Speaking about product management, you should understand what the product is.
By product, we understand everything that is valuable to the consumer and can be provided to him. In addition to goods (household and computer equipment, clothing, food) and services, you can call products, organizations, people, communities, ideas, TV shows, and educational programs.
Prioritization is a key moment in backlog work. It is not always easy to determine how soon a specific task should be implemented. A timely decision on a specific issue allows you to avoid mistakes, to understand how to proceed and not allow the backlog to grow.
Many product managers use convenient Value and Effort for each idea to prioritize.
- A comparison of these combinations helps to better determine the significance and “weight” of the tasks and select the most important ones for the nearest work.
- The Value parameter indicates what business value your product or business can bring.
- The Efforts parameter measures the resources needed to complete a task.
In product management, the focus is made on the products themselves, not on sales, and brands. The product is not a simple analog of the goods. The product has all the cost and consumer characteristics and is ready for sale.
Product managers’ activity in Digital Agency London
Product management is the field of the activity of a product manager (PM), who seeks to maintain or improve its consumer properties and qualities until the moment of sale, and after the sale to provide an analysis of effective ways and conditions of use of the product by the buyer. The goods turn into a product under the influence of various marketing tools: design, advertising, sales promotion measures and other ways to add consumer values. In this regard, the activity of the PM is often close to the activities of brand, project and sales managers.
Product management tips
Here are the tips for a PM to organize the best product management.
Arouse curiosity
To engage potential customers in a dialogue, it is necessary to arouse their interest. You are not trying to sell. You are trying to prove that talking to you is worth the customer’s time.
Do not turn the meeting into a “dump” of offers
Many sellers make this mistake. Having spent the time to get a meeting, they want to maximize the return on every second spent with the corporate buyer. It’s a big mistake to believe that the best is to set out a proposal, going into the smallest details. Speaking about your offer, do not go into detail. Emphasis should be placed on the main point.
Do not use “selfish” vocabulary in product management
The more often you claim that your offer is “the best of all possible,” the less a potential client believes you.
Communicate as equals
Communicating with clients on an equal footing is very important. Understand: they are ordinary people. If you talk to them with devotion, it will affect your trust negatively. Focus on their business objectives and the changes you can make, and they will be interested in communicating with you.
Forget about working hours in product management
The customers may sometimes ask you to do something after 5:00 PM or on a Sunday. In addition, ask yourself how you can best serve the customer if you are forcing to adapt to your schedule? By definition, this is inconvenient for him. The best product management specialists like those, who work in Adrenaline Studios, work when the client wants.
Hold pauses in conversations
Often we ask a question and, without listening to the answer, we continue to speak. Another common mistake of communication is to answer your own question. There are only disadvantages in this: a person will not feel comfortable communicating with you, and you will not know anything about him, his requests, benefits. That is why every time you ask a question, it is important to pause, give a person the opportunity to respond, and listen to it!
Do not try to make friends with customers
Many sales gurus of the old school will convince you of the importance of personal contacts because people buy from those they like. But these methods are outdated. Those who constantly suffer from lack of time will not spend precious seconds to discuss their trip to Ireland with a stranger who is trying to sell them something. In modern conditions, it is first of all necessary to prove its commercial value.
Be a provocateur in product management
If you know your business, do not be afraid to demonstrate it. Many will try to get rid of you as soon as possible since this is their usual method of interaction with sellers. Become a consultant with helpful ideas worth listening to. Make customers think you have something that can be valuable.
Know how to refuse
The client is not always right. Indeed, sometimes customers come across simply impossible. In such cases, you can only say: “I beg your pardon, but you might need the help of another specialist”.
Give recommendations
Do not wait for people to ask — let it become your regular business. If you consciously make recommendations, you will become an excellent source of information, everyone will want to cooperate with you.
