If your business results aren’t where they need to be, it’s time to consider adding product roles to improve focus and efficiency.
Are you a startup? By definition, a startup is an organization that hasn’t yet found product-market fit. You might have a product—or even a couple of products—but the business hasn’t been able to achieve scale. You’ve probably tried different approaches in both development and marketing, but the results aren’t consistent.
Does this sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone.
One company told me it had 12 customers in 12 market segments, each with its own special requirements. Instead of focusing, it spread itself too thin, trying to be everything to everyone. But what’s really missing here? Focus.
The Importance of Focus in Product
The fundamental rule of product management is that products solve problems for personas. To regain focus, you need to start with the basics:
Who are you trying to help? (In other words, who are your target personas?)
What problems do they have that you can solve? (your capabilities)
Is your solution materially different from alternative solutions? (your differentiation)
The real challenge is to focus on the needs of one set of personas and meet most of their needs before you start exploring new markets and new personas. That’s the essence of managing products: find a problem, solve it, and tell people about it.
But how do you know when to bring in product management roles?
When to Hire a Product Manager
A product manager is the driver from idea to product. They identify friction for those who use your product and then work with development and services teams to design programs (or features) that reduce that friction. But when is the right time to bring one on board?
Signs You Need a Product Manager
The founder or president is overwhelmed. As a company grows, the founder or president's daily responsibilities often leave little time for managing the product effectively. A product manager can take over this role, ensuring that everything is documented and current and that the entire team is informed.
Your product lacks direction. A product manager can bring the necessary focus if your product development efforts feel scattered or reactive. They’ll ensure that development aligns with the market needs and that the product strategy is clear and well-communicated.
You’re missing deadlines, or quality is slipping. Product managers are crucial in keeping development teams on track, maintaining timelines, and ensuring the product meets the quality standards necessary for market success.
A good product manager will help you eliminate randomness from your product development process and replace it with a repeatable, scalable approach that drives consistent results.
When to Hire a Product Marketing Manager
If a product manager drives from idea to product, a product marketing manager drives from product to market. They identify friction for both buyers and sellers; they work with marketing and customer-facing teams to design programs that reduce this friction. But when should you bring in a product marketing manager?
Signs You Need a Product Marketing Manager
Sales and marketing teams are struggling. If your sales and marketing teams are having a hard time finding the right prospects or articulating the product’s value, it’s time to bring in a product marketing manager. They will guide segmentation, document buyer personas, and empower your sales and marketing teams with the information they need to succeed.
Your product isn’t gaining traction in the market. If you have a great product but it’s not resonating with your target audience, a product marketing manager can help you reposition and re-message your offering to better connect with potential customers.
You’re entering new markets. As your company grows and you start to explore new markets, a product marketing manager will be instrumental in ensuring that your go-to-market strategy is well-researched and effectively executed.
The role of a product marketing manager is crucial in ensuring that your product’s value is communicated clearly and compellingly to the right audience.
The Cost of Delaying These Hires
If you’re not achieving the desired business results, it’s time to change the game. As we say in the consulting field, “How’s that working for you?”
Delaying the hire of a product manager or product marketing manager can lead to a cycle of random acts—random acts of development, random acts of marketing, and, ultimately, random business results.
Without a product manager, your product development will lose focus, leading to wasted resources and missed opportunities. Without a product marketing manager, even the best product will struggle to find its market. Together, these roles ensure that your product not only gets built but also finds its way into the hands of the right customers, solving their problems effectively.
Bringing Order to Chaos
The decision of when to hire product roles is crucial to the success of your startup or growing company. By focusing on the core needs of your personas and strategically bringing in a product manager and product marketing manager, you can eliminate the randomness of your product development and marketing efforts.
These roles are not just about adding more people to your team; they’re about bringing order to chaos, ensuring that your product strategy is clear, your market strategy is targeted, and your business results are consistent and repeatable.
If you’re not where you want to be as a company, it might be time to ask yourself: Do I have someone analyzing the friction for buyers and users? If not, it’s time to bring product managers and product marketing managers onto your team to perfect the journey from idea to product and from product to market.
Great product management replaces chaos with clarity. We turn good ideas into successful products systematically.
If you are interested in learning more about product roles, watch our free on-demand video program, "The Roles of Product Management."
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