Tag: Customer Analysis

  • 10 Biggest Failed Products of Google

    Google is known for its search engine, which is one of the most widely used on the internet. The company also offers a range of other products and services, including email, maps, productivity tools, advertising platforms, and hardware such as smartphones and smart home devices. In addition to its core business, Google has also pursued a number of other ventures, including developing autonomous vehicles, launching satellite internet service, and investing in renewable energy. The company has a strong focus on innovation and is known for its culture of experimentation, which has led to the development and launch of numerous products and initiatives over the years.

    In this matter of growing the business and arms and legs of google, it has made a lot of mistakes too. Mistakes, and that too, publicly. They take on pride and be true, that is the only way to grow. Here in this article, we have listed some of the ventures that soon failed after google launched them and could not become a hit like other Google services. This is just a small sample of the products that Google has discontinued over the years. Google is known for experimenting with and launching new products, and it is not uncommon for the company to discontinue products that are not successful or do not meet its goals.

    Google and Failed Products

    1. Google Glass
    2. Google Wave
    3. Google Buzz
    4. Google Reader
    5. Google Nexus
    6. Google+
    7. Google Allo
    8. Google Inbox
    9. Google Hangouts
    10. Google Play Music
      Key Takeaways

    Google and Failed Products

    There are many products that Google launched that did not become a hit but served as a lesson to the company. Google is known for experimenting with and launching new products, and it is not uncommon for the company to discontinue products that are not successful or do not meet its goals.  This is just a small sample of the products that Google has discontinued over the years. Let us see some of the viral but failed products.

    Google Glass

    Google Glass

    A wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display was released in 2013 and discontinued in 2015. Google Glass was a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display that was developed and manufactured by Google. It was released in 2013 and discontinued in 2015. Google Glass was designed to be a hands-free device that could be worn like a pair of glasses, allowing users to access information and interact with their surroundings in a more seamless and natural way. It featured a small display that was positioned just above the wearer’s right eye, and it could be controlled using voice commands or touch gestures on the frame.

    Google Glass was capable of displaying notifications, taking photos and videos, and providing real-time information about the user’s surroundings. It was also able to connect to the internet and access a variety of apps and services.

    Google’s Market Share of Top 5 Countries

    Although Google Glass received a lot of attention and generated significant buzz when it was first announced, it ultimately struggled to gain widespread adoption. It faced a number of technical and privacy concerns, and it was eventually discontinued in 2015. However, the technology and concept behind Google Glass have continued to influence the development of other wearable products and augmented reality products.

    Google Wave

    Google Wave

    A communication and collaboration platform that was launched in 2009 and discontinued in 2010. Google Wave was a communication and collaboration platform that was launched by Google in 2009 and discontinued in 2010. The platform was designed to allow users to communicate and collaborate in real-time using a variety of tools and features, including text, images, videos, maps, and more.

    One of the key features of Google Wave was its ability to allow users to edit and collaborate on documents in real-time, similar to a Google Doc. Users could also leave comments on specific parts of the document and see other users’ changes as they were made.

    Google Wave also included a messaging feature that allowed users to send messages and attachments to each other, as well as a feature called “Wave Robots” that allowed users to automate certain tasks within the platform.

    Despite its innovative features, Google Wave struggled to gain widespread adoption and was eventually discontinued in 2010. However, some of the ideas and technologies developed for Google Wave were later incorporated into other Google products, such as Google Docs and Google Drive.

    Google Buzz

    Google Buzz

    A social networking service that was integrated into Gmail in 2010 and discontinued in 2011. Google Buzz was a social networking service that was integrated into Google’s Gmail service in 2010. It allowed users to share updates, photos, videos, and other content with their contacts, and it also had features for commenting and liking posts.

    Buzz was intended to be a rival to other social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but it was met with a lukewarm response from users and faced criticism for privacy concerns. In 2011, Google announced that it would be retiring Buzz and integrating its features into other Google products.

    One of the main criticisms of Google Buzz was that it automatically created a list of a user’s contacts based on the people they frequently emailed or chatted with, and it made this list visible to the user’s followers. This led to concerns about privacy, as people’s contacts were made public without their explicit consent. Google eventually addressed these concerns by allowing users to edit their contact lists and by making it easier to control who could see their posts.

