The Pragmatic Marketer: Volume 7, Issue5
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The document summarizes updates made to the Pragmatic Marketing Framework. Some key changes include: 1) Market Problems was moved to the cornerstone of the Framework and Market Research was combined with it. Win/Loss Analysis was also added to the Market column. 2) Distribution Strategy was added to the Strategy column to reflect how technology solutions are distributed. Product Portfolio and Product Roadmap were also moved here. 3) The Planning column added an activity called Buying Process to align selling processes with how buyers actually buy. 4) Business Case was renamed to Business Plan to better reflect the planning involved. Product Performance and Operational Metrics were combined into Product Profitability. 5)
The Pragmatic Marketer: Volume 7, Issue5
- 1. 7 5 2009 The Product Management Triad Top 10 Tools Updating the to Measure User Experience Pragmatic Marketing Framework The Strategic Product Manager and the CFO
- 2. Participate in the 10th Annual Product Management and Marketing Survey What is the difference between product management and product marketing? 2008 Product Manager Product Management VS. Product Marketing There’s an on-going discussion in virtually every company about titles and responsibilities in product Monitoring development projects management. This graph Writing product requirements from our 2008 - 2009 Researching market needs survey (pragmaticmarketing. com/survey) shows that, in Preparing business case practice, these titles have Writing detailed specifications much overlap. Visiting sites (without salespeople) Creating sales presentations and demos Each year, Pragmatic Creating promotional material Marketing conducts a survey with product Training salespeople managers and marketing Planning and managing marketing programs professionals. Our objective Going on sales calls is to provide information Performing win/loss analysis about compensation as Measuring marketing programs well as the most common responsibilities for product Working with press or analysts managers and other 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% marketing professionals. Visit PragmaticMarketing.com to have your say! Survey will be open November 2 - 24, 2009
- 3. The Pragmatic Marketer ™ 8910 E. Raintree Drive Inside this issue: Volume 7 Issue 5 • 2009 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Pragmatic Marketing, Inc. Founder and CEO 5 Updating the Pragmatic Marketing Framework™ Craig Stull By Jim Foxworthy and Steve Johnson Editor-in-Chief Periodically—and very carefully—we update Kristyn Benmoussa the Pragmatic Marketing Framework™ to align with current practices for marketing Editor technology solutions. Here is an Linda Sowers overview of changes to reflect today’s ————————————————— best practices in product management. Interested in contributing an article? Visit PragmaticMarketing.com/submit No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For advertising rates, call (480) 515-1411. Other product and/or company names mentioned in this journal may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are the sole property of their respective owners. The Pragmatic Marketer, a Pragmatic Marketing publication, shall not be liable regardless of the 14 The Product Management Triad cause, for any errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or By Steve Johnson other defects in, or untimeliness or unauthenticity of, the information contained within this magazine. Some product managers have Pragmatic Marketing makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees as to the results obtained a natural affinity for working with Development, from the use of this information and shall not be others for Sales and Marketing Communications, and others prefer to liable for any third-party claims or losses of any kind, including lost profits, and punitive damages. work on business issues. Finding these three orientations in one person The Pragmatic Marketer is a trademark of is an almost impossible task. Instead of finding one person with all Pragmatic Marketing, Inc. the skills, perhaps we should find three different people with more Printed in the U.S.A. specialized skills and have them work as a team. All rights reserved. ISSN 1938-9752 (Print) ISSN 1938-9760 (Online) 19 Top 10 Tools to Measure User Experience By Giovanni Calabro The one fundamental truth vital to web product development success is to know the mind of the user. This article provides a three-staged User Experience Measurement Hierarchy and also outlines a simple About Pragmatic Marketing® approach you can use to determine the best user experience Creator of the world’s most popular product management and marketing seminars, Pragmatic measurement tools and techniques for your web Marketing has trained more than 60,000 technology product management needs. product management and marketing professionals at 5,000 companies in 21 countries. As the thought- leader in the industry, the company produces blogs, webinars, podcasts, and publications read by more than 100,000 every year. Pragmatic Marketing has been honored four times by 26 The Strategic Product Manager Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing private and the CFO companies in America (2000, 2007, 2008, 2009), and in 2008 named a Comerica Bank Arizona Company By Jon Gatrell and John Mecke to Watch. Visit PragmaticMarketing.com to learn more. Give your CFO an opportunity to contribute, participate in the day-to-day workings of your product as a business, and you may just get a business partner who can help you and your product be more successful in the marketplace. The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 3
- 4. Pragmatic Roadmapping ™ Online or onsite at your company Align your product strategy with the market Do you need a practical and repeatable way to communicate product plans, strategy and vision? Recorded live, Pragmatic Roadmapping is a complete one-day seminar, presented in three parts you can watch all at once or spread over several days. Each session includes instructor-led, hands-on exercises to help you define, plan and complete your roadmap. • Align and focus the organization around the market not just your products. • Identify which projects to fund based on available resources and company strategy. • Communicate the roadmap internally & externally with just the right detail for each audience. Download a complete agenda and register at PragmaticMarketing.com/seminars Call (800) 816-7861 to conduct this seminar at your office
- 5. By Jim Foxworthy and Steve Johnson Updating the Pragmatic Marketing Framework The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 5
- 6. Updating the Pragmatic Marketing Framework Periodically—and very carefully—we update the Pragmatic Marketing Framework™ to align with current practices for marketing technology solutions. Having trained more than 60,000 product management and marketing professionals, some of these changes are the result of our training efforts and some the evolution of the product management discipline in 21st century technology businesses. Over time some things become more important, some less. We’ve seen an escalation of the importance of buyer and user personas. Social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are key elements in today’s marketing efforts. And e-books have become the preferred method of communicating thought leadership with a soft-sell orientation instead of traditional white papers and other “selling-oriented” materials. Business Positioning MarketingPragmatic Plan Plan Marketing So in June 2009, we revised the Pragmatic Marketing Framework—some items were moved, others renamed, a Market few added, or deleted—to reflect today’s best practices in product management. Problems Market Definition Pricing Buying Process Customer Acquisition Framework ™ This article steps you through the new version of the Framework. A Market-Driven Model for Win/Loss Distribution Buy, Build Buyer Customer Managing and Marketing Analysis Strategy or Partner Personas Retention Technology Products Distinctive Product Product User Program Competence Portfolio Profitability Personas Effectiveness STRATEGIC TACTICAL MARKET STRATEGY BUSINESS PLANNING PROGRAMS READINESS SUPPORT Improved workflow Competitive Product Innovation Launch Sales Presentations Requirementsabout that logical structure for a minute. Think Landscape Roadmap Plan Process You spend time in the Market trying to uncover& Demos The horizontal orientation of the Framework has unsolved market problems, right? You try to not changed. The activities on the left side are still determine whether or not the problems you’ve strategic; the activities on the right still tactical. It’s Technology Use Thought “Special“ discovered are pervasive and urgent, and if people been that way for more than 15 years. Collateral Assessment Scenarios are willing Leadership to pay to solve them. And then you Calls bring that inside the organization and start a We’ve streamlined the categories of activities comparison to your existing Strategy. Is this a fit (columns) to better flow from strategic to tactical. Status our strategic initiatives? With our portfolioEvent with Lead Sales of They now reflect the way many implement Dashboard products? IsGeneration this a business weTools to pursue at want Support the Framework, from market to strategy our company? to business and planning, to market programs and readiness, to on-going Once you get past that test, Business analysis Referrals & Channel Channel support. These sets of activities are References Training