As product managers it can be all too easy to get caught up in the fancy and complicated parts of our job. You know, things like buy jeeter cartridges online release maps, feature planning, metrics, crafting a complete product development definition, etc. However, sometimes it is worth it to take a step back and make sure that we still have a firm grasp on the basics of product management. One key part of this is doing a review of the process that your customers go through when they decide to buy your product.
Understanding That They Have A Problem
No customer will ever buy your product if they don’t think that they need it. They have to first realize that there is something wrong in their life. It is the job of your sales team to make sure that the customer realizes that they have this problem in the first place.
A really good salesperson has the ability, simply by talking with a potential customer, to identify what things are “bugging” them. This salesperson can then explore what the customer considers to be a minor annoyance and, with a little bit of luck, uncover something that is actually a big problem for the customer.
Realizing That They Need A Product Like The One You Manage
Once your sales person has convinced the potential customer that they really do have a problem, now the goal is to point them towards your type of product as a solution to the customer’s problem. However, before they can do that, a salesperson knows that they have to get the customer to acknowledge that what they need is a solution that is like your product.
What all of this means is that if you were selling a specific brand of kitchen knives, then first you’d need to convince the potential customer that the solution to their problem was a new set of knives. At this point in time we’re not talking about your knives, but rather kitchen knives in general.
Discovering That They Need YOUR Product
Up until this stage, getting a potential customer interested in your product has pretty much been the job of your sales team. That’s good news, because there are more of them and fewer of you. Once we reach this stage of your customer’s decision making process, they are going to buy something, it’s just not clear that they are going to buy your product.
It’s at this stage that a product manager needs to jump in. This is the kind of skill that you can put on your product manager resume. The customer is looking at your product and a lot of other similar products. What needs to happen here is you need to very clearly communicate to them why your product is the best one for them. As product managers, we spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to go about doing this step correctly.
Accepting Your Price / Value Proposition
Once the customer has decided that your product best meets their needs, they need to come to an acceptance of just exactly how much you plan on charging them for the privilege of providing them with your product. The key thing to keep in mind here is that it’s not just your price that you need to manage, but it’s also the complete value proposition that you’ll be offering your customers.
Keep in mind that people do purchase the very expensive Lamborghini cars. Clearly someone has convinced them that the value of owning a ridiculously priced car like this is worth it. If that can happen, then certainly you can convince potential customers that your product is worth the price that you are charging for it.