    Despite its short lifespan, Google Buzz did influence the development of other social networking and communication tools, and it helped to pave the way for the integration of social features into Gmail and other Google products.

    Google Reader

    Google Reader

    A news aggregator that was launched in 2005 and discontinued in 2013. Google Reader was a news aggregator that allowed users to subscribe to and read news and other content from a variety of sources in one place. It was launched in 2005 and was popular among users who wanted to keep track of their favourite websites and blogs, as well as among developers who used its API to build applications that integrated with the service.

    Google Reader had a number of features, including the ability to organize subscriptions into folders, mark items as read or unread, and share items with others. It was available as a web-based application and also had mobile apps for iOS and Android.

    In 2013, Google announced that it was discontinuing Google Reader, citing declining usage and a need to focus on other priorities. The service was officially shut down on July 1, 2013. Despite the popularity of the service among some users, its shutdown was met with backlash from some quarters.

    Google Nexus

    Google Nexus

    A line of consumer electronic devices ran on the Android operating system and was discontinued in 2016. Google Nexus was a line of consumer electronic devices that ran on the Android operating system. The line included smartphones, tablets, and streaming media players. The Nexus brand was developed in partnership with various hardware manufacturers, such as LG, Huawei, and HTC, and was designed to showcase the latest version of Android and provide a pure Android experience without any additional software or customization from the manufacturer.

    The first Nexus device, the Nexus One smartphone, was released in 2010. Over the years, Google released several other Nexus devices, including the Nexus 7 tablet, the Nexus 10 tablet, and the Nexus Player streaming media player. In 2016, Google discontinued the Nexus line and replaced it with the Google Pixel brand.

    Google Chrome Market Share

    Nexus devices were known for their high-quality hardware, fast performance, and timely updates to the latest version of Android. They were popular among Android enthusiasts and developers who appreciated the clean, unmodified version of Android and the ability to root and customize their devices. However, the Nexus line never achieved the same level of market share or popularity as other Android devices from manufacturers such as Samsung and LG.

    Google+

    Google+

    A social networking service that was launched in 2011 and discontinued in 2019. Google+ was a social networking service that was launched by Google in 2011. It was designed to allow users to connect with each other and share information, such as photos, videos, and links, in a manner similar to other social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

    Google+ had a number of features, including:

    • Streams: A feed of updates from people in a user’s circles (groups of people that a user had chosen to follow).
    • Communities: Groups of people who shared a common interest and could discuss and share content related to that interest.
    • Hangouts: A video chat feature that allows users to have group conversations or one-on-one conversations with other users.

    Google+ was initially met with positive reviews, but it struggled to gain a significant user base and faced competition from other social networking platforms. In 2019, Google announced that it would be shutting down Google+ due to low usage and the discovery of a security flaw that had exposed the personal data of hundreds of thousands of users. Google+ officially shut down in April 2019.

    Google Allo

    Google Allo

    A messaging app that was launched in 2016 and discontinued in 2018. Google Allo was a messaging app developed by Google that was launched in 2016 and discontinued in 2018. The app was designed to allow users to communicate with each other through text, images, and emojis, and it included features such as smart replies, which offered automated responses to messages based on the context of the conversation.

    One of the main features of Google Allo was its integration with Google Assistant, a virtual assistant that could help users with tasks such as searching the web, setting reminders, and making recommendations. The app also had a feature called “incognito mode,” which allowed users to send messages that would automatically be deleted after a set amount of time.

    Google Allo was available on both Android and iOS platforms and could be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play. However, despite its features and integration with Google Assistant, the app struggled to gain a significant user base and was eventually discontinued in favour of other messaging platforms developed by Google.


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    Google Inbox

    Google Inbox

    A mobile app and email service that was launched in 2014 and discontinued in 2019. Google Inbox was a mobile app and email service that was launched by Google in 2014. It was designed to help users manage their email more efficiently by providing features such as the ability to snooze emails, create to-do lists, and set reminders. Inbox also offered email categorization, which automatically sorted emails into categories such as “Promos,” “Purchases,” and “Travel.”

    Inbox was intended to be an alternative to the traditional Gmail interface, and it was initially only available by invitation. However, it was eventually made available to all Gmail users.

    In 2019, Google announced that it would be discontinuing Inbox and integrating its features into the regular Gmail interface. The Inbox app was officially shut down in April 2019, and all user data was transferred to Gmail.

