Let’s say you already invested resources to develop a product people love. Your efforts shouldn’t end there. Profitability is the goal of any business, including ecommerce businesses like yours.
But how do you ensure your e-commerce business’s growth and expansion even after a product launch? Through product management.
Learn how to ensure efficient product management in business with this article.
What is product management?
Product management is the process of planning, creating, launching, and managing a product. Product managers guide a product from idea to launch and beyond.
Note that product management is different from project management. Product management in business focuses on the entire product life cycle. Meanwhile, project management centers around product development and launch.
Put it another way, the product manager focuses on the product strategy. The project manager, meanwhile, focuses on work coordination. They plan, organize, and oversee timelines. Delivering the product on time is a key role of the project manager.
How efficient product management scales your business
An efficient product management process will help you scale your ecommerce business. Let's explore its key elements.
1. Product vision definition
The product manager needs to define the product vision. It serves as a guide for all stakeholders and outlines the product’s long-term purpose and direction. A clear product vision acts as a guiding star for the entire development process, ensuring every team aligns with your business's goals. To effectively articulate this vision, consider the supporting resources you need, such as product management tools or when to review alongside alternatives that allow you to discover product management templates beneficial in strategizing the vision.
The product vision statement needs to be aspirational but realistic. It should answer why your ecommerce company is creating the product. It should also show the value you want to provide users. With it, answer what you hope your product accomplishes over time.
Check out Uniqode’s product vision statement on its website:
It’s clear and complete. The brand also stays true to the product vision statement. How?
Uniqode’s QR codes and e-cards contain features that protect business data. They offer multi-factor authentication and offer detection for anomalous scans. The product has a phishing URL detection feature and is GDPR and HIPAA-compliant. You can also limit the internal use of data through single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and role-based access.
The products also make it easy to “share links and contacts.” With QR codes, these links and contacts are a scan away. Users of digital business cards can also collect contact details of their leads through a two-way contact-sharing feature via an Apple or a Google wallet pass, for example. The contact information collected through the QR codes and e-cards can be used to create a digital address book, allowing you to manage and access your contacts. You can customize the information fields in your digital address book based on your requirements.
A product’s vision often comes from the product owner. The product owner maximizes the value of the final product delivered. To do this, they manage the product backlog and make sure the team follows the product roadmap.
The product manager ensures the product vision materializes. They focus on high-level tasks, define product requirements, and craft the product strategy.
For this, the product manager analyzes the market. They try to understand the needs and pains of potential customers while learning about trends and the competition. We’ll talk more about competitive analysis later.
The product strategy will be the reference document as the product develops. Some details of the product roadmap are bound to change as you go. These details can include deadlines, business goals, tasks, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Even budgets in a product roadmap can change.
A great product strategy will help the ecommerce business since it will be more equipped to deal with any obstacles or changes. It will also be able to make data-driven decisions that align with the product’s ultimate vision.
For instance, a great strategy will have information on product growth and monetization.
So, say, an ecommerce business announces other product features along the way. It will be easier for the product management team to set data-backed product costs.
2. Segmenting the market
Segmenting the market helps ecommerce businesses find distinct customer segments. Each segment has unique needs.
As we said earlier, product managers do careful market research. Now based on this research, they can segment the target audience by using criteria like demographics, psychographics, and behavior.
Product managers tailor their offerings after identifying target segments. They ensure the offerings meet the specific needs and preferences of each segment. So, the product strategy may involve creating different product types and new pricing strategies.
Additionally, the segments enable the product owner to create personalized marketing campaigns. We’ll talk more about product marketing later.
3. Strategic competitive intelligence
As part of market research, ecommerce businesses also gather data about their competitors.
Product managers identify direct and indirect competitors. They gather strategic intelligence about them and use the information to conduct a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Spo, product managers assess their competitors' market positioning and also look at their products, prices, where they sell, and how they market.
Product managers collect this competitive intelligence by conducting competitor benchmarking. They may use a wide variety of sources and tools including industry reports, competitor websites, social media, or surveys. They may also conduct interviews with customers and other stakeholders.