Support begins. Is this a good investment for us? Do all the (480) 515 -1411 I PragmaticMarketing.com Strategy, now labeled Market, financial numbers associated with the investment Business, Planning, work? Once you’ve cleared that hurdle, it’s© 1timePragmatic Marketing, Inc. 993-2009 to Programs, Readiness begin the process of Planning the actual solution and Support. you’re going to create. From there it’s all about go-to-market, so we plan out our Programs, Readiness, and on-going Support. Let’s cover the Framework changes, one column at a time. 6 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 7. Updating the Pragmatic Marketing Framework Strategy column Market Sizing was renamed Market Definition. Defining the market is much more than just counting the number of opportunities in a segment; it’s about understanding all the different details about that segment and why you should pursue it. Distribution Strategy is a new activity in the Strategy column. It’s just as important to understand how you’re going to market and deliver to the people who are planning to buy it, as it is to think about the product itself and whether or not it’s a good investment for you. The buyer may want to be sold differently and receive solutions differently. Where once technology companies determined distribution based on their existing channels, it’s now more important to understand how the buyer wants to receive solutions. More and more, product management is determining pricing and packaging, on-premise versus hosted, direct sales versus multi-tier versus web- based sales. How technology solutions are distributed is a part of the strategy, not an afterthought or driven by history and habit. We moved Product Portfolio and Product Roadmap to this new Strategy column. This is where you compare your new product idea to your existing portfolio and current Market column roadmap to evaluate whether or In the Market column we’ve always had an not this idea, in isolation, fits activity called Market Problems, and as you with the overarching goals of know if you’ve been to our seminars, that what you’re doing as particular activity is the absolute preeminent an organization. starting place. So we’ve moved it to the cornerstone of the entire Framework. We combined Market Research with Market Problems since after all, that’s the reason you do market research: to discover market problems. Next to Market Problems is Win/Loss Analysis; a form of discovery research, specifically focused on those who have recently evaluated your products. This activity is becoming more and more important, and Pragmatic Marketing’s 2008 Annual Product Management and Marketing Survey shows 37% of product managers are actively performing win/loss analysis. This has increased significantly from 17% in 2000 when we began surveying product managers. And remember that when you do win/loss analysis, you learn at least as much about the buying process as you learn about the product people were trying to buy. The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 7
- 8. Updating the Pragmatic Marketing Framework Planning column Positioning and Use Scenarios are still part of the Planning column—that hasn’t changed. There’s a new addition to the Framework—the Buying Process. Many marketing managers worry about the sales process and the associated sales tools, yet our research reveals many sales processes are out of alignment with the buying process. Let’s change that now! Product managers and product marketing managers should understand the way buyers buy and create tools to instrument the selling process accordingly. What matters is not how you want to sell but how they want Business column to buy. And if you understand how they want to buy, the steps Once you pass the they go through, then you should hurdles of your product mirror that with how you sell. strategy, it’s time to run the numbers. In the Business column, Business Case is For most vendors, buyers don’t use now called Business Plan. It’s a small and users don’t buy. Buyer and user change, but Business Case is just an personas have been cornerstones of our artifact; planning is much more than that. seminars and webinars since 2000 and continue to be important Business planning includes at least two for technology companies. A deep understanding of both Buyer artifacts and a number of inputs. We have Personas and User Personas help companies build products always covered these topics: now the activity buyers want to buy and users want to use. Buyer personas focus is more aptly named. your marketing efforts because a product won’t succeed if you can’t get people to buy it. Not only do you need to understand Pricing, Innovation, and Buy, how they buy, you need to understand who the buyers are and Build or Partner are still part of the why they buy. Equally important are user personas. Selling your Business column. product doesn’t matter if people won’t use it—and recommend it to their colleagues. User personas are critical to the development We’ve always encouraged you to look at process of your product because they reveal how users differ from Product Performance and Operational buyers—and also how they differ from your developers, your sales Metrics and the reason, of course, is so people, and your own executives. you can create a profitable product. We’ve combined these into a single activity, Lastly, in this column, Release Milestones was renamed Product Profitability, in the Business Status Dashboard. Release Milestones was focused on the column. Product Profitability is the key development tasks to deliver products to distribution; Status ultimate measure of a good business. Dashboard is something more. A status dashboard communicates Development is accountable for functionality overall organizational readiness. Not only is the code or device and schedules; Sales is accountable for ready, but the organization is ready to deliver it to customers. revenue. Product management should obsess about creating profitable products. It’s As the “single throat to choke” on product status, we encourage vitally important that marketing managers product management to maintain the dashboard for their understand their role in a “soft sense,” as products, whether on the intranet, a wiki or a periodic e-mail, the president of the product. If you’re the showing the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and current president of the product, the one thing project status. you should be held accountable for is product profitability. 8 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 9. Updating the Pragmatic Marketing Framework Programs column There are only three changes to this column. We added an activity called Program Effectiveness. You’ve probably heard people say “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Should you continue going to the big trade shows and conferences? Or should you start doing more webinars, podcasts and social media programs? Should you do both? Program Effectiveness answers that. Once you begin measuring, it’s easy to see what programs make sense and which should be discontinued. If you’ve attended our Effective Product Marketing™ seminar, you may recall the story about a young marketing professional who got promoted, ran into his senior executive in the hallway and got the following advice. “Don’t focus Readiness column on your efforts; focus on your results.” Meaning We moved Sales Process from the Product that it really isn’t important how many leads Planning column to the Readiness column. came from a particular marketing program, what The sales process should mirror the buying matters in the end is how many leads produced process. Collateral, such as white papers how many dollars of revenue. and e-books, are external documents that your sales teams provide to the buyer Thought Leaders was renamed Thought persona; Sales Tools, such as competitive Leadership. It seems like a small change in write-ups and ROI calculators, are internal words, but it reveals that you’re no longer just documents your channel uses to be more working with thought leaders; many of you now effective in selling. are the thought leaders. You’re providing thought leadership directly to your markets with blogging and other social media like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. With today’s new rules of marketing, Support column marketers don’t have to rely on the media and The Support column remains the same with industry analysts to be the thought leaders to the exception of renaming Answer Desk to tell their story; marketers can now tell their own the broader Channel Support. stories directly to buyers. The last activity in the Programs column is Referrals & References. It replaces Success Stories as a broader definition of how to leverage customers in your selling process, helping prospects evaluate your solution with people who already have experience with your organization. The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 9
