Be Remarkable
Today an average consumer is bombarded by all kinds of messages everyday and he has less and less time to look at them. Only way a consumer can remember you if your (Product) Design is remarkable. Therefore it is important that you not only make your UI elements good looking, but also let it stand out.
Don’t Design for Mass Market
Mass media marketing is far less effective today as the mass market consumers prefer to ignore you in this world of hyper communication. Therefore don’t design a product which large audience will find good, but rather design product which Early Adopters will like (and others might not like). These early adopters will spread your word and convince the mass consumers.
Connect the Tribe
As earlier mentioned that you should design for early adopters who would spread the word. For the early adopters to spread the word, you need to first connect the tribe ( early adopters). You need to understand what drives these people at the highest level. Communicate as much as possible with the tribe and also connect them with other early adopters. Once they feel connected, they would spread the word for you.
Less is More
Having too many features does not necessarily mean that your product is good. A minimalist product with focus on details of few features is far better than a product having lot of sub-standard features.
Help your consumer choose from choices
Too many choices confuse consumer. Categorize your products in simple categories so that consumers can navigate through maize of choices. If your product objective requires the consumers to take multiple decisions, navigate him from decisions which involves simple decisions to decision which involves complex choices. Let the consumer start simple and then increase complexity.
References
O'Santorini 