It is one thing to read about the value of quality, but it’s an entirely different thing to experience the harsh consequences of its absence. I suppose some lessons are best learned through the school of hard knocks, and the value of quality was one of them. For obvious reasons, I won’t mention the name of the company, or the product, but trust me – the events described below did happen, and I had the dubious benefit of experiencing them first hand. Read the rest of this entry »

Join me, and hundreds of other Israeli product managers at the ProductX conference on December 15^th!

You may be pleased to find out that product management has earned its place in the sun within the Israeli hi-tech community. Over the last few years, the ProductX conference became the “annual gathering” of those involved in product management activities. It’s a great opportunity to hear about the latest trends in the field and learn new best practices.

More importantly – it is a place where “PM heads” can meet their peers, share experiences, and pick up some useful tricks of the trade.

This year’s ProductX conference will take place on December 15^th, at the AVENUE conference center in Airport City – Israel.

An impressive lineup of speakers will share personal ‘lessons from the trenches’ throughout the day and offer valuable tips.

The day is guaranteed to end on a high note. We have a unique opportunity to listen to a talk by the talented Dr. Kira Radinsky about machine learning and product management.

I personally attended the last two ProductX conferences – and truly enjoyed the experience. Granted, the facilities are nice and the included lunch is definitely a nice bonus – not to mention the coffee breaks and the yummy cookies!

But it’s not just about the food…

Let’s face it – a PM job is a lonely job. And there are very few people in the industry that know what we’re going through every day. Well… Here’s your chance to meet these “few people”.

So… if product management is “your thing” – don’t hesitate and get your tickets to the conference now!

And as a special offer to readers of this blog, remember to plug in the discount code “Baruch20” and get an immediate 20% discount!!!

See you there!

Earlier I described a few approaches for handling a customer crisis. I’d like to share a few incidents I happened to be involved in. As always, there’s the “theory” and then there’s “reality”. So while some of these incidents ended on a positive note, others became what I would politely call “valuable lessons learned”. For obvious reasons, I will cannot name the customers, or the company I worked for at the time. But I assure you that the events described below did happen, at least according to my own personal memory…

Read the rest of this entry »

Needless to say, your product or service offering lives and dies by its customers. While every customer counts, some customers count a bit more. Indeed, the amount of revenues a major customer generates for your company is very important, but so are customers who are willing to become a reference. These “reference customers” are an important asset that you must invest in building. Read the rest of this entry »

While traditional media is controlled by professional editors who determined what will be published and when, social media offers means to communicate directly with customers, partners, investors – in short with the world. By the term ‘social media’ I am referring to a whole range of tools such as blogs, social networks and messaging tools.

So what are some of the social media tools out there?

• Company Blog: if your company doesn’t have one, it’s time to create it… A company blog is a straight forward way to update its followers: customers, analysts, partners…and competitors. The blog enables you to deliver your messages in your own words, without depending on external editors. Blogs should be updated with new posts on a regular basis, since if you let your blog go stale, you may lose your audience.
• Social networks: powerful platforms for spreading your word. Ideal for posting short updates/messages which may refer readers to your website or blog for more information. Some social networks also allow you to build your own “pages” and acquire “followers”. The main social network that comes to mind is of course Facebook, yet there are many others that you should consider for your purposes. Check out the list of social networks websites. For example, if China is one of your target markets, then you should consider RenRen, or other leading Chinese sites.
• Virtual communities: these are online communities that share common interests. By joining these communities, you can share ideas with people from your field. You should of course join special interest groups within your favorite professional social network (e.g. LinkedIn), but you should also make an effort to find the leading communities in your area of interest. Check out this virtual communities list.
• Video sites: where you can host self-made, or professionally-made videos for a general audience. Video hosting sites can be used for example for delivering recorded presentations, or product demonstrations. One of the most popular ones is YouTube, but there are many other video hosting sites.
• Messaging tools: offer the ability to send short messages, with optional links to extended content. One platform that comes to mind is Twitter, whose messages (aka “tweets”) are referred to as “micro blogging”. But there are other messaging platforms, such as the Chinese popular WeChat
• Electronic Newsletter: regular updates by email to people who subscribe to a news letter issued by your company.

The variety of social media tools illustrate the power of this media, and the fact it is still evolving rapidly. Social media can be very powerful, yet it is not without challenges and pitfalls. As the term implies, social media is driven by a society of individuals. Anyone can post and share information, or publically comment on it. And yes, that includes disgruntled customers and competitors. The old adage “bad news travel fast” gets new meaning when it comes to social media.

I am not suggesting that one should avoid social media, but rather suggest you become aware of both its strength and weaknesses. Social media is here to stay, and it is a force to reckon with. As a product manager, you should definitely adopt a social media strategy for both your inbound and outbound activities.

