June 2, 2022: Product Management
Product management is strategically driving the development, market launch, and continual support and improvement of a company’s products.
a. Determine the “why” for your product
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Evaluate if there is a convergence between what you love to do and what the world needs.
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Work on the skill sets that you are good at and that people can pay you for.
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Figure out what you are trying to do and if you are willing to take risks if it fails.
b. Determine your measurable goals
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Set a goal that is measurable in units or time.
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If your plan has scale, it can guide you on the systems and processes required to achieve it.
c. Develop a plan or a roadmap
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Design a roadmap that maps out where you are starting from and where you want to go.
d. Talk to humans
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Talk to 100 customers about your product idea before you start.
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Ask them specific questions that will get you quality feedback beyond “Yes” and “No.”
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David recommends reading the book “Talking to Humans” by Giff Constable, so you have a better guide to understanding your customers.
Learn about Business Model Generation and its 9 building blocks:
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Customer segments – Think about the customer segments specific to a single product or service.
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Value Proposition – Make sure your messages connect with the right customer segments. Design and communicate the value proposition of each product and service based on what the respective customer segment wants.
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Channels – Select channels that will better reach and target your customer segments.
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Customer relationships – Build customer relationships with different segments based on the segment’s identity and needs.
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Revenue streams – Create long-term revenue streams for your products. Do pay attention to value-chain building activities that indirectly lead to revenue generation.
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Key resources – Determine which components are needed to deliver your products. Is it a video, a pdf, or a delivery service?
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Key activities – Figure out which key actions need to be performed to produce the key resources.
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Key partnerships – Partner with businesses to help you achieve goals like increased market outreach. In exchange, provide tangible benefits to your partners.
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Cost structure – Evaluate if your expenditure brings in results to help you achieve your goals. Decide on the right things to spend money on.
Learn how we built Eprenz in three phases: Form, Build, and Growth. Discover how we grew our business in sprints and the six modules we followed. Learn from our mistakes that could have been avoided.
Case study time!
Learn with David how Coca-Cola applies product management principles to grow its business.