How to develop your Business skills as a product Manager
Being able to make informed Business decisions or being a Business-driven product manager is one of the top skills required to be a successful product manager.
What does it mean to be a Business driven product manager?
A business-driven product manager understands the company’s goals and how the product fits into the bigger picture. Which then helps them make decisions that align with the company’s strategy and objectives.
It is very important for a product manager to be able to understand a Product’s Business goal and align it with the customer’s needs.
Reasons why it’s important for a product manager to be business-driven:
- Maximizing profitability: Business-driven product managers. understands the levers that drive profitability for the company. They are able to make decisions that maximize profitability while still meeting customer needs. This means they can prioritize features that have the highest impact on revenue and profitability.
2. Building a sustainable business: It helps focus. on building a sustainable business. Business — driven product managers understand the importance of creating a product that is profitable over the long-term. They can make decisions that prioritize sustainable growth over short-term gains.
3. Aligning with company goals, objectives and strategy : It helps product managers understands the “Why” , “What”, “How” and strategies of the company, and how the product fits into that strategy. They are able to make decisions that align with the company’s objectives and goals.
4. Meeting customer needs: A business-driven product manager understands that the product needs to meet the needs of customers in order to be successful. They are able to make decisions that prioritize customer needs while still meeting the company’s objectives.
5 Ensuring product-market fit: A business-driven product manager understands the market and the needs of customers. They are able to make decisions that ensure the product is meeting customer needs and is aligned with market trends.
6 Fostering innovation: business-driven product manager focuses on driving innovation within the company. They understand the importance of staying ahead of the competition and creating new products that meet customer needs. they can prioritize features that are innovative and have the potential to disrupt the market.
7. Managing resources effectively: A business-driven product manager is able to manage resources effectively. They understand the importance of balancing the needs of the product with the resources available.
As a product manager, developing your business skills is crucial to your career and its success.
Here are some tips for improving your business skills:
- Read Business Books: Reading business — related books can help you gain a better understanding of how businesses operate. It helps understand Business management, Finances, Basic business documents, Strategies and many more. Recommended books such as; are “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries, “Business Model Generation” by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, “Product book” by Product school and many more.
2. Understand Your Company’s Business Model: Understanding your company’s business model is critical for product managers. How your company makes money, what its key revenue streams are, and how your product fits into the overall business strategy.
3. Attend Business Workshops: Attending workshops focused on business skills can help you learn from experts and network with other professionals. You can learn about topics like financial analysis, marketing, and sales
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4. Take Online Courses: Online courses are a convenient way to learn about business skills. Taking these courses helps you improve your Business management and financial skills. Some recommended platforms are Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning
5. Stay updated with Business and industry trends: Following Business- related news sites where you can get latest business trends and market trends can help you improve your business skills as a product manager
5. Learn from Customer Feedback: Customer feedback is a valuable source of information for product managers which makes a significant impact on a product’s Business. Learn how to collect and analyze customer feedback, and use it to guide product development decisions.
6.Collaborate with Other Departments: Product managers need to work closely with other departments like Business, Sales and marketing, and strategy team. You should learn how to collaborate effectively with these departments and understand their roles in the product development process.
Key takeaway- “A business-driven product manager is able to align the product strategy with the company’s goals and objectives, resulting in a successful product that meets customer needs and drives revenue growth.”
Thank you for reading!