- 10. Updating the Pragmatic Marketing Framework Business Positioning Marketing Pragmatic Plan Plan Marketing Market Problems Market Definition Pricing Buying Process Customer Acquisition Framework ™ A Market-Driven Model for Win/Loss Distribution Buy, Build Buyer Customer Managing and Marketing Analysis Strategy or Partner Personas Retention Technology Products So there it is: the Pragmatic Marketing Distinctive Product Product User Program Framework, updated for STRATEGIC Competence Portfolio Profitability Personas Effectiveness TACTICAL 2010 and beyond, based on enhancements that MARKET STRATEGY BUSINESS PLANNING PROGRAMS READINESS SUPPORT came from the market (you). We’ve tested this Competitive Product Innovation Requirements Launch Sales Presentations revision with current Landscape Roadmap Plan Process & Demos and potential customers, and received great Technology Use Thought Collateral “Special“ Assessment Scenarios Leadership Calls responses. We know you’ll find it aligns with the reality of product Status Lead Sales Event Dashboard Generation Tools Support management in your organization. Referrals & Channel Channel References Training Support (480) 515 -1411 I PragmaticMarketing.com If you’re new to us, ©1993-2009 Pragmatic Marketing, Inc. come to one of our seminars to learn how you can use the Pragmatic Marketing Framework as a systematic approach to define and deliver products to market. To create products that people want to buy. If it’s been a few years since you attended a Pragmatic Marketing seminar, come back for a refresher (New slides, new tools, new stories!). Want an updated copy of the Framework? Go to PragmaticMarketing.com to see the new Framework with definitions for all the activities. Download a copy to use in your internal presentations. Buy the poster to hang on your cubicle wall. Jim Foxworthy is an industry Steve Johnson is a recognized thought-leader veteran with more than 30 on the strategic role of product management years in the computer industry. and marketing. Broadly published and a Prior to joining Pragmatic frequent keynote speaker, Steve has been a Marketing, Jim was president Pragmatic Marketing instructor for more than of a consulting firm focused 10 years and has personally trained thousands exclusively on implementations of the of product managers and hundreds of company senior Pragmatic Marketing Framework. Contact executive teams on strategies for creating products people Jim at [email protected] want to buy. Steve is the author of the Product Marketing blog. Contact Steve at [email protected] 10 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 11. Job Interview? Use the Pragmatic Marketing Framework! Here’s a great tip: when you’re part of a product management job interview, take along your Pragmatic Marketing Framework. Whether you are a hiring manager or job candidate, referring to the Framework during the interview process can be a highly effective way to structure the conversation. Hiring Managers. One approach to an effective Candidates. It is always a great idea to have the interview is to refer to the Pragmatic Marketing Pragmatic Marketing Framework with you when you Framework and use it to explain the open position. interview for a new position. Convey to a hiring manager that you use a structured process for your Perhaps you used the activities in the Framework work, to show both competence and confidence. to divide work amongst multiple job titles. Using If they know the framework, you’ll build instant the Framework in an interview, you can identify the rapport; if they’ve never seen the framework, then activities this candidate will perform, along with any you look even smarter. hand-offs to other team members. The laminated version of the Framework is also an Or perhaps the ideal candidate needs to handle excellent tool to illustrate your view of a particular role all 37 activities on the Framework. In that case, use in a company. For example, if you are interviewing for the Framework to have the candidate talk about a position that will require you to be the “messenger the various activities and identify their strengths of the market,” the Pragmatic Marketing Framework and weaknesses. can be used to talk about how you would fulfill that responsibility. Perhaps you’d point at Market Problems or Win/Loss Analysis and illustrate with a prior set of job experiences how you used data from market interviews to drive product direction. Summary: Don’t be afraid to use the Pragmatic Marketing Framework during the interview. If the person across the table is also familiar with the model, you immediately have context for the balance of the interview. Maybe they will pull out their copy, and it will work like a secret handshake! The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 11
- 12. Are your product management and marketing teams overloaded with tactical activities, spending too much time supporting Development and Sales rather than focusing on strategic issues? The Pragmatic Marketing Framework ™ Business Marketing Positioning Plan Plan Market Market Buying Customer Pricing Problems Definition Process Acquisition Win/Loss Distribution Buy, Build Buyer Customer Analysis Strategy or Partner Personas Retention Distinctive Product Product User Program Competence Portfolio Profitability Personas Effectiveness STRATEGIC TACTICAL MARKET STRATEGY BUSINESS PLANNING PROGRAMS READINESS SUPPORT Competitive Product Launch Sales Presentations Innovation Requirements Landscape Roadmap Plan Process & Demos Technology Use Thought “Special“ Collateral Assessment Scenarios Leadership Calls Status Lead Sales Event Dashboard Generation Tools Support Referrals & Channel Channel References Training Support © 1993-2009 Pragmatic Marketing Visit PragmaticMarketing.com or call (800) 816-7861
- 13. Seminars emin ar! Living in an Agile World™ Requirements That Work™ NEW S Strategies for product management when Development goes agile. Methods for creating straightforward product plans that product managers can write and developers embrace. Practical Product Management® Principles of the Pragmatic Marketing Framework, Effective Product Marketing™ the industry standard for managing and marketing Repeatable, go-to-market process to design, technology products. execute, and measure high-impact marketing programs. Pragmatic Roadmapping™ Techniques to plan, consolidate and communicate New Rules of Marketing™ product strategy to multiple audiences. Reach buyers directly, with information they want to read and search engines reward with high rankings. Product Launch Essentials™ ar! Semin Assess organizational readiness NEW and define team responsibilities Executive Briefings for a successful product launch. Designed specifically for senior management, Executive Briefings discuss how to organize Product Management and Marketing departments for optimal effectiveness and accountability. In addition to the extensive published schedule, training can be conducted onsite at your office, saving travel time and costs for attendees, and allowing a much more focused discussion on internal, critical issues. Pragmatic Marketing’s seminars have been attended by more than 60,000 product management and marketing professionals.
- 14. The Product Management Triad By Steve Johnson Some product managers have a natural affinity for working with Development, others for Sales and Marketing Communications, and others prefer to work on business issues. Finding these three orientations in one person is an almost impossible task. Instead of finding one person with all the skills, perhaps we should find three different people with more specialized skills and have them work as a team. Strategy Business Marketing Positioning Plan Plan Market Market Buying Customer Pricing Problems Definition Process Acquisition Marketing Win/Loss Distribution Buy, Build Buyer Customer Analysis Strategy or Partner Personas Retention Distinctive Product Product User Program Competence Portfolio Profitability Personas Effectiveness STRATEGIC TACTICAL MARKET STRATEGY BUSINESS PLANNING PROGRAMS READINESS SUPPORT Competitive Product Launch Sales Presentations Innovation Requirements Landscape Roadmap Plan Process & Demos Technology Use Thought “Special“ Collateral Assessment Scenarios Leadership Calls Technical Status Dashboard Lead Generation Sales Tools Event Support Referrals & Channel Channel References Training Support 14 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 15. How do you organize product management product line. Now, for each product line, when there are multiple people involved with one person concentrates on product strategy varying skill sets? How any product managers and the business of the product line, do you need? What are their roles in the while another works with Development to company? Is product management a support build the best product, and another takes role or a strategic one? How do you use the the product message to the channel by various product management titles such as working with Marketing Communications product manager, product marketing manager, and the sales team. program manager, or product owner? Warning: Some companies attempt to Titles are poorly understood and defined put these three people in three different differently by many organizations. Every year, departments. They put the PLM into Sales to participants in Pragmatic Marketing’s Annual do business development; they put the TPM Product Management and Marketing Survey in Development and the PMM in Marketing identify hundreds of different titles for those Communications. This always fails. To work conducting product management activities. as a team, they must actually be a team. An ideal solution for many companies is the Having the TPM and PMM report to the “product management triad.” same person, the PLM, minimizes conflict and overlap, giving the team a common Some product managers have a natural objective. It has the added benefit of giving a affinity for working with Development, new director the chance to learn to be a good others for Sales and Marketing, and some manager of two people before getting five or prefer to work on business issues. Finding ten people to manage. these three orientations in one person is very difficult. Instead, perhaps we should Product management teams provide career find three different people