Happy 2022! Lets hope we get a chance to hug people again this year ????. For our first 2022 post – let’s celebrate YOU – Product Managers and Product teams.
It’s no secret that as modern people, apps are a vital part of our lives. It seems everything (except hugging) is possible through different apps – we take them completely for granted except when the flow or UX is “not right”.
As apps are such an important part of our lives, we should stop more often and think through the process of their creation. Each app has a story, a beginning, and the first spark of an idea from which it gets developed.
And who is the brain behind the story? The product manager.
We are all familiar with the term “Product<->Market Fit”, but is there such a thing as a “Product<->Product Manager Fit”? For an app to fly, you need a good pilot to be in control and a pilot (Product Manager) who has the skills that match the needs of the product – a B2B Product Manager will be very different to B2C Product Managers, and often you will find Technical Product Managers in deep products.
In what follows, you will read more about what characteristics define a good PM so that your App meets the desired product market fit rate. So, if you’re a product manager yourself, or even part of a product-led company, buckle your seatbelts, we are ready for departure!
Being Data-Driven is a Must
Making decisions that are both market- and customer-centered is not a new concept. But, for an analytical project manager, it is essential to stand out from the crowd and make an app fly. How to do that?
By paying attention to metrics and customer feedback, you can see where your product needs improvement. For instance, as a product manager, you should make it a priority to review the onboarding process as often as possible to achieve a satisfactory product market fit degree. You may be at the wheel of the app, but the users are at the core of your product. Without them, the app would fail and sink, so listen to their voices!
Look at your data, then start improving your onboarding process. Analyzing and interpreting this information will help your product in the long run.
However, be cautious. This is not a one-time task you can cross off your “To Do” list and never think of it again. It’s a process that needs to be repeated, and a good PM will recognize the need to check in with its users. Remember, consistency and perseverance are crucial qualities in a product-led company.
Be Brave Enough to Innovate
If you have been analyzing your user feedback, you have perfected your product market fit, the user experience is overall a positive one, product adoption is going well, pat yourself on the back. You are doing a good job.
But trust yourself if you feel the need to elevate your product, even if the data is non-conclusive. Take a leap of faith when you recognize the need for a new feature or an upgrade. Courage differentiates a leader.
However, seeing the need for something new within your app doesn’t mean you should be careless with your user journey mapping. Feature discovery should be handled in a discreet manner so that it doesn’t disrupt the user’s workflow.
With this in mind, it can be challenging to elevate your product in a way that doesn’t frustrate your clients and doesn’t compromise the user journey. Screen real estate is precious, especially on mobile, and an app interface shouldn’t be messy. So what can you do?
Consider adding popups to make announcements easy to see, but not bothersome. This way, feature discovery can be integrated organically into your app, without being too obnoxious for the client. But the first step should always come from a product manager!
Being brave and innovative is key in the SaaS industry. With these qualities, a product manager can stand out in a crowd. In a product-led company, it’s crucial to make sure people remember you and your product.
Be Open for Feedback Even After Onboarding
A good leader is always humble when it comes to feedback. A good product manager should be the same way.
Product adoption does not mean your customer will be with your product forever. Giving them continuous opportunities to review their own user journey will make them feel appreciated and heard.
So, when talking about user journey mapping with your team, make sure to include capture feedback in the flow of your app. Single touch methods of collecting feedback are popular due to their simplicity. As the user’s attention span tends to be short, this method is the easiest to implement and least disruptive for their workflow.
Being receptive to feedback defines a suitable product manager in the SaaS industry. Openness is especially important in this position, as a PM and the decisions they make will ultimately decide the product’s success and determine the product market fit.
Product Management is not Project Management
In small teams, it’s common for the Product Manager to have many roles. Amongst these is the ability to prioritize into sprints and map to company OKRs. This might be in the form of a scrum master role. The message we get from Atlassian, Zip, Airwallex and others is that negotiation, diplomacy, being organized are all key skills. But none of these trump the need to understand the product and be passionate about how it serves customers.
It’s easy to be busy with inward facing project management tasks but its dangerous when not knowing your product inside out.
Make Your Product Fly
Product managers can feel a lot of pressure. Big responsibilities lay on their shoulders, and their decisions will make or break a product.
There are some key characteristics that every PM should have, such as being data-driven, being open to feedback, and being innovative with their apps. These will help with establishing a good rapport with a user, as the relationships with clients are an important part of a product-led company.
Besides that, it will also help a product stand out in a crowd. A good product manager is also a good leader that navigates the company in the direction of success.
Learn How To Become A Good Product Manager
If you want to learn how to translate these qualities into your workflow as a product manager and practically implement them into your app, book a demo today with Contextual! We’ll help you with your onboarding process, feature discovery, capture feedback, and many more.