2. Role of a PMBeyond requirements analysis CEO for the product Talk about customers and their problems as opposed to company and their products Master Orchestrator of the “Value Journey” that works with cross functional teams Finding compelling, competitive and profitable solutions to market problems
3. Career Path for a PM - Title CEO Product BU Owner Portfolio Owner Product Line Owner Product Business Owner Product Features Owner Product Module Owner 3
5. Lots to consider M&A Addressable market New Competencies Fleeting or lasting? New Routes to Market Market Size Core Competencies Customer Pain - Size Sales / Support Investments Can I make money with it? Big Fish in Small Pond? Direct Competitors Willingness to Pay Resource Competitors Target Customer Types Substitutes Target Segments Positioning Switching costs Barriers to entry Timing Organizational Appetite
6. Progression Accelerators 6 Business Credentials (MBA/Certifications) Stakeholder Feedback Successful product launches Profitability Targets Team building II (Influentiality Index) Demonstrable knowledge of full spectrum “productizing” process Accelerators have a different effect at every stage
7. “Productizing” Process 7 Market Analysis Strategic Planning Product Planning Go To Market Sales Enablement Value Management = Product Management Choosing to Build Building Profitably Building it right Marketing it right Selling effectively
8. Product Positioning Routes to market Marketing Plan Launch Plan Customer Acquisition Target Market Sizing Product Strategy Buy/Build/ Partner Pricing & Packaging Business Model & Plan Requirements Product Line Economics Personas & Scenarios Market Acceptance Planning Product Roadmap Collaterals & Sales Tools Lead Gen & PreSales Channel & Sales Training Evangelism Thought Leadership Revenue Market Analysis Strategic Planning Go To Market Sales Support Product Planning Value Research & Analytics Resources & Competency Competitive Analysis Win/Loss Analysis Performance Analysis Adaptive Productizing FrameworkTM Marketing it right Building it right Selling effectively Choosing to Build Building Profitably 8
9. 5 Compelling Reasons for MBA/Certs 9 Whether you like it or not, it’s a filtering criteria Good training/MBA will actually teach you frameworks for solving most product challenges It allows you to speak the business language, terminology helps with credibility If you are techie this is one of the fastest ways to become a generalist It allows you to learn how to learn!
10. Tips 10 Understand your assets/strengths Augment yourself with as many “Accelerators” as feasible Benchmark success in your organization Improve your “terminology” vocabulary before you develop deeper expertise For PMs with technology background its important to become a generalist MBA/Certification – in some cases its necessary but in most cases wont be sufficient
Talk about the vicious cycleVicious cycle of shifting focus from technology to revenue to branding to cost containment goes endlesslyWho knows what customers really need and will actually pay for it?Who knows the characteristics of what target customer even looks like?What customer problems are we actually solving?Product marketing and product management are often fused together as inbound product management vs. outbound product managementOrganizationally where should a PM sit?Culturally it depends on the power houses – engineering, business etc.Discussion on who is doing product marketing and product management for you?
Talk about competencies in this slideMarket size, Addressable marketSize of your customer relative to youDoes customer have Substitutes?Customer’s switching cost to and from your productWhat kind of competitors?If no competitors, are you sure there’s a market? Have others tried before?Can you beat competitors? If you can, do you want to? What is Willingness to Pay?Big fish in a small pond or vice-versa? Which one suits you better?Is product perceived as commodity? Can you reposition for higher value?Every day or occasional use. Critical or nice-to-have. Fleeting opportunity or here to stayExtended Product Category – are there big competitors there? Barriers to entry?Does your organization have what it takes?Do you have the right type of engineers? Are you a creating a HW product inside a SW company? Are you selling to the enterprise but not willing to provide 24-hour support? Do you need high-touch sales when your company doesn’t have it?New investments – new salespeople, routes to market, engineers?Political factors – Will your Organization go for it? Can you align with corporate initiatives?
As you go through the value journey there are a couple of steps in this process. Whether you are an entrepreneur launching a new product, intrapreneur who is launching a new product line in a bigger company or in charge of running a product line/portfolio for existing products in an existing company – the model remains the same.We will see some of the differences in the approach and activities that a Product Manager does between new and existing products in a second but the fundamental milestones remain the same.In Understanding Value – you are answering questions like “ who is the target customer for this product, otherwise also called as MIC (Most important customer) or Persona”. What market problems with high pain points exist with that persona and what are the alternatives?”Then you move to “which of those market problems are you choosing to solve as you design your solution” - Creating ValueThen “is there a willingness to pay for that problem?” – capture value“Is your solution appealing to the persona and is there perceived value in the minds of the persona for your proposition” – Communicating Value“Can the prospect “easily” avail and use your product? What is the total experience with the product “ – Delivering Value