Product managers can use this information for product development, pricing strategy, market entry, expansion, and positioning. The ultimate goal is to drive ecommerce business growth and profitability.
Besides that, they can find and fix threats. These threats may impact the ecommerce business's competitive position. They can range from new entrants to disruptive technologies, regulatory changes or even shifts in consumer mind and behavior.
Product managers also update their competitive intelligence. That’s because the business landscape and competitor strategies are fluid. By updating their competitive data, they can keep their advantage in the marketplace.
4. Market positioning
Market positioning takes place after understanding customer needs and the competition.
In general, businesses should create a clear identity for their products. They do this through market positioning. The product identity should resonate with the target audience. It should set it apart from competitors.
A product manager can identify the features that set their ecommerce product apart. They are good at understanding product features, product quality, and performance. They also excel in customer service and other areas. The product manager role requires a full understanding of all these.
Then, they can highlight these differences in a value proposition. It's a short statement that explains why people should choose the product. It ensures the product becomes the one the consumer prefers.
Check out this great product positioning by Coda:
Based on Coda’s research, users find Google Docs has limited features while Airtable and Notion lack user flexibility. So, Coda promotes itself as a product that fills that market gap.
Product managers use marketing channels and tactics to show their market position. We’ll get to product marketing later. Suffice it to say that the positioning strategy should be the same across all channels or touchpoints. The goal is to make the brand's identity clear and differences clear in the minds of consumers.
But product market positioning is not cast in stone. It needs to change over time and must align with new consumer preferences and with competition and market trends. Product managers should track these factors and adjust as needed.
5. Cross-functional collaboration
Remember, product managers don’t make the product. They rely on other departments for coding and product testing.
So, to launch and grow a product, everyone must know the ecommerce company's vision.
That's why a cross-functional collaboration culture in business is key. Each team member should help make the product to ensure its success.
Product managers ensure cross-team cooperation in an organization by:
Emphasizing vision and goals. The product manager ensures the development team understands the vision for the product. This way, they create a common purpose that will break down silos for product success.
Highlighting efficient communication. Product managers make sure that the product team and sales team communicate. As a result, everyone is aware of their core responsibilities. They'll also know how to contribute to the business strategy.
Encouraging constant feedback. Product managers create feedback loops to gather insights from any stakeholder. Stakeholders include users, customers, and internal teams. The feedback helps with product prioritization and can improve the product. It can create a culture of always getting better.
Holding regular check-ins. Product managers hold regular meetings or check-ins typically via tools such as Slack. They do this with key stakeholders responsible for the success of the product. This includes reps from product development, sales, marketing, and support.
These interactions provide an opportunity for teams to raise challenges. They also serve as venues to come up with possible solutions.
6. Continuous performance assessment
Ecommerce businesses, just like other types of businesses, need to measure performance. That's the only way they will know if they're headed in the right direction. Whose responsibility is this? You guessed it: the product manager.
Product leaders rely on data-driven insights. So, they assess the ecommerce product's performance against established KPIs. Some of the KPIs include customer churn, revenue growth, and market position. They may also look at the number of users, knowledge base analytics, and customer satisfaction. Tracking these metrics gives product managers valuable insights into product performance. In an e-commerce knowledge base, it helps to get an idea of what keywords users are mainly looking for, the performance of each article, etc. A product like Document360 will provide a detailed analysis of Knowledge bases. These, in turn, will help e-commerce businesses make informed decisions in every cycle.
They may also look at the number of users and customer satisfaction. Tracking these metrics gives product managers valuable insights into product performance. These, in turn, will help ecommerce businesses make informed decisions in every cycle.
Efficient product management in business often leverages Agile methodologies which are more adaptable to change. Examples are Scrum and Kanban.
Scrum is an agile team framework. It uses collaborative, iterative cycles called sprints that last 2-4 weeks. The framework assigns specific roles: the scrum master, product owner, and development team. Scrum also describes products in artifacts like product backlog, sprint backlog and increment.
