What’s Product Management?

Whenever a new product is about to be launched, there is someone behind the screens working and planning the production and launching. The work that particular person does is called Product management. It is a set of functions that deal with the planning, production, marketing as well as analysis of a product at all stages of productions. While the mechanics of Product management look quite simple, with in-depth analysis, it is seen that the mechanics are a bit complicated.

The objective of product management is to maximize sales and increase the market shares and profits while the primary focus is on managing the new product development.
The role of product management in a company is usually determined by the size of the company. If the company is big enough, then product management plays a significant role, and if the company is a smaller one, then the position of product management is carried by other roles in the company. Hence, it can be said that product management is an inter-disciplinary role. It helps to clear the gaps within the company as well as function as a center for other intra-company activities.

What does Product Management do?

Termed as the ‘voice of the market inside the company,’ product management which emerged as an integral part of the late 90s, creates consensus and carries out strategic planning and activities. The decisions taken here are so crucial that any discrepancies will end in decidedly less optimal profits. While product management team makes sure that the strategies implemented are on par with the corporate strategy, they optimize their resources without compromising on the products.

As the hub of information on Marketing, sales, support, finance, development, and management, one of the leading advantages of product management is that it can quickly identify distractions posed as opportunities. Having a lateral view of the tactical side of present and the strategic side of future, product management can support the current position of the company. By having optimal product management, companies can create better products in a swift manner.

By listening to the customers, product management can be carried out smoothly and efficiently with quantitative and qualitative data. The advantages of doing this are the following:

• The use of the product can be continued, and the rate of usage can also be increased.
• The number of customers can be increased which will in turn increase revenue.
• The right market fit for the product can be determined.
• The levels of marketing and advertising for the products can be increased.

Customer feedback is one of the factors which make product management important. Balancing the company policies along with the customer feedback is essential. Every decision made regarding the product is concerning it. Adding new features to keep the product competitive is one way to increase the customer base. Even though product management is just one part of the company, the decisions taken by product management team are the most crucial in the company.

Another reason why product management is critical is that it involves elimination decisions. The elimination steps are as follows:

• The products which have to be eliminated are identified first.
• Actions which can be used to redress the problems of the elimination candidates are looked into.
• An in-depth analysis will be conducted to study the impact on the company if the elimination candidates are eliminated.
• Last is the implementation stage, where the elimination strategy for the products is decided.

How it is to be a Product Manager

Like explained before, product management is carried out by individuals from other areas of work in the company as well as designated under a specific group of individuals called product managers. They are responsible for the success of the product and the team answerable for revamping it. The role of product management any company is similar to a brand manager at a packaged goods firm. Analyzing market conditions and delivering unique value based on customer demands are some of the expertise of product managers.

The following are the fundamental aspects all product managers should feel responsible for.

Strategy

Having a fixed strategy is an essential task for any product manager. They should prioritize creating what is more important to achieve every goal.

Execution

Tools such as Mixpanel, Optimizely, Google Analytics, etc. are used to for data thinking and analysis by product managers. With the help of these tools, they are technically proficient. They need to know other fields in the company so that they can execute the product.

Collaboration

A product manager always collaborates with one designer and three to six engineers. The most valuable collaborative skill is the capability to pinpoint and avoid unwanted conflict within and across groups.

Communication

It is necessary to keep the internal as well as external team members up-to-date regarding the status of the product. When the communication is bad, it results in fewer quality products which will, in turn, hamper the credibility of the company.

Releases

Planning the delivery as well as the complete timeline of the product is an important task for a product manager. The product manager is accountable for all the activities that are required to bring the product to the market.

Ideation

Product managers oversee the creative procedure of starting, creating, and managing new ideas. The ideas that should be converted into products, which will accomplish the set goals, are pushed forward by the product managers.

Features

Features are prioritized based on the ranking against initiatives and strategic goals. The product manager is also accountable for elucidating the requirements for each product.
Creating excellent products is reviving. Victorious products are created and embraced by customers when a bunch of focused, passionate and committed team members works hard to the best of their abilities. But, all this is possible with an active and affluent product manager who has a broad sense of responsibility and commitment to their role and managing it.

Benefits of Product Management

New-new products are launched every year to compete with each other. Project management has proved itself to be the number one tool to improve the success rate of the product. How product management can assist a company is given below.

Collaboration to make sales and increase revenue

There is always pressure on the product management team to reach the target soon than other companies. The partnership with the sales team gives data which suggest the type of customers to be followed. These data are used to analyze the opportunities in the market upon which the company can make sales.
Product management can make a record of how the products are in the market and decide the necessary changes to the product. It can only work like this with the sales team, and together they can identify demands of the products.

Reducing risk of product failure

In order to have an active product management, it is crucial to create a business case first. This will reduce the overall risk factor of the product as well as encourage potential investors to take notice of the product. The data that has to be gathered to have a proper working business case includes the market size, latest trends, customer requirements for their satisfaction and other external influencing factors like Sociological, Environmental, Economic, Legal, Political and Technological. The number of resources required should be noted as that is one factor which leads to investor’s decision regarding the risk factor. Knowing what the market will help reduce the chances of the product to be a flop.

Market needs are required to be aligned with Key Organizational Objectives

Each market has its own requirements and problems, and the product management team has to ensure that the new product launched will solve the needs and challenges. Product management brings balance between customer and business values. It is important to discard or change a product if it does not satisfy the objectives. Product Managers must comprehend the customer permanently in terms of their motivations, behavior, goals, emotional and functional needs. A product manager inspects and decodes market research so that the product can be unique and useful to the customer. The final result is an innovative product which solves every critical problem within the market.

Helps in securing the future of the company

Since product management has an eye on the internal as well as external factors, the future of the company is set as the product quality is not compromised. Changes in the customer sentiment, product knowledge, market, competitors, financial intricacies of the product as well as the product’s performances and noted and the required steps are carried out.

Future of Product Management

Product Management is a unique position. This position is interlinked with all parts of the organizations. It has the highest detectable overall internal and external factors.
It is said that, in the future, there will be changes in data analysis, processing, and collection. There will always be a role for product management in the company that deals with innovation discovery and development processes within the company.