All About Product Management

Let’s start by asking, what is the product? A product is anything that is made available for sale to satisfy the desire or need. It can be either a service or good. They can be purely physical, virtual, or a mix of both, which is known as a hybrid. A product is usually classified into two categories: Tangible and intangible. Tangible is a physical product that can be touched and felt, whereas Intangible can only be perceived and not felt by touch. Goods are tangible, while Services are mostly intangible.

Read on to learn all about Product Management and everything else which complements it.

Product Management Definition

Product Management is any process that is put in motion to ensure the overall success of a product. It is the process of altering anything from product design to the application of the product just to gain more and more customers and satisfy their desire in the best way possible. The changes which are to be made are done after thorough research and a lot of due deliberation to ensure that the recommended changes will indeed make a change as needed. It is a crucial part of any business to grow exponentially. It is a strategic function. Hence, there is a proper process to be followed to make the best choices. The process you require is given below.

Product Management Process 

Implement this process and enhance your workflow and results.

• Market Research – Do thorough research to establish a target audience. There is a high chance a variant of your product is already available in the market. Focus your research on figuring out the others’ shortcomings and if it is needed in the market. Conducting interviews or surveys with the target audience is one of the best ways to conduct this research.

• Strategy Development – With the research phase completed, it’s now time to use it efficiently and devise a plan keeping the research into consideration. The strategic plan must include a business goal, features of the product to highlight, and order of priorities.  

• Product Creation – Let’s be clear, product creation isn’t the same as a product launch. After a strategy has been developed using the research you had gathered, it’s time to get a prototype running. To get a practical version of all your thoughts. 

Do your tests on these prototypes. Only keep features that increase the utility of the consumer; remove the rest. Once you are satisfied that the product does what you want it to, it’s time for the next stage of MVP ( Minimum viable Product ).

• Feedback Loop – Launch the MVP with a feedback mechanism attached to it. This feedback loop depends on the product itself and can be implemented in any way you may prefer. Get that feedback back to your team, implement changes, test those changes, get more feedback and let this loop go. This is an endless cycle.

• Constant Improvement – Feedback is an important part of product management but doesn’t solely rely on it, let your and your team’s creativity bring in new features for the product. If something feels outdated and useless, get rid of it.

Product Manager 

A person who is responsible for the success of a product is known as a product manager. He is the person who ensures that the needs of the customers will be fulfilled by the product. To do this, he works closely with the engineering, design, and sales team of the company to deliberate on the needs of the customers and how to fulfil them.

Role of A Product Manager

A Product Manager has a very important role in product management as he is responsible for the development and success of the product. The role of a manager includes product marketing, forecasting the success of the product, and is also responsible for the profit or loss, whichever the product generates. They also analyse the market constantly and keep track of their competitors while laying down a vision for their product. They strive toward creating a product that is unique from their competitors while also increasingly efficient and effective in feeding the needs of the customer. Finally, they are responsible for persuasively communicating their product to the public.

Conclusion 

 Product Management ensures the success of the product and hence is the most crucial part of any business. Many businesses fail even with a unique selling proposition solely because they lack proper management of their product. Understanding what product you’re selling before starting a business can significantly ease your troubles and make planning and execution easier. A result of this is success for your product, and your business grows exponentially, all because you were able to master the art of Product Management. Hiring a good team of highly skilled individuals in this field will further ease your troubles.