The 6 biggest challenges facing product management teams in 2018
In a time of unprecedented upheaval, the role of the traditional mobile product manager has evolved to cover an organisations entire digital strategy across multiple devices. Consumers have moved beyond mobile and product managers need to face this reality and develop products that are functional, delighting users across the whole digital ecosystem.
Incite Group recently conducted an in-depth survey (https://bit.ly/2IILYhq) to find out how the product space has changed, analyzing the results from over 1000 of the US’s biggest brands and found the following to be the top 3 challenges that product teams are tackling right now;
- Understanding the consumer
Before brands can go about delivering exceptional connected experiences they first need to understand the customers basic needs and requirements from their digital product. Getting to grips with what your customer expects should be the foundation from which your product is built and at the core of your teams mission when designing.
A great example of a brand understanding their consumer and delivering on those expectations is Wayfair’s use of augmented reality in their apps for iOS and Android platforms. View in Room 3D addresses consumers main headaches when shopping for furniture i.e Will this fit in my living room and how will it look? The app allows them instead to visualise in 3D how that sofa will look and whether it matches the colour scheme without them having to leave their living room in the first place.
2. Personalizing users product experience
With a new wealth of data at the fingertips of brands it is becoming increasingly possible to tailor interactions to individual consumers. Customers now demand that their experience with your brand is personalized to suit their specific needs. Growing sophistication in AI and ML is now allowing brands to use past interactions and information on customer preferences to make a customers interactions more personal and useful.
Note Spotify’s success in growing their paid database, their unique algorithms delivering recommendations and tailored playlists to individual users or Home Depot tailoring their promotion materials depending on the area the customer is in at the time.
3. Creating a consistent brand experience
One pitfall of the expanding number of devices consumers use and brands operate on is the difficulty in creating a consistent experience across all of them. In an ideal world a customer could browse on your mobile site or app, the next day have another look at your site on their iPad and then finally make a purchase on their desktop with the transition between devices being seamless.
In reality this is a nightmare for product managers as they attempt to optimise the customer experience and design an experience that matches the customers needs on each platform. A brand that’s currently nailing this is Netflix, their app functions on smart TV’s, tablets, mobile phones and desktops with the viewers preferences remembered regardless of device and also for different accounts.
4. Re-engagement and retention
As the objectives of traditional mobile product managers and mobile marketers amalgamate the need to consider how to retain and engage users on a consistent basis has become a new challenge. The aforementioned challenges feed into this point and allow users to interact more seamlessly and successfully with your digital product.
For example with the Amazon app once you have registered and made your first few purchases you will then receive personalized suggestions and the option of “one-click purchase” as your information has been stored and saved to your account. This effortless transition allows the customer to expend as little effort as possible and helps keep them re-engaged with the Amazon digital product as they receive a connected experience that is tailored to their specific need as opposed to if they were browsing on another retail site.
5. On-boarding new technologies
When mapping out your organizations digital strategy it’s important to measure new technology: Is it cool and useful to your consumer or just cool?
For example voice technology has taken off with brands from all sectors seeing the practicality of leaving the traditional interface and introducing a more conversational experience for the consumer. Although starting off as a novelty, conversational tech has evolved to streamline the customer experience and is now seeing widespread adoption. Marriott International have even begun trialling Amazon Alexa in their hotel rooms.
Augmented reality and virtual reality are two more examples of innovative technologies that product teams are having to consider implementing into their digital product strategy. With companies like Wayfair, IKEA and Lowes demonstrating the practical uses of AR and examples such as Pokemon Go showing the potential mass adoption of the tech there is a clear incentive for brands to consider an AR feature.
Bots and automated assistants are also changing the way brands deliver customer service and allowing product teams to automate large parts of the customer journey. With brands such as Starbucks smoothing the ordering process and reducing actual human interaction to the handing over of your coffee to you by a barista. Another great example is Sephora’s make up tutorial suggesting to the user what products would suit them and how to go about purchasing said products.
6. Monetization strategy
As product management teams evolve to take up a more comprehensive role within a company’s structure they must increasingly consider how their products are delivering on their organizations financial objectives. A digital product, for most brands, is a means to securing a purchase.
Innovations like Alexa allow people to order a pizza just by using their voice with the supplier already remembering the users food preferences, delivery address and payment type. Retail sites recommending ‘products you may like’ and ensuring that the checkout process for customers is as frictionless as possible are all designed to drive monetization of a digital experience.
To find out more about how brands are positioning themselves in this newly expanded digital ecosystem and facing up to these challenges, download our free whitepaper here: https://bit.ly/2IILYhq
