Product Management - Multi-Product Paralysis

by John Mansour |06.03.2007

The initial stages of paralysis begin the moment your company has its second product; two products, two agendas, and two sets of priorities.

As the high technology market continues its torrid pace of consolidation, many companies struggle to manage the mishmash of products, processes, cultures, geographies and priorities. This can quickly lead to paralysis if not remedied early on.

Enter product management into the equation. Assuming your company deems the function of product management as something more than “the enhancement list department,” product management should be leading the charge to not only prevent paralysis but condition the company to run well synchronized relay races.

The remedy is simple. Transform your company from a product to a solutions culture and simplify life for everyone. Think of each product as a feature and consider which features should be integrated to form solutions for specific vertical markets. The end result is a portfolio of industry specific solutions that your target customers perceive as higher value, e.g., payment processing solutions for retailers, data security solutions for banks, etc.

Here are three symptoms to watch out for and the remedy for each.

Your view of the market is limited to horizontal product categories

If your market perspective is limited to horizontal product categories like CRM, workforce management, payment processing or data security, you’re fueling the “be- everything-to-everyone” fire.

At the end of the day, your customers are banks, telecoms, retailers and the like and you must view the market the same way your target customers view themselves. Market analysis must be done first from a vertical perspective so that each product line can assess how trends in each vertical market drive the need for specific product solutions. By combining horizontal and vertical perspectives you’ll get a sense for the product combinations that form the best collective solution for each market segment. Multi-product solutions positioned in context of vertical market issues are the easiest way to increase average deal size.

Each product is marching to its own strategy

It’s the kiss of death if your products have complementary value to one another. If you’re a product company, the collective strategies of each product form the bulk of the company (or division) strategy and if each product strategy is created independently, you end up with multiple #1 priorities. Can you feel the paralysis setting in?

Create your company strategy from the top down and let the market landscape drive everything, including the strategy for all products collectively. Assess the vertical segments to determine which are most lucrative for you. Align product priorities accordingly to penetrate your most profitable market segments.

Your value propositions are product specific

Your prospective customers (banks, telecoms, retailers, etc.) want to know how your products address issues specific to their business. If your product messaging is generic, it applies to everyone, which really means it applies to no one because it’s too generic.

Create value propositions in context of the type of customers you’re selling to and make sure those value propositions encompass multiple products. Relevance is the key to meaningful positioning. If you have a migraine headache, do you buy aspirin or Excedrin for a Migraine Headache?

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Last Updated ( 09.15.2008 )

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