who each possess paths from entry-level positions to director, one or more of these skills and have them all within the product line. work as a team. The product management triad includes a Execution vs. ownership strategist, a technologist, and a marketer. As shown in the graphic on the previous Start with a business-oriented senior product page, these three positions overlap. This manager responsible for product strategy. is deliberate. Execution of these tasks must Make this person a director of products be collaborative in order to succeed. For or product line manager (PLM). Now add example, Win/Loss Analysis is an excellent a technology-oriented technical product data source for Positioning and the Buying manager (TPM) and a marketing oriented Process. Your PLM and PMM ought to product marketing manager (PMM). perform win/loss visits together to ensure you gain the most value. Let’s look at an example of how applying the triad had success for a company of But do not confuse execution with nine product managers and nine products, ownership. Ownership of a task equates to one product manager per product. The accountability. As the executive leader of a salespeople disliked some of the product team structured this way, the PLM is held managers and loved others. The ones the accountable for win/loss analysis even when salespeople loved were hated by developers. the TPM and PMM gather the win/loss data. Applying the triad, they created three product lines with a PLM for each and then assigned a TPM and PMM to each Does this model make sense for you? The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 15
- 16. The Product Management Triad Director, Product Strategy Technical Product Manager The technical product manager The director of product strategy is responsible for defining has a business-orientation and is market requirements and responsible for the development packaging the features into product releases. and implementation of the strategic plan for This position involves close interaction with a specific product family. They maintain close development leads, product architects, and relationships with the market (customers, key customers. A strong technical background evaluators, and potentials) for awareness is required. Job duties include gathering of market needs. This includes identification requirements from existing and potential of appropriate markets and development of customers as well as recent evaluators, writing effective marketing strategies and tactics for market requirements documents or Agile product reaching them. This person is involved through backlogs, and monitoring the implementation all stages of a product family’s lifecycle. of each product project. The director of product strategy must: The technical product manager must: • Discover and validate market problems • Conduct technology assessments (both existing and future customers) • Analyze the competitive landscape • Seek new market opportunities by leveraging the company’s distinctive competence • Maintain the product portfolio roadmap • Define and size market segments • Monitor and incorporate industry innovations • Conduct win/loss analysis • Define user personas for individual products • Determine the optimum distribution strategy • Write product requirements and use scenarios • Provide oversight of strategy, technical, • Maintain a status dashboard for all and marketing aspects of all products portfolio products in the portfolio • Analyze product profitability and sales success • Create and maintain the business plan including pricing • Determine buy/build/partner decisions • Position the product for all markets and all buyer types • Document the typical buying process • Approve final marketing and go-to-market plans 16 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 17. The Product Management Triad How you implement the product management triad depends on your Product Marketing Manager organization and the skills of your team. Also consider having a role for your base The product marketing manager technology or architecture for issues that provides product line support span product lines. The “architecture” for program strategy, operational product manager can own acquisitions, readiness and on-going sales support. third-party partnerships, and common tools This position requires close interaction needed across all product lines. with Marketing Communications and sales management. Strong communication skills are Take inventory of the skills of each of the a must. Duties include converting technical product managers. Create an organization positioning into key market messages and chart of one triad per product line with launching new products into market. no names assigned. Now try to move the business-oriented staff (usually your senior The product marketing manager must: product managers) to the PLM positions, development-oriented product managers to • Define buyer personas and determine TPM and sales-oriented ones to PMM. The market messages remaining holes in your organization chart • Create the marketing plan including methods represent your new hiring profiles. for customer acquisition as well as customer retention • Measure effectiveness of product marketing programs • Maintain product launch plans • Deliver thought-leading content via events, blogs, e-books, and other outlets • Identify best opportunities for lead generation • Create standard presentations and demo scripts • Identify product references for industry and customer referrals Steve Johnson is a recognized thought- leader on the strategic role of product • Align sales tools and the ideal sales process management and marketing. Broadly to the typical buying process published and a frequent keynote • Facilitate channel training including speaker, Steve has been a Pragmatic competitive threats and related industry news Marketing instructor for more than 10 years and has personally trained thousands of product managers and hundreds of company senior executive teams on strategies for creating products people want to buy. Steve is the author of the Product Marketing blog. Contact Steve at [email protected] The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 17
- 18. Living in an Agile World ™ The strategic role of product management when Development goes agile How can you ensure an agile development team remains aligned to company strategy and market needs? No matter how agile your developers are, you’ll never build a successful product if the work being done isn’t focused on creating products people want to buy. • Create user stories grounded in market data, not just the opinion of team members, so product features are focused on solving real problems. • Create a backlog prioritized with market evidence because how else will you build a product that the market wants to buy? • Determine when a product should ship to align with market rhythms rather than when a certain number of features have been completed. The Stra tegic Role of Pro duct Managem ent When Developm By Steve John ent Go es son, Luke Hohm Agile ann and Rich Mironov ...the best job to date and yang of of describin APO (Agile g the APM (Agile Product Own yin Product Man er) and authors are ager). Mor exp eover, the product man erts in the field of soft agement so ware knowledge they speak and credibili with ty from the PM role. Dean Leffingwell / Scaling Softw are Agility Get a free e-book at PragmaticMarketing.com/agile Download a complete agenda and register at PragmaticMarketing.com/seminars Call (800) 816-7861 to conduct this seminar at your office
- 19. TOP 10 TOOLS TO easure User Experience By Giovanni Calabro The one fundamental truth vital to web product development success is to know the mind of the user. Why? Because there is What’s more, when determining whether a direct correlation between techniques used to measure an a website or web-based online customer’s experience and the ability application is meeting the needs of its audience(s), to persuade him or her to act. As more of our it’s important to separate aesthetics from function. daily activities, both personal and professional, For example, your product may be very well- are managed online, most organizations are designed and visually appealing to your users but responsible for multiple websites and web-based at the same time, can be functionally “unusable.” tools that serve a broad range of audiences: customers, prospects, employees, channel partners, We’ve all experienced unusable sites and regulatory agencies, etc. That means online applications. Whether it’s the online help site success depends on the ability to accurately provided by your cable or satellite provider, or measure a website or web the online banking system you use to pay bills. application’s performance Beautiful design can be painfully frustrating for unique target audiences for users. Alternatively, poorly designed sites on multiple levels across and applications may be quite functional, but multiple dimensions. fall far short in reinforcing the brand. Finding the appropriate balance between aesthetics and However, relying on function is a difficult task. Understanding and assumptions drawn measuring the user experience is the first step to from rudimentary achieving that balance. To remain competitive and measurements of retain customers, product managers need tools to user-centered design optimize both aesthetics and function. can’t provide sufficient data to tailor a website This article provides a three-staged User or web application to Experience Measurement Hierarchy and also your users’ unique needs. outlines a simple approach you can use to determine the best user experience measurement tools and techniques for your web product management needs. The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 19
