Customer-centricity has arisen as a must-have attribute for all companies, regardless of whether they have a B2B, B2C, or other selling setup. Why? Consumers and business buyers want to believe that brands have their best interests at heart. As Salesforce pointed out in a 2022 State of the Connected Customer Report, two-thirds of users want brands to “get” them. And 92% agreed that a customer-centric experience would drive them to make another purchase from the same seller.
One method to achieve high levels of customer-centricity is by paying more attention to the role of product management within a company’s operations. By its very nature, product management centralizes the needs of the customer. For example, a product manager will shepherd a product through its entire lifecycle. Along the way, nearly every product development or change that’s made will be backed by customer input. The result is a product that’s been engineered to fit the user.
As you can imagine, products made with the end user in mind every step of the way can have a huge advantage over ones that aren’t. Not only are they innovative, but they fit neatly into target audiences’ lifestyles. There’s far less “here’s why you need this in your life” hard selling with a product that’s been managed through a customer-centric lens. On the contrary, it’s much easier to get people to try it because it’s something they’ve been asking for.
If you’re not entirely sure you’re ready to fit product management into your operations or to revise the way you handle product management, I urge you to consider making a switch. Plenty of companies are leveraging product management (and product managers) as a way to get and retain a competitive, profit-producing, and customer-facing edge. Below are several reasons why.
1. Product management turns employees into would-be sales representatives.
In modern organizations, product management doesn’t happen without technology. Accordingly, most businesses invest in product management software and systems that can be integrated with other advanced tools. This ensures that all employees have access to the same data. It also allows product managers to work more efficiently with colleagues throughout their organization.
Thanks to this high level of integration between product managers and the rest of the team, everyone can take on a sense of ownership when it comes to products. Employees start to become more aware of the fast-paced, agile product management methodology. Therefore, they’re not resistant to it; after all, it’s just part of their day-to-day working life. Since it feels intuitive, they support it and ultimately become customer-fueled advocates themselves.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that every employee is more valuable when they think like a salesperson, regardless of their actual title. Employees who understand and “back” product-management workflows naturally begin to act like brand sellers. They may even begin to report back to product managers informally. For instance, a call center agent who listens to a customer’s “wish list” could send a quick email to the product-development team. The team could then investigate to see if any of those “wishes” could be integrated into the next product (or iteration of a product).
2. Product management stays ahead of customer trends.
It can be difficult to keep up with what’s trending with your target client or customer population. However, losing momentum can be devastating to your organization and its sales. No company can afford to be “on top” one quarter and plummeting the next. Product management once again swoops in as a way to rescue you and your people from having an off-trend disaster.
Since product management professionals stay in touch with customers, they’re in tune with what’s happening. They gain pipelines into real-time customer insights, giving them the ability to inform product development, features, pricing, and more. Interestingly, their “ear to the ground” status makes product managers excellent resources for marketers and sales representatives, too.
HubSpot Marketing Blog manager Caroline Forsey notes that keeping up with customer trends is one of the hardest things marketers have to do: “Essentially, no matter where you look, trends are constantly changing. And, if you’re publishing out-of-touch content… your audiences might get bored and move on to a brand that feels more interesting to them.”
With the assistance of product managers, your marketers can make sure they’re not so surprised by an emerging trend that they lose traction with your top competitors. And when you’re on trend, you’re more likely to be on track with your target audiences.
3. Product management keeps your organization’s tech future-forward.
As noted by Praful Chavda, founder and CEO of Chisel—an agile product management software that creates roadmaps, collects customer feedback, and builds internal team alignment—product managers tend to be early adopters of new technologies. They’re well-positioned to not just know about new technologies but suggest ways that those technologies can be incorporated into products and operations. Chavda uses AI as an example of an emerging technology that product managers can use to drive innovation across their workforces.
“Advanced algorithms can analyze massive datasets to identify trends, customer preferences, and emerging market opportunities,” explains Chavda. “This empowers product managers to make data-driven decisions, ensuring that innovation efforts are aligned with the most promising avenues for growth. In addition to AI, there are several other technologies that are disrupting the traditional way of doing business. For example, product managers can adopt blockchain technology in use cases that require increased transparency and trust, traceability, and smart contract execution. They can also leverage augmented reality (AR) to visualize and interact with product prototypes, enhance creative problem-solving and accelerate innovation.”
Chisel, an award-winning product management platform, will soon introduce AI enhancements that offer product managers a secure and robust AI layer above their unified data platform. The enhancements will enable PMs to expedite product planning, discovery, roadmap prioritization, and comprehensive feedback collection from both customers and internal team members.
The beauty of having your product managers bring high-tech solutions into your company is that you aren’t paying extra for it. Product managers already have the budget to dabble in tech, so you’re getting additional mileage from their investment. As they experiment with AI, AR, and everything in between, they can bring their findings to everyone else and make recommendations for more broadly using tech in untapped ways. Eventually, the integration of more technology into your business should benefit your customers and improve their experience with your brand.
Product management isn’t just about bringing your products to market. At its core, it’s about serving your customers by putting them first. When you do, you should begin to see a difference in your relationship with your buyer base, as well as your long-term profitability.
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