What is product management?
Product management is the process of overseeing all aspects of a product's development, from conception to market launch and beyond. It involves a range of responsibilities, including defining the product vision and strategy, conducting market research, analyzing customer feedback, creating a go to market strategy, working with cross-functional teams to develop and launch the product and monitor its performance.
According to Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christenson, there are over 30,000 new products introduced every year, and 95% fail.
Most product launches fail to meet the company's expectations. A successful new product launch will maximize revenue, be appreciated by customers and further separate you from the competition. The right product management will help you deliver on your launch expectations.
The Benefits of Product Management
CUSTOMER CENTERED INNOVATION
Product managers put the wants and needs of your customer first. Their job is to deeply understand customer needs and market trends and then translate those needs in a way that helps your organization define (or refine) products to align with what customers are looking to buy. Connecting the customer to everything you create will prevent wasted R&D and research resources developing products that you realize too late are flawed and, ultimately, eliminate product launches that miss the mark frustrating your sales team. In this way, product management empowers purposeful innovation.
TEAM SYNERGY
So much is missed with siloed thinking. When leadership, sales, marketing and R&D don’t all speak the same language, issues can arise with disparate objections and expectations. Product managers work closely with engineers, designer, sales, marketers, and other departments to ensure that there’s a shared understanding, and that everyone is moving toward common goals.
MAXIMIZED POTENTIAL GROWTH
Without a product manager, a product roadmap can be the shared responsibility of many parties who have plenty of other tasks at hand. Product managers prioritize development efforts and focus on managing the product roadmap, as well as everything it takes along the path for a successful product launch that grows revenue, market share and maximizes value.
AVOID PAIN POINTS
Product management can help overcome a variety of pain points, like:
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Rushed, reactive decision-making that fails to prioritize opportunities
- A “we’ve always done it this way” mentality which risks losing relevance
- Missing skill sets like managing a product portfolio or building a roadmap–both important to maintaining differentiation in the market
- Focus on incremental sales rather than defining target market share
- Communication gaps between silos, such as engineers, marketing and sales, which frustrate teams
- Focus is on the product, not communicating how your product solves a unique need for customers
- Insufficient customer research, which limits understanding of customer needs or the steps customers take to buy products
- Communicate product features without talking about the benefits
- Product launches that do not resonate with solving customers’ problems
- Competitors innovating faster with a clear advantage over you
- Lack of enough research in R&D to test concepts, which in turn, puts your launch at greater risk of failure
- Go to market strategies without clear benefits
- Frustrated engineering teams that make something that customers don’t want (due to lack of customer insights)
Developing Trained Product Managers
Product management is a dynamic role. Successful product managers possess a combination of analytical skills, creativity, strategic thinking and communication skills. Product managers must be able to balance competing priorities and make difficult decisions in order to deliver products that meet customer needs and drive business success. Unfortunately, most product managers aren’t highly trained, as there are no degrees or extensive certification programs for this role with low to mid market manufacturers. That’s where I can help.
Posted in Growing as a Product Manager | Tagged Leadership, Strategy, Management
