{"id":17926,"date":"2022-01-17T15:46:09","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T15:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/?p=17926"},"modified":"2022-01-20T18:31:27","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T18:31:27","slug":"5-challenges-product-managers-face-going-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/5-challenges-product-managers-face-going-market\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Challenges Product Managers Face When Going to Market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Product managers, you\u2019ve gone through the brainstorming, the conceptualizing, the designing, the building, the testing\u2014all the major milestones on the product development journey. But you\u2019re only halfway there. The rest of the journey is preparing your product to hit the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s exciting, but it also means there are many more steps ahead, and with them, obstacles to overcome. It\u2019s never too early to begin thinking about taking your product to market, especially to counteract potential costs, be it time, money, or resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this blog, we will go over the top 5 challenges product managers come across in the go-to-market process (and how to avoid them).<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Slow time-to-market<\/span><\/h3>\n

Missing a single deadline can derail the original product-to-market timeline. Along with pressure from other departments to get things done, unexpected issues that come along with product photography or inventory tracking can set the initial launch back and lead to increased costs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not to mention, COVID-19 has put more work on the table. More than half of businesses surveyed reported that they became busier than ever, leading to further delays in the product management process. According to a McKinsey & Co <\/span>study<\/span><\/a>, going over budget by 50% is far better than being half a year late on releasing a product. The first results in a 4% loss of profits while a slow time-to-market cuts it by 33%.<\/span><\/p>\n

To avoid a slow process, detailed planning and team-driven accountability are critical. Planning requires breaking up the roadmap into actionable steps, each with an exact deadline. Assigning specific tasks to defined teams or team members can encourage open communication and drive accountability, both key factors to pushing a project forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you look at the <\/span>diagram<\/span><\/a> below, you can see that although a quicker time-to-market might cost less, more, or the same as the average time, it still propels the product to race ahead of competitors. The extra time buffer combined with other factors results in a higher likelihood of revenue and profit. An efficient product-to-market process empowers product managers to unlock revenue sooner, reduce costs, stay on top of new trends, and launch more products with roughly the same amount of resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"time-to-market-diagram\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Image source<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

One way to achieve progress quickly is by using a platform that consolidates product information from the start of development and allows your team to work out of a single source of truth. A product information management (PIM) system\u2019 workflow includes templates you can use to propel your process forward, such as new product introduction workflows.<\/span><\/p>\n

When using an NPI workflow, one department can briefly acknowledge a setback with a certain set of product data, while re-routing the workflow to allow other teams to continue moving the product forward while they wait<\/span>.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

When product information is centralized via tools like a PIM, it results in a quicker time-to-market process and speeds up sharing information with everyone, from partners to publishing on eCommerce stores.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Team misalignment<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Did you know that <\/span>30% of product managers <\/span><\/a>find navigating interdepartmental relationships most challenging?<\/span><\/p>\n

Collaboration requires the perfect balance. Having too many meetings and review\/approval requirements can waste more time, leading to little productivity. At the same time, efficient communication and brainstorming can save time and money, and improve work quality all around. For the most part, businesses suffer from disunited teams, leading to little collaboration. According to <\/span>Deloitte<\/span><\/a>, 39% of company employees report lacking this key tenant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each team within an organization has its own goals. While product managers see the bigger picture, they must persuade other teams with that vision to ensure end-product consistency. Otherwise, siloed efforts can arise, leading to errors or confusion. Some teams might not report issues until the very end of a project. Others might wait on the approval process from another department without notifying another team of the delay. Waiting on feedback is a major cause of product launch delays, according to <\/span>42% of marketers<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

These issues can lead to errors in the product promotion phase:<\/strong><\/p>\n