7 Signs You Need a Product Manager
Through the years, I’ve found that most manufacturers wait too long to add product managers, missing opportunities to scale their business, and potentially causing their company to lose relevance in the market. But how do you know when it’s time?
In this article, I’m going to share with you the things I see while working with companies that tell me it’s time to add product managers to their processes. By introducing the product management role, you’ll immediately start reaping the benefits of focused, prioritized projects that meet your most important business goals. You’ll also notice your sales, marketing and engineering teams working more effectively–and more effectively together.
Here are seven signs to watch for that will let you know it’s time to incorporate product managers into your organization.
1. No Roadmap
If you lack a clear product strategy or direction, it may be a sign that you need a dedicated product manager. A product manager can help define and align the product roadmap to meet the overall business goals and grow market share.
Your roadmap is your plan to release products to customers at specific times. If the roadmap is void of a “why” behind when products are being released, it’s time for a product manager to help. A product manager can define the value of each product to your customer and align the organization to this plan.
2. Stressed Product Development Teams
If your engineers and designers are getting direction from too many people or they aren’t clear on which features to develop, a whole host of problems can pop up. These issues may sound familiar: missed deadlines, frequent scope changes, inadequate requirements gathering. This is where a product manager can help.
Product managers can bring structure and expertise to optimize an inefficient development process. You’ll experience more structure and streamlined communication so everyone knows why they are working on the project and the best way to contribute.
3. Customer Dissatisfaction
If customer complaints and negative feedback are starting to pile up, it may mean someone needs to take ownership of the product experience. Guess who. A product manager, who can focus on understanding customer needs, gathering feedback and translating it into actionable improvements.
One of the key problems I see is when R&D teams wait to share new products with customers until it is released, only to find out they missed the mark. With a product manager involved early in the process, you can help avoid this fate. Product managers make sure to include customers all the way through product development, gaining crucial feedback and translating learnings into actionable steps that lead to a product that truly meets customer needs.
4. Declining Sales or Market Share
A decline in sales or market share could signal a need for a product manager. They can conduct market research, competitor analysis, and identify opportunities for new products or improvements to existing ones to regain market traction.
A lack of market share data is often a big roadblock for my clients. WIthout looking at their competition, they can’t clearly define steps toward becoming the market leader. A product manager can gather and organize data, creating tools like a competitor analysis, to map out opportunities for winning market share.
5. Frustrated Team Members
Frustration often means a lack of cross-functional collaboration. Siloed departments can mean communication breakdowns across engineering, marketing and sales. Individuals may feel disrespected with last minute requests and unreasonable deadlines. A product manager can bridge departments by moving fluidly between them, connecting points of communication along the way. You’ll notice better aligned priorities and shared vision.
6. Difficulty Prioritizing Features
I’ve met many frustrated engineers, confused by constantly changing product features and no clear differentiation between product lines. If there is a constant struggle to prioritize features and make informed product decisions, a product manager can help. They do this by structuring your portfolio to align with the customer needs so there is a clear plan on why each product has each feature. Using a data-driven approach and customer insights, product managers prioritize features based on customer needs, market trends and business goals.
7. Not Tracking Toward Your Goal(s)
It can be difficult to scale up the business while juggling multiple product lines. As your business grows, managing multiple product lines, expanding into new markets, or diversifying the product portfolio can become complex. A product manager can provide strategic guidance by managing the product portfolios and ensure the right products are positioned in the market to achieve your revenue goals.
Product managers are the missing piece you may not even realize is missing. If you’re experiencing any of these seven issues, consider exploring an opportunity to add the product management role to your organization. You’ll experience more unity in the product development process, smarter decisions backed by customer insights, better communication between sales, marketers and engineers and overall, more progress toward your business goals.
Ready to think about how product management fits into your organization? Here are some ways I can help.
Posted in Considering Product Management | Tagged Management, Leadership, Communication
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