    Many users appreciated the additional features and functionality that Inbox provided, but some found it confusing or overwhelming. Ultimately, Google decided to discontinue the Inbox app in favour of focusing on improving and updating the core Gmail experience.

    Google Hangouts

    Google Hangouts

    A communication platform that included messaging, video chat, and VOIP features was discontinued in 2020. Google Hangouts was a communication platform that included messaging, video chat, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) features. It was launched by Google in 2013 as a replacement for several older messaging and video chat products, including Google Talk, Google+ Messenger, and Google Hangouts Chat.

    Google Hangouts was available on desktop and mobile devices, and users could access it through the web or through dedicated apps for Android and iOS. It allowed users to send messages, make voice and video calls, and share photos and files with other users. It also had a number of additional features, such as the ability to make phone calls to landline and mobile phones, participate in group conversations with up to 150 people, and use a variety of emoji and stickers to express themselves.

    Google Hangouts was widely used for personal and business communication, and it was integrated with a number of other Google products, including Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive. However, in 2020, Google announced that it would be discontinuing the service and transitioning users to other communication platforms, such as Google Meet and Google Chat. The company cited the growing popularity of these newer products as the reason for the discontinuation of Hangouts.

    Google Play Music

    Google Music

    A music streaming service that was launched in 2011 and discontinued in 2020. Google Play Music was a music streaming service developed by Google that allowed users to listen to music on demand and discover new music. The service was launched in 2011 and was available on a variety of platforms, including Android, iOS, and the web.

    Google Play Music offered a large library of songs, albums, and playlists that users could access through a subscription or by purchasing individual tracks or albums. The service also included features such as personalized recommendations, curated playlists, and the ability to upload and stream up to 50,000 of your own songs.

    In addition to streaming music, Google Play Music also offered a number of radio stations that played music based on different genres, moods, and activities. Users could also create their own radio stations based on a specific artist or song.

    Google Play Music was discontinued in 2020 and was replaced by YouTube Music, another music streaming service developed by Google. Many of the features and functions of Google Play Music were integrated into YouTube Music, including the ability to upload and stream personal music libraries and access a large library of songs and albums.

    Key Takeaways

    While Google is learning and getting better by making mistakes, we can also learn from this. We don’t have to repeat mistakes, we can just look for the key takeaways and move on to build a better product. There are a few key learnings that can be taken away from Google’s failed products:

    Market fit is important: Many of Google’s failed products did not gain traction with users because they did not solve a problem or fulfil a need in a way that resonated with the target market. It’s important for companies to carefully consider whether a product or service is meeting the needs and desires of their target audience.

    Competition can be fierce: In some cases, Google’s failed products were competing in crowded markets with strong incumbent players. It can be challenging to gain a foothold in a market that is already dominated by well-established competitors.

    Timing is crucial: Some of Google’s failed products were launched at a time when the market was not yet ready for them or when similar products were already well-established. It’s important for companies to consider the timing of their product launches and whether the market is ready for their offering.

    It’s okay to pivot or discontinue products: Google has shown that it’s willing to pivot or discontinue products that are not meeting its goals or are not resonating with users. It’s important for companies to be willing to make tough decisions and change course if necessary, rather than continuing to invest in products that are not performing well.

    Continuous experimentation and innovation are key: Despite some failed products, Google has had many successful products and services as well. This success is often attributed to the company’s culture of continuous experimentation and innovation, which allows it to quickly test new ideas and pivot as needed.

    Conclusion

    It is common for people and products to experience failure as a part of the process of learning and improving. Failure can be a valuable opportunity to reflect on what went wrong, identify areas for improvement, and make changes to better achieve success in the future. This is true for individuals as well as for companies and their products.

    In the case of Google, the company has a culture of experimentation and innovation, and it is not afraid to take risks and try new things. As a result, some of its products and initiatives have been successful, while others have not. However, even products that are discontinued or shut down can provide valuable insights and experiences that can be applied to future projects.

    Despite its success and influence in the tech industry, Google has had its share of failed products and initiatives. From Google Glass to Google Wave, these discontinued products serve as a reminder that even the most innovative companies can experience setbacks and failures. However, these failures can also provide valuable lessons and insights that can inform future product development and help a company like Google continue to push the boundaries of what is possible. So, it is important for companies to embrace failure and learn from it as a part of the innovation process.