- 20. Top 10 Tools To Measure User Experience Stages Need Recommended tools Ideally suited for… Stage Provides a basic 1. Heuristics Getting a big One sense of site or picture sense of web application 2. Expert Review performance and General Knowledge performance 3. Web Hits/Usage Analysis major weaknesses Stage Identify what users 4. User Testing Documenting Two are doing and where user behavior and problems exist 5. Session Analysis understanding Understand User Behavior 6. Online Surveys why users are not completing tasks 7. A/B and Multivariate Testing 8. Eye Tracking Stage Determine whether Measuring user Three a website or 9. Emotion/Trust Measurement thinking to compel Influence application is and persuade compelling 10. Neuro-Marketing users to act Your Users User Experience Measurement Hierarchy The majority of organizations sit at the bottom of the pyramid, having only achieved Stage One: General Knowledge of their users’ online experience. Due to the perceived cost and complexity of measuring user engagement, the widespread availability of user-centered design best practices, and significant cost pressures, this basic level is understandable. However, leading organizations in industries such as insurance, manufacturing, healthcare, travel/ hospitality and financial services, have made the migration to Stage Two: Understand User Behavior, and are seeing significant return on investment by way of increased revenue, reduced support costs and improved customer satisfaction. Even rarer are firms that have achieved Stage Three: Influence Your Users. While we’ve yet to see these tools widely adopted, they represent the future of user experience measurement. 20 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 21. Top 10 Tools to Measure User Experience Stage One 2. Expert Review 3. Web Hits/Usage Analysis General Knowledge An expert review is a rapid survey Web hits/usage analysis uses tools of a website/application from like Google Analytics, Omniture A basic sense of site or web specialists in user-centered design. and WebTrends to study the hit application performance Expert reviews can take you to pattern of your site or application. the next level of user experience They can give you a sense of The first stage of user experience measurement by systematically the number of pages visited and measurement involves very little rating the performance of viewed, the typical navigation measurement at all. At Stage One, your product on several flow, and key drop-off locations. organizations are typically working relevant dimensions: navigation You can also track statistics such with “heuristic analyses” or best effectiveness, content selection, as bounce rates and conversion practices to create assumptions visual presentation, branding, and metrics. When combined with about users. Whether performed interaction simplicity. An expert customer relationship management by an internal usability expert or review can often be done with a data, web hits/usage analysis can a usability consultant, the result short turnaround and can be used be highly effective in mapping and is an “informed guess” as to to develop a measure of all your understanding user behavior. what users need. web assets as well as identify areas that need the most attention. It’s important to remember, web Tools to find out general analytics/usage metrics rely on knowledge about the user include: assumptions about user behavior and how those assumptions 1 Heuristics . correspond to your web goals. So while these tools can help you Heuristics are de facto web determine the relative “success” of standards and research from your website in meeting business the cognitive sciences that goals, it’s difficult to know whether reveal a number of best you are truly capturing the needs practices in interaction styles, of your key target audience(s). page layout, and visual design. The knowledge you gain through Usability problems found web analytics tools may be too through a heuristic evaluation general to understand individual are typically linked to aspects user’s thinking and ultimately of the interface that are persuade them to act or change reasonably easy to demonstrate. their online behavior. For example, use of colors, layout and information structure, consistency of the terminology, The clear advantages of Stage One or consistency of the interaction user experience measures are they mechanism. are inexpensive, easy-to-use, can be quickly deployed and applied to many sites and applications. The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 21
- 22. Top 10 Tools to Measure User Experience Stage Two The best tools for understanding The advantage of user testing is you Understand User Behavior user behavior include: learn what the target audience can and can’t accomplish, understand 4. User Testing why users are having trouble, how Identify what users are doing to correct it, and receive direct and where problems exist User testing is highly effective in feedback. The disadvantages are The user-centered behavior metrics designing for specific user groups. obvious: it can be more expensive of Stage Two can provide an User testing can be done in person, to test individuals, especially in-depth analysis of obstacles to in a lab or focus group or even when you’re dealing with multiple accomplishing tasks on your site(s) remotely online, and involves user types and a large number and applications. interviewing individuals of test participants. In addition to who are representative of a testing facility and moderator your target audience. By asking costs, there are also costs to recruit In order to truly understand what them to accomplish specific, and compensate test participants. your target audience is doing representative tasks to determine Participants typically receive a online, you need to study a ease of use and recommend small stipend and refreshments. representative sample of individual improvements, you can gather first- Remote testing can serve as a more users first hand. In-depth analysis hand information about how users cost-effective alternative; however, typically is accomplished through are behaving and what they additional web conferencing user (usability) test sessions are saying about your site or costs apply. performed remotely or in person. application. User testing is often These sessions will reveal much most effective when it’s done more about how users are 5. Session Analysis early in the design process, before anticipating the site or how the development and visual design. Session Analysis involves studying application works and what design multiple single-user transactions, issues might stop a user from live or replayed based on certain accomplishing key tasks. criteria (e.g., error message present, drop-off at buy button). They can reveal a great deal of information about the user’s path and how to correct flow problems. Session analysis tools like TeaLeaf® are good tools for transactional sites and web applications. These tools provide detailed naturalistic web session analysis, monitoring and replaying individual sessions and capturing the user experience either live or replayed for specific individuals. Error messages, broken links, or users clearly deviating from the expected path reveals critical system weaknesses. The ability to produce a recording of an individual user’s sessions— including the page sequence, form inputs, button selections and actual HTML page served to the customer’s browser—can help find and correlate an individual user’s behavior to application errors. 22 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 23. Top 10 Tools to Measure User Experience 6. Online Surveys 7 A/B and Multivariate Testing . managed through a marketing automation tool such as SiteSpect Collecting larger population samples A/B and Multivariate Testing allows or OnDialog, it can also be easily through online surveys is a quick alternative designs to be tested and scaled and deployed with no and inexpensive way to capture measured with a small segment of regard to internal technology likes and dislikes, most common users. Nearly all high-transactional infrastructure, a significant benefit feature requests, and summary sites, such as, Yahoo, Google and for organizations with complex or information about a user persona. Amazon.com, use this methodology legacy infrastructure issues. It is important to collect larger which enables a comparison population samples to ensure that between the existing site and in-depth studies are representative the prototype site for conversion Stage Two User Experience of the target audience. optimization. Tools like SiteSpect Measurement tools such as User and OnDialog are just a few of Testing, Session Analysis, Online Surveys and A/B and Multivariate Companies like ForeSee Results the options available. Testing are ideal for understanding provide a variety of intercept survey what users are doing and where options integrating best practices The beauty of A/B and Multivariate they are experiencing difficulty. from web analytics, market research Testing is they offer the ability to Each has its own advantages and other tools, such as the isolate and assess the performance and disadvantages. While all can University of Michigan’s American of virtually every element of be used, each solves a unique Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a web site, landing page, or problem for marketers and product to help companies convert application. From page layout, managers. Fortunately for product satisfaction data into user-driven to headline text, to complete managers, each of these tools is web development strategies. color palette variations, A/B also widely available at varying and Multivariate Testing can be price points that can be customized highly effective in identifying what to meet your specific requirements. works and what doesn’t from a user’s perspective. Plus, when The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 23
