Integrations and Partnerships Playbook for Product Managers
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The average company used 137 unique SaaS apps in 2020. This number has increased 30% over the last two years and will only grow over time as:
- Many of these apps will get unbundled into more specialized products,
- New apps come to market replacing outdated processes, and
- Companies’ software budgets continue to grow.
The higher the number of applications your customer uses to solve a problem, the more confusing and fragmented their experience becomes. Ultimately, if their experience is one of frustration, they will become more reluctant to buy your product.
Let’s take talent acquisition and recruitment technology as an example. Just a decade ago, the only widely adopted tools were early SaaS Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), job boards, and LinkedIn. Today, the recruitment market is estimated at over $200B worldwide and with at least a dozen major categories.
This is why integrations are so important. Even if your product adds exponential value to their workflow, it needs to connect to the rest of their application suite naturally.
For example, an innovative company like Metaview, Chorus.ai/Gong for recruiting, needs to be connected to at least one of these categories (ATSs) to be taken seriously.
With integration being so core to a product’s perceived value, it’s no surprise that many SaaS companies are hiring dedicated Product Managers (PMs) for integrations.
This article series
I decided to write this article series because, despite the high customer demand and job opportunities, I couldn’t find a decent online article that outlines a Product Manager’s role in integration projects.
Moreover, contrary to my previous beliefs, integrations are difficult! You can’t just throw a third-party API over the fence and ask your engineers to do the rest. It takes planning, coordination and deep discovery.
My target audience for this playbook is primarily experienced non-technical PMs in small or growth-stage SaaS companies who want to build their first few integrations and partnerships. However, I hope there are useful tips for all PMs here.
What follows is a series of play-by-plays (how-tos, tips, and recommendations) for you to keep in mind as you go through different phases of the product life cycle — discovery, solution design, delivery, launch and beyond:
- Part 1: How to build product integrations
- Part 2: How to establish integration partnerships
- Part 3: Is integration Product Management for you?
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Blake Fisher, Jeanine Longley, and Misha Abasov for your feedback and proofreading of this series.
I hope you enjoy this series. If you find these articles helpful, please consider sharing them with your network.
If you have any feedback, please leave a comment or reach out to me directly on LinkedIn.
For more resources on this topic, please visit the list I curated here: tpm.fadaee.net.