    FAQ

    How many people use Google for services?

    Google is the world’s largest search engine, and it has over 1 billion people who use its products and services.

    Was Google Glass a failure?

    This revolutionary high-potential holder product was largely rejected by consumers from the mass market. Google Glass failed in many elements such as health and safety concerns, extensively high price, heat issues and many more.

    Why did Google Plus fail?

    The answer to why Google+ failed could be attributed to its clumsy user interface. Google’s focus at the time of its establishment was on its users, not the general public.

    Why did Google wave fail?

    The wave was a finished product at the time of its release. It was buggy, and the user interface was poorly-designed and bothersome to use. Users got tired of explaining to their colleagues and friends how Wave worked and how to use basic features.

  • What is a Cohort Analysis? | How to Do Cohort Analysis?

    Cohort analysis, one of the latest features offered by Google Analytics, has been creating quite a bit of confusion among analysts. And, the confusion stems from the nature of this new feature.

    For one, cohort analysis is not like page or session analysis, i.e., it’s dynamic. So, it doesn’t merely sum up your page or session activities over a certain timeframe, but rather the user groups’ behaviour over time.

    Secondly, producing actionable insights from cohort analysis isn’t that easy. For instance, the visitors are coming back to your site in the last few weeks, but how to use that information with other data drawn from analyses?

    Let’s discuss cohort analysis in depth today and clear out all that confusion.

    What Exactly Is Cohort Analysis?
    Types of Cohort Analysis
    Types of Cohort
    Three Major Aspects to Figure out Cohort Analysis
    How to Do Cohort Analysis
    Using Cohort Analysis Effectively In the Business
    Advantages of Cohort Analysis

    Customer Retention and Cohort Analysis

    What Exactly Is Cohort Analysis?

    Bruno Estrella, who currently leads growth at Webflow, defined cohort analysis as one analytical technique that helps you analyze the behaviour of a defined group of people during a specific period of time. As such, the aim is to uncover insights about customer experiences and figure out ways to improve those experiences. Let’s understand this definition better through an example.

    Suppose a customer named Tom came to your website three months ago when there was a fifty percent discount going on and brought a trial set of your products. You started using carefully placed cookies to track the behaviour of people like Tom. You would like to know if they come back to buy stuff and how often they do that.

    Now, when you sit down to analyze your cookies, you would want to figure out the number of users like Tom who came to your website and purchased the same trial set. You found out that about seventy percent of the buyers of the trial set didn’t come back. It’s time to think about ways to remedy the situation.

    Firstly, you might consider that the buyers have forgotten you in all the information that they are inundated with on a daily basis. In such a scenario, running retargeted ads at the end of their use of the product might prompt them to buy more.

    Secondly, the visitors might be stopping and dropping off from the ‘shipping’ page. The problem might be with your high shipping cost, and the solution lies in offering free shipping or discounts at that point.

    So, the analysis gave you two clear ideas to improve your conversion rates for all such groups now and in the future. You need to take the right actions and note the improvements made in your conversion and retention rates.

    Volume of Data Created, Captured, Copied, and Consumed Worldwide from 2017 to 2022
    The volume of Data Created, Captured, Copied, and Consumed Worldwide from 2017 to 2022

    Types of Cohort Analysis

    There are mainly two types of cohort analysis. These are:

    Acquisition Analysis

    This type of cohort analysis is performed on the basis of the acquisition of the customers. For example- when the customer was acquired, or when they purchased or subscribed to your products or services. This can be done daily, weekly or monthly, depending upon the requirement.

    Behavioural Analysis  

    This type of analysis is performed on the basis of customers’ behaviour patterns. This type analyzes the actions of the customers. For example- how often does a customer order from a particular restaurant, how do customers interact with a company’s social media channels, etc.?