- 24. Top 10 Tools to Measure User Experience Stage Three audience, product managers can The critical feature of these Influence Your Users gain powerful insight into critical technologies is to measure the data unavailable through any experience of your target audience other means: and understand what they find Determine whether a website compelling and appealing. Using or application is compelling these techniques, you can also • What first captures readers’ It has never been enough to “put attention when visiting the page identify which messages are most something out there” that basically effective and what dictates trust works. In order to influence • How often readers see the and positive emotion from your users, you must directly measure diversity of news and content website or web application. what users think. Websites and the publication offers applications must be compelling The disadvantages of these “higher • Where readers are looking to the users both to be successful level” measurement techniques versus where they actually click are many. They require more and for key influencers to spread the word about their positive equipment and analysis. Given experience. Increasingly, sites are 9. Emotion/Trust Measurement their lack of widespread adoption, ranked on their persuasiveness it can be difficult to achieve buy- Several early prototypes are using in within your organization to and influence on user thinking various measurements (e.g., skin pursue such an initiative. Finally, rather than just the ability to conductance, heart rate, facial due to the higher expense, product accomplish a goal. emotion detection, mood survey) managers are cautioned to develop to determine how users feel a realistic return on investment The following tools are ideal for while using sites and tools. There understanding user experience model before diving in. is an increasing consensus that and satisfaction: both explicit (survey) and implicit (emotion detection) tools are 8. Eye Tracking needed to really understand user Measuring and motivations and experience. Eye tracking is a well-established managing experience vision science technology that can be readily applied to user testing. 10. Neuro-marketing Although time and cost limitations exist in measuring user experience, It can record where users are While only a few tools there is a clear progression in looking first, what is capturing have made their way from user experience measurement their attention, and what they are neuroscience laboratories, sophistication: from general choosing to act on. Eye tracking there are some applications of knowledge to influencing user goes beyond measuring overt Electroencephalograms (EEG) behavior. No matter what level behavior and provides a window technology and functional of sophistication you choose, into the user’s thinking. Magnetic Resonance Imaging knowing as much information (fMRI) which are being used in about your users as possible helps Eye tracking studies are the commercial arena to measure craft a compelling experience particularly effective when engagement and emotional for your highest use sites and applied in an online publishing response to user experience. applications. environment; for example, These tools provide a window news and entertainment sites. into user satisfaction. By testing a subset of a target Giovanni Calabro has more than 10 years of experience leading interactive research and design efforts for a wide range of business sectors. Giovanni currently serves as Vice President of User Experience at Siteworx, a Reston, Virginia-based interactive agency and Web strategy consultancy. Giovanni is an avid writer and presenter on all topics related to the business aspects of user experience and user interface design. Contact Giovanni at [email protected], or visit the Siteworx blog www.siteworx.com/blog for deeper insights into user experience design and measurement techniques. 24 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 25. Product Launch Essentials ™ Plan and execute a successful product launch Are your product launch efforts focused on deliverables rather than results? Launching a product is more than following a simple checklist. A successful product launch is the culmination of many, carefully planned steps by a focused, coordinated team. Even good products can fail because of organizational issues, misunderstanding of roles and responsibilities, and a lack of a strategic approach to guide efforts. • Learn a repeatable product launch process to shorten the launch planning cycle, get the resources needed, and know what to expect at every step. • Understand the seven product launch strategies your team can use to maximize sales velocity. • Measure product launch progress with indicators that identify unforeseen issues before they become big problems. Download a complete agenda and register at PragmaticMarketing.com/seminars Call (800) 816-7861 to conduct this seminar at your office
- 26. Where are you from in the company again? Too many technology organizations promote from within—product managers, solutions consultants or outstanding support persons. This behavior has pluses and minuses. The pluses are evident—those employees know the product, the market, and they understand how the product is actually used versus how the product is marketed. While technology DNA abounds in most product management organizations, the soft spots often emerge The when it comes to managing a business. Ultimately, product management isn’t about delivering features, it’s about bringing profitable products to market. Strategic Marketing metrics How often is a product manager asked about average Product unit price of a given product, profitability of the product group or cost of support? How many product managers are forced to piece together anecdotal data from multiple systems in order to {fill in the blank}? Manager Practicing product management with partial data sets is the norm. In many organizations, Product Management’s view of the data is different than and the CFO Support, which is different than Sales, and definitely different than Finance. So where do you start? By Jon Gatrell and John Mecke The best place to start is Finance because they typically use the same numbers the board of directors use to validate your product’s performance. While the finance team may not have all the data a product manager needs, their numbers are what your organization ties back to, not that of Sales and Support. Got to know your numbers Microsoft Excel spreadsheets are everywhere; what’s a product manager to do? It’s not just the numbers that you work from, but also the way you work the numbers to deliver value for your CFO. There are effectively two kinds of CFO’s—strategic and non-strategic. One’s a leader; one’s a bean counter. It’s a shame. Finance is supposed to be about the strategic use of money, but too often, only focus on counting the top-line dollars. Do you have a strategic CFO or a tactical bean counter? This very much depends not only on how the CFO behaves, but also the leadership team and the rest of the business. If you expect a bean counter that creates pretty Excel tables, which are essentially scorekeeping for the CEO and board of directors, then that is what you get. Give the CFO an opportunity to contribute, participate in the day-to-day workings of your product as a business, and you may just get a business partner who can help you and your product be more successful in the marketplace. 26 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 27. Litmus test Q What was the gross margin of summary product line bookings by month is data. Understanding Conducting a litmus test to new customers last year? the key drivers behind monthly determine whether your CEO sequential changes or year-over- is a bean counter or a strategic Bean Counter Your P&L was year changes is information. leader is fairly simple. The running at 68% gross margin. Technology companies tend to get following questions and answers Strategic CFO Your new customers lost in their data. Differing political directionally identify which type are at ~62% gross margin factions in the company often you might be working for: try to use point pieces of data to or dilutive to the rest of the business. Check with Support justify their positions or tear down Q How many customers to see if there are new things their opponents’ positions. Strategic CFOs have seen this game played abandoned the product last driving up costs and work with before and recognize that at the year versus new buyers? Sales to see if we are still selling that product? It has a steep end of the day, it rarely moves Bean Counter We lost 2% revenue. the business forward. learning curve for customers and drags down the business. The strategic CFO plays the role Strategic CFO You lost 4% of your customers, which is 2% of Yes, the strategic CFO wants to of translating data into actionable the revenue. Can you help find know more and if you bring back information. Help your CFO and out how we might accelerate the right data, you gain a partner the entire organization become this trend with other customer at the company. The challenge more strategic by adopting segments? is