Let’s start with the inbound activities. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that just about anyone whose opinion you care about has some level of social media activity. Industry analysts publish blog posts, issue tweets and publish newsletters. Companies within your target market author blogs, issue newsletters and maintain Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. And once you identify key people within your existing and potential customer base, you can follow their activities within social networks and virtual communities and learn about their opinions and activities. Naturally, social media is also an effective way to gather information about your competitors.

As a product manager you are responsible for gathering information about your target market and customer needs. This type of information builds your ‘knowledge base’ and is very handy when negotiating features and roadmap with your development team. Social media is definitely an important source for gathering market information, yet it should augment rather than replace direct customer engagements and personal conversations with industry analysts.

The outbound activities are a bit more challenging. As a product manager, you possess a great deal of knowledge about your company’s products/services, and the industry you operate in. You are therefore an excellent resource for disseminating such information through social media. Your knowledge and experience can be used for authoring the company blog, contributing to its Twitter feed, and generating posts on other social media pages. You can also voice opinions and share knowledge about your company offerings within virtual communities. Your path to becoming a “social media maven” is wide open. But not so fast…

Outbound social media activities require time, effort and skills. Starting a company blog and then neglecting to update it regularly may do more harm than good. Failing to quickly respond to comments made on posts you issued, especially negative comments, can be quite harmful. And if you lack the skills required to communicate a message eloquently, succinctly, and with some pizzazz, your social media activities may be ignored at best, or worse – generate negative sentiment.

People tend to underestimate the time and effort required to create a blog entry or a social media post. Creating succinct, engaging and informative content can be very time consuming. Before embarking on a social media writing adventure, it is recommended to seek guidance on how to create effective social media content. You can always start with a Google search on the subject (e.g. “how to write effective social media content”) and read some of the articles that come up. Plan to spend a few hours on creating each social media post, and make sure you get some feedback from peers before posting it live.

Usually you want the content posted in social media to reach a broad audience. This requires that the assets you use (i.e. company blog, Twitter feed, Facebook page, etc.) have a large number of followers. Expanding the social media community requires both efforts and budgets. The company social media assets should be promoted in all its outbound communications, including: website, press releases, marketing collateral, presentations, and more. The amount and quality of social media activity obviously helps; the more interesting and engaging your posts are, the more followers you gain. And you should also make an investment in promoting your social media assets through paid campaigns on your social platforms of choice.

So before diving head first into your company outbound social media activities, make sure you assess the time, efforts and skills required. If you realize you may fall short on any of these three, then you should either team up with, or hire someone who would compliment your product knowledge with social media knowhow and resources. Small firms may expect a product manager to be also responsible for social media marketing. However, when possible the company should allocate separate marketing resources to manage its social media activity and utilize the product manager as a content contributor.

Last but not least: your outbound social media strategy and activities should be aligned with other traditional outbound marketing activities. To that end, it is critical that the messaging and positioning of the company and its product/services are clear and agreed upon. With the rapidly growing number of channels used to communicate your company messages, it is highly advisable that the messaging be put in writing and circulated among all those who spread the word – through traditional and social media.

One of the most effective ways to increase customers’ awareness of your product or service is through the public media. Referencing your product/service in trade publications, magazine articles, websites, and blogs helps deliver your messages to a target audience. Customers often perceive the public media as a more objective information source compared to your own sales collateral. Favorable coverage by the public media has therefore a better chance to resonate with customers. Read the rest of this entry »

Most industries have ‘analysts’ who track and report major industry trends, key customer needs and vendors offerings. While some analysts may work individually, most industry analysts work for ‘analyst firms’. The larger analyst firms employ specialists in a broad range of market segments and technologies, thus combining multiple disciplines to create comprehensive market reports. Analyst firms that managed to build a powerful brand in specific industries have a lot of influence on the market, and are a force to be reckoned with. Analysts exercise their influence in several ways: quotes in the media, published reports, conferences, and one-on-one engagements.

Analysts are often quoted in media articles. Most editors who cover a specific industry tend to call an analyst and ask him or her to comment on a recent development in the market. For example, if a vendor makes a new product announcement, editors who wish to report on the announcement are likely to contact an analyst and get his/her perspective on the product. This is also true when an article is written about a particular industry trend; an analyst will likely be asked to contribute his views to the specific media piece.

Market reports are another important vehicles for analysts to exercise their influence. Most analysts firms regularly publish reports on specific markets, individual vendors, and customer needs. Some of these reports may be free, while others are available for a fee. Analyst firms also conduct independent market surveys and the results are included in published reports. For certain market and technology categories, analyst firms may publish an annual report on the “state of the industry”. Such reports may also include vendor rankings and recommendations. Analyst firms also publish quantitative reports, which include market sizes, growth rates, and vendors market share.

