A product is not the product
Sri Vysyaraju
Consultant, Product Management @ TCS | Digital Transformation | Product Manager | Scrum Product Owner | A-CSPO
‘Product’ is not just the final product we ship to the customer (the WHAT), but also the way we ship that to the customer (the HOW). It includes, but is not limited to -
- how it is bundled
- how it is marketed
- how it is shipped
- how it is supported etc.
- ... it is the end to end experience
Your product is the overall end-to-end experience you offer.
How it is bundled - I really love how the telecom providers evolved in bundling their products. Handsets used to be bundled with the connections back then and now the OTT subscriptions. A win-win for the telecom service providers and for the streaming service providers; convenience and cost-effective for customers.
That's a good cross-selling strategy. There are more proven strategies in S/W products as well.
If you are working on a software product, start thinking already about those additions your customers would benefit from while using your product – be it be a product add-on you are offering at a premium or a different product that complements yours (it may not necessarily be a product/capability from your company for that matter).
How it is marketed - Most of the time, we as Product Managers are clear with the customer problem we are trying to solve. But..
Are your customers sure if your product is the solution to their problem?
Spare quality time with your marketing partner. Instead of limiting your involvement to sharing those feature/benefit documentation or release notes. Figure out how and where you can help. One common need is sharing a common understanding of the vision and strategy to reflect that current and future state in the collaterals and other artifacts.
It’s OK if you come across as being extra-careful. What matters is - contribute to the product success.
How it is supported - I was looking to purchase something on Flipkart yesterday and here is what I saw for the warranty policy for 2 different brands. The first one offers warranty, but a very narrow one. They don’t replace a defective item, you can however get it ‘repaired’ for free. Whereas the second one offers replacements for manufacturing defects as well.
The warranty policy has the potential to influence sales. As a Product Manager, draw that end-to-end journey. Consider how you support your customers post-sales. Collaborate with your partners in the Ops, Support departments to help them with the documentations and knowledge sharing sessions.
If you observe, the successful commercial product launches often ticks these boxes meticulously.
What are those products you love for their end to end experience?
What are those other things you think PMs should focus additionally?
Ex-Sasken, Ex-Mavenir...Allstate India
2yInteresting! I like
Intuitive and personalized consumer product experiences are raising user expectations for business software, while subscription licensing models are making it easier than ever for dissatisfied customers to switch vendors. Usability and good design are no longer enough to meet today’s customer expectations. Software products must educate, engage, and adapt to their users’ needs. But most companies don’t understand how users derive value or where they encounter friction inside an application. To course-correct, product managers can frame and measure the product experience across user lifecycle objectives with coinciding actions: - Onboarding new users - Driving product adoption - Converting and retaining customers - Fostering expansion and growth - Planning and innovation
PMP | Financial market data and infrastructure | Watchmaking | Operational Excellence | CRM Projects | Client-centric solutions design | Business Analysis | Project Management | Change Management | Team Management
2yHi Sri, for me there is the additional dimension of sustainability. I want to know that I am not harming the environment and that the value chain is socially responsible. A tall, yet necessary, order. I can't say that I have an example for you as it is still so difficult to distinguish the real from the wash. I live in hope that we will get there!