if you have a strategic partner, strategies and techniques that you need some basic skills, not automatically translate data into Q What was the average deal just so you don’t get buried in the board room, but so you can speak information that can be applied on a daily basis. size last quarter? Is it lower than less marketing and more finance the previous quarter? and even more business. In this Strategic product managers should article, we use every-day concepts add the following four proficiencies Bean Counter We did better last to their repertoires. and regular speak to demystify quarter than the previous quarter the wonders of finance, at least in number of deals and bookings. • Financial literacy enough to help a product manager Strategic CFO The average deal size gain the basic modeling skills so • Flux analysis has gone down, but we closed you aren’t discredited when you more deals and bookings. Can go back with the answers. • Tier analysis you find out why and what is • Money wheel analysis the change in the deals? Product management is all about getting your organization to make Increasing your skills in these the best business decisions—to four areas enables you to help the achieve monthly, quarterly, and CFO and your company become annual objectives. Good decisions more strategic and effective in the are based on information—not marketplace. data. A spreadsheet containing Bean Counter You lost 4% of your customers, which is 2% of Strategic CFO the revenue. Can you help We lost 2% revenue. find out how we might accelerate this trend with other customer segments? The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 27
- 28. The Strategic Product Manager and the CFO how will you ever become Even though it was a large a strategic asset to company with greater than them? How can you $200M in revenue, it had serious honestly deliver a financial challenges. At the time compelling ROI they considered in-sourcing the statement for your solution, the company only had product if you $5M in cash on their balance can’t find your sheet and a limited revolving way around an credit facility. Once the sales team income statement realized the company would or a balance have to invest about 20% of their sheet? In fact, existing cash balance to make the financial illiteracy project work, they realized the costs technology customer had not been serious companies far about in-sourcing. Instead, they more than they were really looking to get a care to admit. massive price reduction. Armed with this knowledge, both parties Here’s a simple were able to structure a win-win case in point. deal that did not result in a 50% A technology revenue reduction. This is a classic company had example of how financial illiteracy a long-standing can directly impact your top and relationship with bottom lines. a customer in which they provided Product managers should a value-added outsourced solution be able to: that cost over $1.5M a year. After a change in management, the • Locate financial statements and customer decided to re-examine public SEC filings on the web Financial literacy its investment in the outsourced • Read and interpret, at a high solution. A new executive wanted level, income statements, balance Typically, at best, most product to bring the solution in-house. sheets, and cash flow statements managers have a superficial To do so, the company would understanding of basic financial have to invest over $750,000 in • Extract key tidbits from 10-Qs, concepts. While product managers equipment and software, plus 10-Ks, and proxy statements may know a few of the financial set up a group of employees to of public companies terms, they generally struggle do the processing/value-added to apply the terms in business services that the service provider • Interpret key statistics about situations to explain or justify had been doing. The company company performance and the financial value of a specific believed that bringing the business valuation product, service, or proposal. in-house would save $500K a year. How many times in the past The salesperson on this deal was Apply this information on a daily quarter have you heard your afraid the customer would take the basis to help better position the sales team say a prospect “just solution in-house. As a result, he value of your products in context didn’t see the value” in acting offered to cut the monthly fees by of your customer’s business. If now. How many times have you 50% so the customer would not your financial literacy is a little heard your marketing team say even consider taking the solution low, admit it, and get some help. “we’re surprised that the campaign in-house. With the price cut, the Talk with your CFO and see if you generated such little interest— new executive would be able to can get a few key members of his/ you’d think in these tough claim $750,000 in savings. He her staff to create a basic financial economic times any company would be a hero and the company literacy program. Having them would want to save money by would still have a customer. teach the fundamental language using our solutions.”? CFOs see the of finance ensures you are all world through numbers, financial Fortunately, a product manager using the same vocabulary and statements, and cash flow. If you supporting the deal did a little are on the same page. cannot speak their language, research about the customer. 28 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 29. The Strategic Product Manager and the CFO SaaS Service Line ABC Flux Analysis Flux Analysis Top Customer Monthly Revenue Analysis Aug-07 Aug-08 YoY Change % Change Flux Category turn basic revenue data into Customer #1 - 45,099 45,099 100% New Customer #2 - 35,070 35,070 100% New actionable information Customer #3 450 24,371 23,920 5311% Growth Customer #4 63,431 83,362 19,930 31% Growth Customer #5 45,435 36,214 (9,221) -20% Decline Customer #6 5,655 20,730 15,075 267% Growth Customer #7 10,915 2,231 8,684 -80% Decline Customer #8 32,073 11 (32,062) -100% Attrit Customer #9 41,051 47,767 6,716 16% Growth Customer #10 97 6,585 6,487 6656% Growth Sub Total 199,108 301,439 102,331 51% All Other Customers (3,831 customers) 1,396,286 1,422,995 26,709 2% Growth Total 1,595,394 1,724,434 129,040 8% Flux analysis # Unique Year over Year Change % Total Flux Analysis Customers $ Customers Flux analysis is an example of Existing Customers Who Grew Revenue 918 263,729 24% how you take basic revenue Existing Customers With Flat Revenue 460 - 12% Existing Customers With Lower Revenue 1,218 (116,938) 32% data and turn it into actionable New Customers 381 97,856 10% information. Almost all software Attritted Customers 864 (115,607) 22% Total Flux 3,841 129,040 100% technology companies have at least one or more software as a service (SaaS) offerings. SaaS analysis, you can elevate the Tier analysis requires different analytical analytical skills of your team and techniques than traditional the company. Now when you talk Tier analysis is a tool that should licensed software products. about growing your business, you be in every product manager’s Flux analysis helps organizations can focus on real drivers and not toolkit. Tier analysis categorizes understand the month-to-month spend hours arguing about data. customers into groups based on revenue changes in a SaaS product their annual revenue contribution line from a customer behavioral A word of extreme caution: to your business. The reality is perspective. If you understand Anytime you present financial not all customers are created the dynamics of your customer information—revenues, COGS, equal—some contribute base’s behavior, you can identify operating expenses, EBITDA— significantly more to the and implement tactics to reinforce you must ensure your numbers business while others contribute positive trends and mitigate the exactly match the numbers in significantly less. You need to impact of negative trends. Take the finance reports. Finance is protect, defend, and grow the a look at the model above. the official scorekeeper and you critical customers while providing must reconcile your numbers with the smaller customers with an There are dozens of actionable theirs. Otherwise, you’ll never be appropriate level of service. Take takeaways from this analysis. able to defend the accuracy of a look at the tier analysis below. The key thing is that the analysis your analysis and the validity of puts the complex dynamics of your recommendations. Everyone This type of analysis helps a monthly SaaS customer behavior else in the business will lob hand product manager understand and into a context that the entire grenades in your direction, simply justify providing differentiated team understands. Strategic CFOs because you failed to spend service to specific customer intuitively discern these changes 15 minutes ensuring your total segments. You can extend this based on their experience. By revenue number matched what type of analysis by combining adopting this type of value-added finance reported. it with the flux analysis mentioned above. Customer Distribution Revenue Distribution Tier Analysis Customer 2008 Cumulative % % of Cumulative % Annual Revenue Tier Count Revenues % Customers of Customers Revenue of Revenue categorize customers 1. > $500K 2 1,611,212 0.07% 0.07% 7.66% 7.66% 2. > $250K < $500K 5 1,541,095 0.17% 0.23% 7.32% 14.98% into groups based 3. > $100K < $250K 33 5,052,155 1.10% 1.33% 24.01% 38.99% 4. > $50K < $100K 54 3,713,165 1.79% 3.12% 17.65% 56.64% on their annual 5. > $10K < $50K 252 5,710,109 8.37% 11.49% 27.14% 83.77% revenue contribution 6. > $1K < $10K 1,048 3,123,606 34.81% 46.30% 14.84% 98.62% 7. < $1K 1,617 290,998 53.70% 100.00% 1.38% 100.00% to your business Total 3,011 21,042,340 100.00% 100.00% The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 , • 29