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    Types of Cohort

    The following are the different types of cohorts that businesses use for cohort analysis. Let us take a detailed look at these groupings:

    • Time Cohort- Time-based cohorts analyze the type of customers who purchased a certain type of product during a particular timeframe. It helps companies forecast trends and keep an eye out for standout patterns that repeat in consumer behaviour. It also aids companies in improving the lower consumer interest in the services offered.
    • Size Cohort-  Cohorts based on size point to the size of consumers who buy the products or services of a particular company. The size of the client can range from small startups to organizations operating under marketable enterprises. Grouping this element together reveals which consumer purchases the most products. The company can work to improve its offerings so that it can provide a better experience to clients with smaller purchase shares.
    • Segment Cohort- Cohorts based on segments focus on consumer requirements. It analyzes the purchases of customers and helps a company create personal products or assistance curated for specific segments. Companies can prepare better based on what sort of a plan a customer has signed up for. Based on whether they choose the basic or high-end services, the organization can analyze the needs of the client.
    • Prospective Cohort- Prospective cohorts identify and examine the level of exposure of a product at the consumer level. It investigates the follow-up until an outcome establishes itself, concluding the project with definitive results. This cohort can take months or even years to compile the respective data since the outcomes are yet to be determined.
    • Retrospective Cohort- If the considerable follow-up period seems time-consuming and too expensive, companies can choose to go for the retrospective type of cohort. This cohort considerably shortens the waiting period by depending on past exposure and relevant data. It identifies those who developed the desirable outcome instead of following the participants over an undetermined duration.

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    Three Major Aspects to Figure out Cohort Analysis

    Size of Marketing Related Data Market Worldwide from 2017 to 2021
    Size of Marketing Related Data Market Worldwide from 2017 to 2021

    To better understand the practice of cohort analysis, you need to know about the three aspects that constitute the analysis. So, cohort analysis entails three highly specific features:

    1. A Specific Period in The Past

    Cohort analysis is strictly bound by time as it is about defining the group that entered your store at a particular time. Thus, you have to start with deciding the time period that has to be analyzed.

    For instance, if you are planning to analyze customer behaviour during a particular promotional event, as mentioned above, your cohort analysis would cover the entire period of the event. Added filters can be included in this analysis, such as whether you want to know how many people visited via Instagram or Facebook.

    2. The Lagging Period of the Analysis

    The lagging period refers to the time for which the analysis is run. So, if you are planning to analyze how the users behave for a month after their first visit, one month is your lagging period.

    The number varies based on your business needs and the ongoing conditions of your company.

    3. Termination Time of the Analysis

    After both the cohort and the lagging period get pointed out, the termination time of the analysis is dealt with.

    So, if you’re tracking your cohort’s behaviour between April 1st and 7th and have a month as the lagging period, the termination time is May 7th. This date signifies the final signal of the lagging period for the last person in a cohort.

    How to Do Cohort Analysis

    Cohort Analysis
    Cohort Analysis

    There are many benefits to conducting a cohort analysis. However, achieving the procedure takes certain know-how before a researcher commits to the plan of action. The following steps will show how to do cohort analysis:

    Specify the Objective of Cohort Analysis

    The main goal of cohort analysis is to focus on specific groups of data refined down to convey information better to researchers.  Therefore, the first objective is to select your subject and define it in clear-cut terms. You need to have a clear picture of what exactly you want to club and analyze. You must define the objectives your cohort analysis has to follow.

    Define the Metrics That Clearly Partner up With the Aim

    Right after defining the specifications of the objective, you should trace an outline for suitable metrics. The right metrics will help you keep a tab on the generation of numbers for different aspects of your project. Always choose metrics that are not only separate from the data but also clearly define the characteristics of each grouping. Metrics like user engagement on different events, subscription rates, and more can be used.

    Select the Necessary Cohorts

    At this step, you should pick out the type of analysis you would want to incorporate into your study. You can check out a list of the different types of cohort analyses you can use. You may also combine some of them to suit your purpose. This is a crucial stage as it determines which cohort will be most suitable for your study.

    Perform the Cohort Analysis

    After you collect your sequencing and create a plan, carry out the study. At this step, you perform the cohort analysis using the data extracted from different patterns of the cohorts. Remember to keep an eye on the metrics of the project, the reviews, experiences, etc., of your subjects to get the best possible insights from the data. This will help you to get a better understanding of your products, marketing techniques, and most importantly your customers.

    Prepare and Illustrate the Results Appropriately

    Remember, simply noting down the results will not do. You need to substantiate your findings with your research. You must include all the facts, numbers, graphs, charts, etc., that the course of your research has produced. Lastly, compile your findings and present them in a logical and rational sequence.

