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Symptoms of Product Management Gaps

Here are some common problems that Product Management best practices could address.

Low Margins & ROI

  • ​Building cool things customers will not pay for

  • Investments cover a 'little bit of everything'

  • ROI decisions made within 'product line silos'

  • Weak business cases to support priorities

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Weak Product Roadmap

  • Not strategic, no data, loudest voice wins

  • 'Treading water' with customer requests

  • No objective way to evaluate & prioritize roadmap requests

  • Custom development commitments dominate roadmap

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Pricing Not Value-Based

  • ​More functionality, pricing unchanged

  • Sales objections handled with discount, not value

  • One-size fits all, regardless of segments' willingness to pay

  • Assume price structure is correct, but nobody knows why

Not Market-Driven

  • Value tied to features, not problems solved

  • Product managers seldom talk to customers

  • Inconsistent marketing messages, with no clear differentiation

  • Sales targets whoever they can find, without clear strategy

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Poor Cross-Functional Coordination

  • Chaotic product launches

  • Unclear accountability

  • Frequent & unplanned product delays

  • Lack of cross-functional participation in full lifecycle

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Tactical Product Management

  • Short-term tactical view, not strategic with GM mindset

  • Mostly fighting fires, trying to do what everybody wants

  • Internally focused, weak understanding customers & market

  • Each function has a different understanding of PM's role

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