Conferences are another area where analysts exercise their influence. They are often invited to give a talk, publish a paper, or participate in a discussion panel. Attendees often consider the messages communicated by analysts in such conferences as far more “objective” than vendors’ presentations. Some of the largest analyst firms also hold their own conferences on specific industry topics. Naturally, what analysts communicate in conferences is often echoed in the press and media.

Lastly, analysts spend a considerable amount of their time doing one-on-one engagements with customers and vendors. Discussions with customers help analysts gain deeper insights into the market needs. By gathering feedback from a large number of meetings, analysts can develop a comprehensive view of customer needs and priorities. These individual engagements are also an opportunity for customers to seek advice from the analyst, based on his/her broader view of the market. The individual meetings with vendors help analysts understand the current state of the art in technology and solution development. Some vendors use the opportunity to probe the analyst for feedback and advice on their product roadmap.

All in all, analysts can have a major influence on your product or service success. A favorable analyst quote in the media lends credibility to your offering; positive ranking in an industry report definitely helps buyers choose your offering; and you’d naturally like analysts to recommend your product or service next time they meet with a customer executive. So how do you get analysts on your side?

Analysts Relationships (AR) should be an important part of your marketing plan. Investing in AR will go a long way to support your marketing efforts. As the name suggests, it is about building relationships with analysts, so make sure your AR efforts are ongoing and done with a long term view. Here are several guidelines for you to consider as part of your AR initiative.

• Know your analysts: every industry has its own list of analysts and analyst firms – take the time to find out who they are. Simply scan articles in the trade press, press releases, conferences agendas, and industry related reports. You should identify the individual analysts who are the ‘movers and shakers’ in your industry.
• Establish a dialog: analysts are not reclusive people. They constantly seek to form relationships with key customers and vendors. Find the right way to introduce yourself to the analyst – by email, phone, or in person (e.g. at a conference).
• Listen first: leading analysts have in-depth perspective on the industry. It is definitely worth listening to what they have to say, before stating your own views. Remember that mediocre analysts also have an ego, and while you may not fully appreciate their opinions – then certainly do. So be humble, and listen first.
• Avoid hard selling: analysts listen to numerous vendor pitches. Most of them can spot a “story” when they hear it. Be genuine in your interaction with them; share the supporting evidence for your views on the market. Be open to a discussion and be prepared to change your mind if need be.
• Seek advice: analysts may be in a position to provide you with valuable feedback on your product or service plans. They have insights into what your competitors are doing, and have ongoing dialogs with multiple customer executives. Soliciting their input on how to positioning product can both help you, and gain their trust.
• Become an information source: analysts are thirsty for genuine knowledge about the industry. As a PM, you have access to information about customer needs, technology trends, etc. Plus you know your product and service better than any analyst would ever do. Maintain integrity and build the rapport so that you are viewed as a trusted information source.
• Engage early and often: don’t wait till the moment you announce a new offering to disclose it to an analyst. Keep in mind that they wish to be part of the process, and have access to “inside information”. It is recommended that you provide analysts with “non disclosure” updates early on. Get their feedback on the direction of your product and service development. By the time you announce it, they should be fully on board.

Naturally, you should determine the type of proprietary information you share with analysts and the timing. Leading analyst firms are well aware of the need to protect the confidentiality of information they receive from customers and vendors. However some 2^nd and 3^rd tier analysts may be less stringent about it. What to share with whom and when is a fine line to walk. AR specialists can provide you with specific background on individual analysts and recommend the appropriate “rules of engagement”.

Beyond relationship building, there is also the “pay to play” approach. Most analyst firms will author custom reports for a fee. These reports may include “product reviews”, “customer success” stories, or “industry trend” analysis. While in theory none of these custom projects should influence the independent industry reports the analyst firm produces, in actuality they can sometime help. It is therefore recommended to consider commissioning selected analysts to author “whitepapers” that show case your product or service.

Since “commissioned whitepapers” are a known industry practice, their objective value may vary in customer eyes. Some analysts firms are reputed to be fairly objective even with commissioned whitepapers, and are therefore considered a “seal of approval”. Other firms are known to write whatever the paying vendor asked for, and the value of having their name on the whitepaper is significantly lower. This is where an AR specialist can help guide your time and money investment.

The role analysts play in the success of your product or service may vary depending on the market and the industry you are in. In the information technology (IT) industry for example, analysts play a major role. Some analyst firms (e.g. The Gartner Group) are considered a major source of information and their industry reports guide the decisions of key customer executives. If your industry is similar, then consider analysts relations as a critical part of your job as a product manager.

AR specialist can help with introductions and provide you with individual background, but it is up to you to build the rapport, the trust and the information exchange with the analyst. And when the time comes, these relationships will produce a major return for your product or service.