    Using Cohort Analysis Effectively In the Business

    There is no denying that it’s difficult to get business value from a single cohort analysis better than the other methods of analytics. Of course, your reactions can’t solely be based on the cohort data.

    Suppose you are going for the funnel analysis and note the rapid dropping off of some users from a certain part of your funnel. A retargeting campaign gets launched immediately, and you work towards patching up all that’s wrong with the funnel. But the feedback cycle isn’t that short with cohort analysis.

    For instance, you can run a cohort analysis with a month-long lagging period and implement the improvements based on the user experience of a month. But it will take a month for you to actually see the result of your steps when the journey of the present cohort gets completed.

    If you make further changes, it will take one more month to see the results. Now that is pretty slow in this fast-paced world of digital marketing. Making a single set of improvements and waiting for a month to see its effectiveness might not seem viable.

    But, at the same time, it’s true that you get a complete look at the journey of the users through the cohort analysis. It might be slow, but it’s helpful in designing campaigns that showcase results immediately. You should also leverage the data from cohort analysis to create long-term value for the company.

    Advantages of Cohort Analysis

    Cohort Analysis is a cunningly useful tool to measure the performance and key takeaways from consumer psychology. Markets use cohort analysis to improve their performance or promote their best-selling services and products. Let us take a look at some of the benefits cohort analysis provides in research and areas of development:

    • Increases efficiency- Imagine if you were handed a hallway worth of data and ordered to extract meaning from it. As nightmarish as that sounds, you can take the much more efficient path of cohort analysis. The tool offers a range of benefits, such as customer psychology, period of success or failure, etc.
    • Helps to troubleshoot problems- It is crucial to the success of your company to see which products fail to hit the mark among your target consumer. Once you can check out these problem spots through cohort analysis, you can decide whether to improve these services or remove them from the market.
    • Aids in the promotion of goods- Cohort analysis pinpoints services and products that have performed well among your audience. These spots are lush grounds for increasing your profits. Once you locate these best-selling services, you can focus on promoting them heavily and increasing the awareness of your brand through these goods.
    • Offers a clear difference between engagement and growth- A common error is mistaking growth and customer engagement as the same thing. Growth occurs when a client takes what you are offering, however, engagement is when a client only engages with your products and services without taking any action. Cohort analysis will offer a clear-cut difference between the two and let you check whether you have seen real growth or not.
    • Predict future behaviour- Cohort analyses keep a strict eye on the ever-changing trends of consumer behaviour. The study follows key markers that will help researchers chart out a forecast for repetitive patterns in the future. Cohort analysis offers an in-depth look at consumer psychology so that you can predict probable profitable areas that will help bring in revenue.

    Conclusion

    Cohort analysis gets you the perfect combination between time-based campaign retrospection and continuous customer experience benchmarking.

    Thus, the information derived from the analysis has a long-term impact on shaping the future campaigns and policies of the business. It also tells you whether or not to continue with your current campaign or launch something in a similar vein in the next quarter.

    And that’s all cohort analysis is about!

    FAQs

    What is cohort and cohort analysis?

    In simple terms, cohort analysis is a type of analytics that takes data from various different sources and groups it into related groups. These groups are called cohorts. The cohorts possess similar traits like colour, time, size, segment, etc.

    Why do we do cohort analysis?

    Cohort analysis allows one to understand and track customer patterns in a better way. Performing cohort analysis helps to improve issues, make better decisions, and provide a better customer experience. This in turn helps to increase sales and revenue.

    How do you do a cohort analysis?

    Cohort analysis is done through the following steps:

    • Specify the Subject of Cohort Analysis
    • Define the Metrics That Clearly Partner up With the Aim
    • Select the Necessary Cohorts
    • Perform the Cohort Analysis
    • Frame and Illustrate the Results Appropriately
  • What is Product Management? | Role and Responsibility | Skills Required

    Product management is an umbrella term that includes activities ranging from conceiving an idea for a product to one day introducing that product in the market. It includes market analysis, developing, positioning, marketing and communication.

    The goal of product management is not just developing products that fulfill people’s needs but also analyzing and communicating with the customer to exceed their expectations.

    The product manager defines the vision for a product, prioritizes facilities and product features, researches and gathers input about the market, organizes execution of the product strategy and carefully examines the product cycle.

