Say you got an RC car for Christmas. Cool. Hopefully it was accompanied by appropriate batteries, and you are ready to run.
Soon, you will figure out that you need additional accessories. This post is intended to help you plan your descent into the hobby, and to hopefully short circuit some of the frustrations.
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At every company I have been at with some history (more than a decade or two), I have found there to be at least one product that is long beyond the “Milk it” stage. Orders have dropped off, and customers have moved to either a different technology, or into a replacement product. Of course, you still get the occasional batch of orders for it, thus the hesitancy to discontinue it formally.
The development of a product should follow a lifecycle from investigation, definition, to alpha, then beta and production. You will note that I didn’t say “and finally, production”, that is because there is one more phase that is difficult to actually achieve, obsolescence or discontinuance. (more…)
The words “Strategic Marketing” evokes grand ideas and concepts. But as with many phrases, there is more than a little bit of ambiguity in the perception of those who hear it. Different groups within the organization will likely have quite different interpretations of “Strategic Marketing”
When Sales hears the term “Strategic Marketing,” they think that means helping them sell more to what they know they can sell, focusing on the obvious, proven strengths and strong markets. They think of you helping them find more opportunities that are invisible today. (more…)
If you follow the #prodmgmt or #prodmktg hashtags on Twitter, and the ever increasing variety of product management blogs, it would seem like every product management job is some leading edge, hyper tech start up product that is positioned to be the next Facebook, (or Dropbox, or {insert cool cloud technology}). However, it is much more likely that you work at a company that has a history, and that you will find yourself managing a ho-hum product, in a market that you may not be super excited about.
Example: A foolish mistake on a recent trip found me without my toilet kit. Yep, I forgot it hung in the bathroom. Apart from my electric shaver, there wasn’t anything worth crying about. But it did mean I needed to replace my shaver. Bummer. (more…)
Being in the product management / product marketing game a long time, these are some truths that have been constants across my career. Time and time again, there are the same challenges, and I suspect that many of you have similar or related tales. This is by far not a complete list, but it is a start.
Here goes: (more…)
Five little words. “That feature doesn’t sell products“. Seems innocuous enough, but it is the death of product development when uttered by engineering.
Product Management is tasked with defining what a product should do, what features are needed, and how to compare/differentiate vis-a-vis with the competitors. We write requirements, and guide them into and through the development process.
All to have engineering remove features that they don’t believe drive value. Unfortunately, engineering often isn’t cognizant the concept of “whole product“. That beyond the core widget are the services and traits of the product that extend the offering, and provide the unique value proposition, thus enticing the customer to choose to purchase your product or service. (more…)
The role of Product Manager is demanding in any organization. The list of what it takes to be successful is long, and daunting. A great product manager is a great communicator, has technical chops, can climb enormous learning curves with ease, and can contribute at all levels in the organization, from the production floor to the C-suite.
Often I am asked “Where do you find good product management candidates?” or “How do I become a product manager?”. Not easy questions to answer, and I have posts elsewhere to answer specifically. (more…)