Uber app

How Uber builds customer-centric products

In this article, I’ll explore Uber’s unique approach to product marketing, provide clarity on how we define valuable insights, and share six actionable tactical recommendations that Product Marketing Managers (PMMs) can implement to develop localized, customer-first strategies. Drawing from my experience, I’ll offer deeper insights into Uber’s practices, shedding light on how we can balance global reach with localized marketing to deliver exceptional products and experiences to users around the world.

Uber’s journey since its inception in 2009 has been nothing short of extraordinary. Over the last decade, we’ve witnessed unparalleled growth, both in terms of our user base and geographical footprint. We’re currently present in more than 700 cities spread across 65 countries, and our platform spans six continents. And while we haven’t yet received a ride request from Antarctica, we’re optimistic that day will come.

Today, Uber’s reach is not just about ridesharing; it extends far beyond that, touching multiple industries and user needs globally. Our marketplace has evolved into a highly diversified platform, and this scale brings both exciting opportunities and unique challenges for PMMs like myself.

How Uber builds customer-centric products

With over 100 million active monthly platform users, our reach now extends far beyond the traditional Uber ride. This includes users who engage in a variety of services such as:

  • Rides: The classic Uber service, which still constitutes the majority of our global bookings.
  • Uber Eats: A food delivery service that is now experiencing explosive growth.
  • Uber Freight: An emerging and rapidly growing segment, particularly in Europe, focused on freight logistics.
  • New Modalities: These include e-bikes and scooters, which are becoming increasingly popular for last-mile travel.
  • Transit Integration: In select cities like London, Uber has integrated with local public transit systems, providing users with a seamless travel experience across multiple modes of transportation.
  • Future Innovations: Uber is also heavily investing in autonomous vehicles and aerial transportation. These cutting-edge technologies will soon become a significant part of the Uber experience, with the first tests of vertical takeoff and landing aerial flight services expected to roll out next year.

The Complexity of Supporting Teams and Infrastructure

Uber’s rapid expansion is backed by a highly specialized set of teams that ensure the platform runs smoothly across all service offerings. These teams manage everything from pricing and safety to routing, payment systems, and data analytics.

  • Pricing & Marketplace: This team is responsible for ensuring competitive and fair pricing while managing the economic dynamics of Uber’s platform.
  • Maps & Routing: A critical team that powers the accuracy of estimated arrival times (ETAs) and ensures drivers can efficiently navigate their routes to pick up passengers.
  • Payments: As a product marketer, I focus heavily on the payments team, which handles billions of dollars in transactions monthly, ensuring the financial aspects of the platform are secure and user-friendly.
  • Safety & Trust: This team ensures that riders and drivers feel safe, regardless of their location.
  • Data & Analytics: This team uses data to continuously refine products and improve user experiences.

Who Are Uber’s Customers?

The diversity of Uber’s services means our customers are equally varied. As Uber has expanded beyond ridesharing, the profile of our typical customer has become more complex. While a customer in one country might use Uber Eats regularly, another might rely on Uber Freight or even the Uber app’s transit integration. As PMMs, it’s our responsibility to understand these nuances and tailor our messaging and offerings accordingly.

A crucial part of our approach is identifying the common threads between these various customer types. We increasingly see users who interact with multiple services across our platform. This creates both challenges and opportunities for PMMs, as we must deliver consistent experiences while accounting for the unique needs of users across different regions and product categories.

Core Uber Product Marketing Values

At Uber, we have a set of guiding principles that every PMM embraces. These values define our approach to product marketing and serve as the foundation for how we interact with cross-functional teams and users. Here are the core PMM values that shape our work:

  • Voice of the User: As PMMs, we are the voice of the user to product teams and the voice of the product to users. This means we advocate for user needs within product and engineering teams, ensuring customer needs aren’t overlooked in the rush to scale.
  • Right and Left Brained: The work of a PMM at Uber requires a balance of analytical and creative skills. We are comfortable diving deep into data to derive insights, but we are also empathetic and creative in developing campaigns that resonate with users.
  • Building for Scale: We are always thinking about how to design solutions that can be scaled globally. Uber operates in over 65 countries and more than 700 cities, which means we must consider how our products will meet the needs of diverse user bases, with varying local contexts.

Uber’s Product Marketing Strategy: From Insights to Launch

At the heart of product marketing at Uber lies a commitment to owning product adoption metrics. Before we define our objectives and key results (OKRs), we ask ourselves a series of foundational questions that help shape our strategy:

  • Who are we building for?
  • What value does the product provide in the user’s life?
  • How will users discover it?

Defining Insights

The process begins by identifying the problem space and understanding the business impact. This is the foundation of the insights definition phase, where we collaborate with product managers (PMs), UX researchers, and other cross-functional teams to gather actionable insights.

We engage in research and deep customer conversations to uncover the real needs of the users. This step is critical in ensuring that the product we’re building will actually address a meaningful pain point or opportunity.

Product Requirement Document (PRD)

Once we’ve gathered and analyzed the insights, the next step is to compile a Product Requirement Document (PRD). This document outlines the who, what, and why of the product development process. As a PMM, I work in parallel to create a marketing brief, which will support the eventual product launch.

Some key questions that guide the marketing brief include:

  • What is the business impact of this campaign?
  • What user need or market gap does this product fulfill?

The Go-to-Market Strategy: Launch and Scale

With the PRD and marketing brief finalized, we are ready for the product’s market debut. This is where the PMM’s role truly comes to life. The marketing brief serves as the blueprint for our campaigns, outlining positioning, messaging, and creative strategies. The goal is to ensure that the product resonates with users and is successfully adopted.

However, the work doesn’t stop at launch. Uber’s global scale means that we must go beyond the major markets like New York, London, or Mumbai. To ensure that our campaigns are effective across different regions, we rely on regional teams to provide localized insights. These teams help us refine our messaging and ensure that our campaigns are culturally relevant and resonate with local audiences.

Tactical Recommendations for Localized Product Marketing

Based on my experience, here are six tactical recommendations for PMMs when building campaigns with localization in mind:

  1. Leverage Local Insights: Use regional teams and local data to inform product messaging and campaign strategies.
  2. Focus on User Needs: Always start by understanding the core user needs in each market. Tailor your marketing to those needs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
  3. Collaborate Across Teams: Building a successful product marketing strategy requires constant collaboration with PMs, engineers, and UX researchers. Their insights are invaluable.
  4. Iterate Quickly: The speed at which Uber operates requires rapid experimentation and iteration. Test, learn, and optimize quickly to stay ahead of the competition.
  5. Develop Scalable Campaigns: While localization is essential, ensure that your campaigns can be scaled across markets without losing effectiveness.
  6. Embrace Data: Constantly monitor performance and leverage analytics to refine your strategy and ensure your campaigns are driving the desired business outcomes.

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