- 30. The Strategic Product Manager and the CFO Money wheel analysis • Add-On Sales Spoke-lets are the types of existing customer buying an repeatable sales transactions within Strategic CFOs understand that the add-on product/service to a specific money wheel spoke. most successful technology sales support use of an existing A spoke-let answers the question: forces leverage repeatable sales product/service “Why did someone wake up this transactions to scale revenue. The morning and decide they needed money wheel is an analytical tool • Expansion Sales to buy a new software solution?” that technology companies can existing customer buying There are lots of ways to refine a use to discover the most effective, more seats/copies/users money wheel analysis. If you sort repeatable sales transactions in the spokes/spoke-lets by salesrep their markets. Take a look at the • Migration Sales and region, you can obtain a table below that summarizes a existing customers paying much better understanding of quarter’s sales transactions for a to migrate from one product why certain reps and regions are particular product. version to another consistently more successful than A money wheel has two major • Financial Transactions others. You can also sorts the components: Spokes & Spoke- financially driven sales spokes and spoke-lets vertically lets. Money wheel spokes identify to see where your ‘horizontal’ transactions. Examples include the categories of repeatable sales solution is getting the most 3-year prepaid maintenance transactions that occur within a traction. By understanding the deals with significant discounts distribution and drivers of sales product/service line: or an add-on product bundled transactions, you can identify • Net New Customers so that some license revenue patterns that your sales team organizations that have never can be recognized. Includes can leverage. purchased from your company conversion from term to perpetual software licenses, disaster recovery licenses, etc. Real numbers, real knowledge Product ABC Spokes / Spoke-lets # Deals Deal Value % Deals % Value We recognize the above analyses 1. Net New may not be considered the ERP Change 6 $ 172,420 11.8% 13.5% baseline requirements for financial Merger 2 $ 54,405 3.9% 4.3% literacy, but they should be SOX Compliance 4 $ 157,950 7.8% 12.3% Subtotal 12 $ 384,775 23.5% 30.1% close. If you have this type of 2. Add-On information at hand, not only will Balanced Scorecard Implementation 4 $ 59,670 7.8% 4.7% operational reviews go better, Business Objects Implementation 3 $ 43,875 5.9% 3.4% Oracle Financials Upgrade 4 $ 71,955 7.8% 5.6% you will improve your product’s SAS Implementation 3 $ 26,325 5.9% 2.1% position in the marketplace WebMethods Integration 3 $ 32,550 5.9% 2.5% Subtotal 17 $234,375 33.3% 18.3% and your strategic partnership 3. Expansion 0.0% 0.0% with the CFO. New Division 2 $ 50,895 3.9% 4.0% Post Pilot Rollout 2 $ 40,365 3.9% 3.2% Subtotal 4 $ 91,260 7.8% 7.1% 4. Migration Red Hat Migration 3 $ 78,975 5.9% 6.2% zOS Migration 3 $ 89,505 5.9% 7.0% Money Wheel Analysis Subtotal 6 $168,480 11.8% 13.2% 5. Financial PCI Compliance Audit 3 $ 64,935 5.9% 5.1% summary of a product’s quarterly 02 FY08 Promotion Q3 FY08 Promotion 6 3 $ 222,885 $ 112,320 11.8% 5.9% 17.4% 8.8% sales to discover the most effective, Subtotal 12 $ 400,140 23.5% 31.3% repeatable sales transactions in the market Total 51 $1,279,030 100.0% 100.0% Jon Gatrell is vice president of product management at Stonebranch, a provider of secure communications and data exchange solutions. Jon is a published author and frequent speaker. Jon blogs on best practices in product management and marketing at spatiallyrelevant.org. Contact Jon at [email protected] John Mecke is Managing Director of DevelopmentCorporate, an Atlanta-based corporate development advisory firm. He specializes in mergers, acquisitions, & divestitures as well as working with startups/late stage technology companies to transform their businesses. John blogs at developmentcorporate.com on private equity, product management, and the monetization of social media. Contact John at [email protected] 30 • The Pragmatic Marketer • Volume 7 Issue 5, 2009 ,
- 31. Training at Your Office Sign up for the home team advantage Want Pragmatic Marketing to come to you? Benefits • Ensure everyone learns at the same level from start to finish • Focus on the material most relevant to your company • More of your staff can attend • Discuss proprietary issues in complete confidentiality • Save money on travel expenses by having our instructor come to you Team Development • Your entire group will become more productive • Everyone will use consistent methods and speak the same language • The skills learned are practiced during the training session — all seminars are highly interactive and encourage participation PragmaticMarketing.com/onsite Call (800) 816-7861 to conduct a seminar at your office
- 32. Seminar Calendar Call (800) 816-7861 or go to PragmaticMarketing.com to register! Practical Product Management ® Requirements That Work™ Effective Product Marketing™ Introduces a framework that gives product managers the Provides a repeatable method for writing clear requirements Delivers practical tools and processes for product tools to deliver market-driven products that people want your team will read and use. It discusses techniques for marketing, industry marketing and marketing to buy. Focuses on the practical aspects of juggling daily prioritizing and organizing market requirements and communication managers who want to improve tactical demands of supporting the channel with strategic clarifies the roles for team members. This approach their strategic contribution and align with the sales activities necessary to become expert on the market. enables organizations to deliver solutions that sell. organization. Learn how to build a repeatable process November 16 - 17 (18)* .... Framingham, MA November 18 .................... Framingham, MA to develop, execute and measure go-to-market strategies November 16 - 17 (18)* .... San Francisco (Burlingame), CA November 18 .................... San Francisco (Burlingame), CA that ensure product success. December 2 - 3 (4)*.......... Irvine, CA December 4 ...................... Irvine, CA November 18 - 19 ..........San Francisco (Burlingame), CA December 2 - 3 (4)*.......... Newark, NJ December 4 ...................... Newark, NJ December 8 - 9 ..............Boston (Bedford), MA December 2 - 3 (4)*.......... San Jose, CA December 4 ...................... San Jose, CA January 20 - 21 .............Austin, TX December 7 - 8 (9)*.......... Boston (Bedford), MA December 9 ...................... Boston (Bedford), MA February 9 - 10..............Boston (Bedford), MA December 8 - 9 (10)* ........ Tampa, FL December 10..................... Tampa, FL February 16 - 17 ............San Francisco (Burlingame), CA December 14 - 15 (16)* .... San Francisco (Burlingame), CA December 16..................... San Francisco (Burlingame), CA Location Pending December 15 - 16 (17)* .... Montreal, QC, Canada December 17..................... Montreal, QC, Canada January .....................Atlanta, GA January 11 - 12 (13)* ....... Boston (Bedford), MA January 13 ....................... Boston (Bedford), MA January 11 - 12 (13)* ....... San Francisco (Burlingame), CA January 13 ....................... San Francisco (Burlingame), CA January 18 - 19 (20)* ....... Austin, TX January 20 ....................... Austin, TX Product Launch Essentials™ February 8 - 9 (10)* ........ San Francisco (Burlingame), CA February 10 ..................... San Francisco (Burlingame), CA February 9 - 10 (11)*........ Denver (Littleton), CO February 11 ...................... Denver (Littleton), CO AssessEffective Product Marketing organizational readiness and define team February 15 - 16 (17)*...... Boston (Bedford), MA February 17 ...................... Boston (Bedford), MA responsibilities for a successful product launch. February 22 - 23 (24)* .... Santa Clara, CA February 24 ...................... Santa Clara, CA March 8 - 9 (10)* ............. San Francisco (Burlingame), CA March 10 ......................... San Francisco (Burlingame), CA December 10..................Boston (Bedford), MA March 15 - 16 (17)* .......... Boston (Bedford), MA March 17 .......................... Boston (Bedford), MA January 22 ....................Austin, TX Location Pending Location Pending February 11 ...................Boston (Bedford), MA January ....................... Raleigh (Durham), NC January ........................ Raleigh (Durham), NC February 18 ...................San Francisco (Burlingame), CA February ....................... Scottsdale, AZ February ....................... Scottsdale, AZ Location Pending February ....................... Toronto, ON, Canada February ....................... Toronto, ON, Canada January .....................Atlanta, GA *Day 3 is Requirements That Work Living in an Agile World™ A discount is available for groups of three or more. Living in an Agile World shows how product management can November 5 ..... West Conshohocken (King of Prussia), PA Don’t see a date or location that works for you? ensure an Agile development team remains aligned to company December 18.... Montreal, QC, Canada Let Pragmatic Marketing come to your company! strategy. From creating user stories grounded in market problems Call (800) 816-7861 for more information. to managing a backlog prioritized with market evidence.