How to become a Product Manager?

Table of Contents

Product Management is the management of a product through its entire lifecycle. It involves product development, market launch and continuous focus on product improvement. “How to become a Product Manager?” falls in the Product Management category. We are living in a produce-or-perish economy. So, a product with a low performance will struggle for its survival. At this point, a Product Manager’s role comes into the picture.

Product Manager is a specialist assigned with the task to carry on the process associated with Product Management. So, he is responsible for taking the product to its successful stage. It is his task to ensure customer satisfaction along with meeting the objectives of the company as well as its stakeholders. He combines his ongoing research and the existing technology to design a quality product. Based on the inputs from the Research and the Marketing team, he develops a vision of the product and commits himself to see through it. His aim is to maximize the reach of the product to the masses. Now the big question is “How to become a Product Manager?”. It requires the right credentials and expert knowledge to become a contributing Product Manager.

How to become a Product Manager?

It is a highly responsible position to achieve a strategic goal through a consistent team effort. So, a Product Manager must possess sound knowledge and skills as stated below

Begin with committed research

The research goals should align with the organization’s goals. Product managers should be able to lead a team that can conduct a deep and ongoing research on the customer needs and pain points. Such needs form the basis for a robust product strategy. At this stage, it is important to ensure software compatibility and quality assurance testing. Only then, it can build an appealing product acceptable to the customers.

Develop a strong product vision

Anyone navigating on the web on “How to become a Product Manager?” must know that the Product Manager has to be a foresighted leader. There has to be a long vision and a thorough understanding of the business model. He must be able to foresee the invisible challenges coming in the way of superior product development. Based on the inputs received on trends and sales statistics, he should form a vision for his product. A sizable amount of time has to be devoted to create this vision for building a worthy product.

Analyze the features

He should have the expertise to keep a close watch on the evolutions happening in the market and his competitors’ moves. He must analyze the features, the cost and the capability of the product to satisfy the customers. The product should have the capacity to strengthen the company’s image. The strategic decisions related to the product should be in proper alignment with the engineering, marketing and the sales team. Preferably, he should share the vision with the team to invite bright suggestions for its improvement. He should be wise enough to convince his team on the strength of his vision and the significant features of the product.

Building a successful Product Roadmap

The product roadmap is a planning tool that covers the strategic vision, direction, evolution and the purpose of the product. Thorough research on customer needs, innovative ideas and feedback assists the product manager to develop a suitable product roadmap. High priority should be given to build this roadmap. It has to be linked to the product strategy and the desired goal. The product manager has to share this roadmap with the respective stakeholders to ensure consensus on its contents. He has to incorporate the feedback received from the stakeholders to further improve the quality of the roadmap. Finally, the aim is to convert the customer’s expectation into customer’s satisfaction.

Keep a track of the product life cycle

When a product is newly introduced, the product manager’s biggest challenge is to create a mass awareness of the brand. The response at this initial stage can define the lifespan of the product in the market. The reciprocation from the clients would assist the product manager to re-visit the product strategy.

With a positive response, the product advances to the growth stage. At this juncture, many competitors plunge-in to make a profit because the product has proved its worth. So, the product manager has to keep his product competitively priced.

Subsequently, the product loses its charm and moves to the maturity stage. Here, the growth almost stops because most of the customers have used the company’s product. So, the product manager tries to curtail the marketing expenses and focuses on retaining the customers as long as possible.

Finally, with a severe drop in demand, the product enters the decline stage because they are replaced by cheaper or better products. Here, the product manager makes an effort to re-invent the product and re-launch it.

Key skills

The answer to the question “How to become a Product Manager?” lies in developing the key skills. Firstly, the product manager should possess strong leadership skills. He has to lead a dedicated team for marketing and selling the product in an innovative manner. His team has to be fully equipped to follow the process of the product roadmap.

It is also a must to have acute marketing skills to understand the customers’ needs and changing demands. This helps in developing sound marketing strategies for a successful product launch and its high sales.

Technical skills can be an added advantage to meet the technical requirements of the clients. This is mainly for software and electronic products. So, with this knowledge, it will be easy to communicate the client’s expectations with the development team.

The Product Manager must also be a strategic thinker because there is a requirement for strategic planning and decisions in the regular functioning of the business.

He should also possess strong financial skills to create estimated budgets for the targeted product. The computation of the desired profit and the anticipated expenses is part of the business strategy.

Product Manager’s Qualifications

In order to know, “How to become a Product Manager?”, one has to check the Product Manager’s qualifications. Though there is no fixed qualification required for this position, the product manager should have a bachelor’s degree in statistics, economics or any related field. However, this job requires strategic planning skills and deep market insights. So, in order to prosper in this role, an MBA degree can be of great advantage.

Course by Henry Harvin Education

For the benefit of the readers, Henry Harvin Education offers an intensive course on “Product Management“

Conclusion

The Product Manager makes a significant contribution and can be considered as the backbone of the company. He has to review the key performance indicators on a frequent basis. If required, he has to arrange for the necessary training for the team. He must constantly study the market from the analyst’s reports to check whether it has an impact on the set strategy. He should initiate customer surveys to know the changes in the needs of the customers. In “How to become a Product Manager”, the main intention is to come up with a distinct product beneficial to the clients. Only such efforts can create utmost value in the minds of the clients.

FAQs

Why would Company hire a Product Manager?

A company’s business is to sell its products. Its objective is to create a product to meet the client’s expectations and generate profits. So, only a Product Manager can lead the company to meet its goals.

Is it a lifelong learning process for the Product Manager?

Yes. In this fast-moving global market, competition is becoming too stiff. As a result, there are frequent changes in the preferences of the customers and the demand for the products. So, the product manager has to keep evolving his skills and knowledge to stay among the best.

Is it advisable for a Product Manager to build MVP (Minimum Viable Product)?

Yes. MVP is a pilot project. So, it can test whether the product has the potential to attract new clients. It also helps to know whether its features can offer suitable solutions to the users. In case of a positive response from the market, the company can go ahead with the full-scale product development.

How to become a Product Manager when the threat of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is looming large?

There is a growing concern that AI will replace Product Managers. But AI has its own limitations in terms of cost and flexibility. Thirty years back, when computers and the internet made a sudden entry in the market, there was a similar threat. But it went on to create abundant job opportunities. AI can help in better functioning but can never replace humans.