    “The job of a product manager is to discover a product that is valuable, usable, and feasible.” – Marty Cagan

    Table of content

    Product Management – Myths
    Product Management – Roles and Responsibilities
    Product Management – Skills Required
    Product Management – FAQs

    Product Management Skills

    Product Management – Myths

    Some of the myths related to Product Management are:

    1. “You need a technical degree like Computer Science to get into Product Management”.

    While having a technical degree can certainly give you a push forward, it doesn’t necessarily entail that you won’t be able to get into product management without a deep understanding of technology.

    2. “Product management is concerned only till the launch of a product”.

    One of the most common and untrue myths of all! After the launch of a product, it is the job of the product management to gather and analyse the feedback and customer response to the product in order to gain insight about what the customer actually want and need.

    3. “Product Management is the equivalent of project management”.

    Project management involves the timeline of a project, the planning, scheming and execution of it all. Unlike product management, where even after the development and launch of a product you have to keep track of it in order to continually reinvent it to fit the customer’s demands.

    4. “Product manager is the boss”.

    Product managers are the people who are first hand involved in the development and related strategy of the product, they have information about everything surrounding the life cycle of the product. But this does not, to any extent, ensure the product manager’s authority over the product.

    Product Management – Roles and Responsibilities

    Product Management Overview
    Product Management Overview

    Customer Analysis: Detailed and extensive customer research is essential for the strategic planning of the product. It is also necessary for analysing the competitor’s strategy for their product and bettering your product and services to fit the consumer’s needs.

    Product Strategy: Relevant information and knowledge is essential for the conceptualisation of a highly efficient strategic plan. It includes the conception, development process, launching, product goals and objectives and a rough overview of the product. It is important even after the launch of the product.

    Communication: It means cross-functional leadership. The key stakeholders like executives, developers, investors, project managers and departments of marketing, sales and development have to be made aware about the product strategy. This increases the internal confidence of the company in the product.

    Feedback and Data Analysis: After the development, testing and launching of the product in the market has been done, the product management studies and analyses customer feedback by conducting interviews, surveys and other data. It tells the team what should or shouldn’t have been done and what the changes to keep in mind for future.

    Product improvement: The product management, after the launch of the product, is consistently involved in improving the product, fine tuning the defects, analysing customer response and testing the results. This role of the product management is the key to ensure maximum satisfaction for the customer and thus, better reception for the company.

    Product Management – Skills Required

    Product Management skills
    Product Management skills

    Interpersonal skills: A product manager should have a good interpersonal skillset which includes having problem solving skills, being decisive, having an insight into the minds of their clientele and being a good communicator.

    Strategic Thinking: Product Managers should be able to think strategically and devise plans with a proper understanding of the product life cycle, sales, customer segmentation, goal orientation and, marketing and development process knowledge.

    Active listening: Listening more than speaking and having patience are core qualities required for a product manager. Listening to what your customers want, what your stakeholders want, more often than not, results in the success of your product management.

    Presentation skills: Product managers have to give a lot of presentations. They have to present their strategy to the executive team, to the stakeholders, sales team, marketing team etc. they may also have to hold webinars and conferences to promote their product.

    Leadership skills: For a product to become successful, it has to be backed by a team of professionals, coordinating and working together. And as a product manager, leading that team, having skills like cooperation, compassion and diplomacy are essential.

    Oratory skills: A product manager should have a way with words. They have to converse and deal with both internal and external stakeholders. They also have to understand the needs of the clientele which may or may not be culturally and linguistically diverse and adapt with the language accordingly.

    Negotiation skills: Since the Product Manager has to manage and work with different departments and teams of professionals along the life cycle of the product, they should know how to and when to negotiate and get things done the best and the fastest way with minimum wastage of resources.

    Product Management – FAQs

    Do product managers need to code?

    No, product managers do not necessarily need to code but having some basic knowledge can help with the work.

    Do product managers need to have an MBA?

    Having an MBA in the field of product management can help tremendously but it is not a prerequisite to the job.

    Do product managers work long hours?

    Yes, it is usually common for product managers to work long hours as there are a lot of responsibilities attached with the job.

    Do product managers get paid well?

    Yes, as it is a managerial position, the salary of a product manager is a highly sufficient one.