Kanban is an Agile product management method that uses the idea of continuous improvement and focuses on visualizing and optimizing workflow. So, work items flow through the system. Kanban does not have fixed iterations or sprints, unlike Scrum. The framework does not prescribe specific roles either. Instead, roles and duties can vary and depend on the team and the organization.
Check out this Kanban board example.
Either way, both Kanban and Scrum promote iterative development. The goal of using Agile is to have a functional product at the end of every stage.
These methods also allow product teams to collect customer feedback via customer interviews or surveys.
Agile product leadership uses insights gained from these to make incremental updates in regular sprints. The goal is to boost product value and the user experience.
7. Operational readiness
Operational readiness is key to a successful ecommerce product launch. It ensures all systems are in place and are working, and support for ongoing product operations.
The process starts with careful planning. Product managers work with cross-functional teams to assess existing capabilities. They identify areas requiring improvement to support the product launch.
Product managers create the needed infrastructure, systems and processes. These should support the ecommerce product’s production, distribution, and delivery. So, this step may involve upgrading or implementing new software systems, optimizing production processes, or setting up efficient logistics to handle demand.
Ensure you train your teams to support your product launch and growth. Product managers can work with HR on this. They can design training programs to give employees the skill they need to follow the product roadmap.
Ecommerce businesses can also hire third-party providers for the training. But, product managers should still have a say in selecting providers to ensure that training sessions match the product goals.
Some of the common areas they can ensure every employee excels in include:
The product features and functionality
Customer service protocols
Operational procedures.
Basic sales techniques
The focus of product managers is to get the ecommerce company and its customers ready. Also, they ensure external stakeholders–such as suppliers and service providers—align with the ecommerce’s goals and growth trajectory. To ensure alignment, product managers may negotiate contracts for smooth collaboration and execution.
Product managers conduct risk assessments to find potential threats. The goal is to develop strategies to mitigate them. This way, they ensure the ecommerce business can handle more demand and focuses on growth opportunities. Product managers should have backup systems and contingency plans to help cushion the ecommerce business from risks.
8. Brand promotion
Promoting your ecommerce brand helps you increase your visibility. It also enhances how consumers see your brand. The goal of brand promotion is for consumers to buy from the ecommerce business.
Product marketing entails using marketing strategies to boost the visibility of an ecommerce product.
Product marketing
Product managers play a pivotal role in product promotion.
The product marketing manager crafts marketing plans and oversees their execution.
Product managers also work with product marketing teams to develop these strategies that cater to the target audience and market dynamics. These may include:
content marketing
social media marketing
influencer partnerships
offline and digital events.
Product managers should use various offline and digital marketing channels to reach more people and maximize brand exposure. If they have limited human resources, they can use advanced technologies like AI to save time. See how easy it is to repurpose an eCommerce product description into a social media post with this powerful paraphraser from Axios.
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Product promotion also aims to foster loyalty and advocacy for a product. Customer engagement can help in achieving this.
How can you achieve customer engagement in the first place?
By holding community-building initiatives. That’s why product managers may set up everything from social media forums and Q&A sessions as part of product marketing.
A project manager also works with branding and design teams to ensure the product’s identity aligns with that of the ecommerce brand. They leverage the following for this:
logos,
colors,
typography and
brand guidelines
Ultimately, the product identity should reflect the ecommerce brand's story and personality.
Why should ecommerce businesses maintain a consistent identity across its products? Because it ensures consumers also connect with the new product. Think about it. Customers already connect with the ecommerce brand's values. That means if product managers ensure these values are also reflected in the new product, customers will likely relate to it, too.
Effective product management for business success
Product management is critical to scaling an ecommerce business. When you scale your ecommerce product, you increase your revenue. You also expand your brand reach and stay ahead of the competition.
Do you want to ensure efficient product management in business?
Ecommerce businesses like yours should start by defining the vision for the product. Make sure teams from key departments work together. Measure how well the ecommerce product performs. Also, promote the brand and leverage market segmentation and positioning. Gather strategic competitive intelligence and ensure operational readiness.
Include all these elements as part of efficient product management in business. You'll enjoy a healthy product lifecycle that will propel your ecommerce business to success.
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