gross margin and overall business goals.”

She emphasized the need to focus on strategic thinking, problem-solving, and a holistic understanding of business metrics beyond daily product performance.

Key takeaways:

• Successful product localisation involves more than replication. Customising features based on specific market needs ensures greater acceptance and user satisfaction.
• Before scaling operations, ensure that your product effectively addresses a customer problem. Aim for at least 40% of customers expressing that they couldn’t live without your product.
• Aspire for a holistic understanding of business metrics, strategic thinking, and effective problem-solving to succeed in leadership roles beyond traditional product responsibilities.
• Foster a collaborative environment where all team members contribute to the roadmap regardless of their role. Each team has a percentage of capacity allocated to exploring new ideas and addressing market gaps.
• Transparency in communication, including acknowledging limitations like the absence of a call centre, builds trust with tech-savvy users.

The ProductTank Wellington event provided valuable insights into Revolut’s journey and the strategic considerations involved in product localisation. Georgia’s expertise shed light on the delicate balance between catering to local needs and maintaining a global vision. The takeaways offer actionable advice for product managers and leaders navigating the complex landscape of launching and scaling in new markets.