I’ve said it before and I will say it again – listening to the market is the one thing that sets you apart from everyone else. The better you listen, the more you understand. The more you understand, the better you meet the market’s needs. The better you meet the market’s needs, the more you sell. The more you sell, the more money.

Listening means money.

The other key is to know who your buyer is, and what they want. You have to develop a persona. I’ve written about this before. Persona development is the outcome, the deliverable, from the time spent listening to the market. The knowledge about your persona drives your messaging, your positioning, your materials, your campaigns…I think you see the pattern.

Yet, I am consistently surprised by how many people do not invest the time in persona development.

Why? There is a perception that most people know their market, their buyers. They can throw a few statements on a slide and share it around the office. There – that is our persona.

Wrong. It’s time to do it right.

“Flat Stanley Doesn’t Live Here” is the title of the new ebook being released to help you understand how to really write a persona. It’s a practical guide, not an academic theory. And, it’s easy to read.

Now you have no excuse. Download the ebook, read it and invest the time to develop your persona correctly. Not only will the persona help in your marketing and sales efforts, it will help you become a better listener.

My passion for Product Camps is no secret. Since attending my first one in November 2009, I have gone on the road to enjoy additional events as well as organized a few, bringing me to the grand total of being an attendee at 12 Product Camps. (That is, until the 2012 year where I hope to go to some more!) Each one was fantastic and I loved learning from, teaching and networking with all of the product professionals I have had the pleasure of meeting over the past few years.

Now it’s my turn to pay it forward.

As many of you know, for the past several years I have done some “side projects”, aka consulting work. Sometimes this was my primary income; sometimes it supplemented a salary from a company. While doing this work I have operated under the business name HarborLight Partners. It is through this business I am starting a new program – a Product Camp Scholarship.

A scholarship to attend a product camp? Yes. The scholarship is being offered to help new, first-time attendees with travel expenses when their companies do not so that the individual does not have to bear the whole expense out of pocket. (I’ve done that 8 times, and it can add up.) The scholarship is not enough for airfare or to stay at a 4-star hotel; but, if you need help with a tank or two of gas, or one night at a reasonable business hotel, and that will make the difference in your attending, then this program is for you.

I am not looking to have the major product vendors contribute large dollar amounts so that more people can attend. The vendors do a great job of sponsoring the events, and when you add it up they spend quite a lot of money on our community. Rather, this is a micro-scholarship program designed by the product professional community FOR the product professional community. Why? Simple. All too often we have no one to turn to for support in our companies, being an isolated team of one (or a few); but, product camps offer us a support network where we can turn for continued learning. That is what this program is designed to support.

The form for first-time attendees to apply is available here. It’s a 5-minute process. If you are considering attending your first Product Camp, now is the time to apply. Requests must be received 2 weeks in advance of the Product Camp date.

When you do attend remember to do so with a purpose. If you want to propose a session, read this short blog post about presenting at a Product Camp.

Money will be awarded as it is available. There are no guarantees of amounts or the duration of the program. I have seeded the fund with a beginning balance. But, to keep offering the scholarship, more money will be needed. I am committed to adding to it as I am able; but if you have been to a product camp, see value and want to support the program and pay it forward, there is a link here where you can add your micro-donation to the cause. (This is not an official non-profit scholarship fund. There is no tax deduction available.) Even those $10 donations can add up fast and make a difference when the product community comes together.

Now’s the time to start applying! I hope that past attendees of a Product Camp see value, come together as a community and join the cause. I also ask the product community to help promote this program. It’s not about me – it’s about us. Come join the fun! I’ll see you soon at a product camp. (And, thank you.)

All over the web and in all the product management communities, there are articles and discussions about gamification. If you’ve been offline for a while, gamification is about applying design and development efforts to software in a way to make it more engaging, more “fun.”

Not only have whole applications been born under the premise (i.e. Foursquare), but gamification has also had great impact in some of the more traditional business software, (ie. Salesforce.com) allowing for more interaction and amusement when performing daily tasks.

I’m all about having more fun in my interactions with technology, and can truly appreciate making the more mundane less so; but, I believe sometimes we have taken the concept of gamification too far.

Not every piece of software or every interaction within should be designed around fun. Stanford professor Elizabeth Corcoran, in her book on the subject,“The ‘Gamification’ Of Education”, suggests that the gamification of businesses and virtual worlds is creating an expectation among people that real-life interactions follow simple mechanics and some disillusionment when they do not. Are we making our software more of a toy than a productive tool?

I recently heard of a software company’s UI meeting, held to introduce the upcoming planned release to the internal audience, where the  discussion quickly went from what the planned for now to the planned for later. In the “planned for later” talks, the designers were sharing their vision for the upcoming UI changes, which were focused on including more opportunities for social interactions. The problem? No one had talked with more than 1 or 2 current customers to find out if this is what is truly needed or wanted.

Conversations need to start with the market, not just customers. Does your market want to play a game when they are in your software? Will it help them do their job better? More effectively?

Luke Hohmann, with his company Innovation Games, does great work in promoting playing collaborative games with your customers to build  engagement. He states that engaging customers in a well-designed Innovation Game frees them up from the constraints of typical focus-group sessions and delivers deeper, more accurate information than is available through online surveys or other tools.

There are some very successful elements that need to be copied.  Gaming elements do and should belong in SOME software. Luke’s reasons and use make sense. In consumer-facing sites, I support using gaming elements to make the site more engagement, building more loyalty, etc. In business programs,  I can no longer remember the “old” training programs where you didn’t even see your status on the module much less your achievement. Gaming made training more fun. But, once you start entering the enterprise software realm, gamification is an area that needs to be evaluated carefully.

Looking in from the outside, gamification elements that are added in by designers because they are the latest and greatest, will quickly get subjected to the sideline and prove to be a waste of your time and effort. In the competitive software market, time and effort need to be focused on those areas which deliver the differentiation. And, it might not be about the game.

This year’s holiday tune was a bit harder to write. It seems that people are all over the place with how their year has progressed – some good, some bad, some hurried, some slowed. But, isn’t it great to know that a life in product management is certainly unpredictable? Happy Holidays.

(To the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, preferably in the styling of Bruce Springsteen. It is a bit clunky, but it works. )

——–

You better watch out
You better not pout
Better plan well
For this I can tell
The planned release is due up right now

Your scrum team is running late
Gotta get the customer input
Or you might not get paid

You better watch out
You better not pout
Better plan well For this I can tell
The planned release is due up right now

The business case is overdue
The finances don’t make sense
Better clean it all up right away
Before they take offense

You better watch out
You better not pout
Better plan well
For this I can tell
That damn release is due up right now

You pull some all-nighters
Your drive the tasks to done
You stay up with the testing team
And write the docs, no fun

You better watch out
You better not pout
Better plan well
For now I can yell
That damn release is due up right now

The date is finally here
The release time that you fear
Time to present today
Executives are at bay

You better watch out
You better not pout
Better plan well
No more time to yell
That damn release is due up right now

You present the final release
They hoot and clap their hands
They all pat you on the back
And, you almost hear the band

You better watch out
You better not pout
Better plan well
No more need for you to yell
That damn release is due up right now

The teams all came together
You all worked real well
The scope budget and the time worked
And you the release is really swell

So, you better watch out
You better not pout
Better plan well
For this I can tell
The next release is due up right now

Happy Holidays from my home to yours!

This is a simple post about being simple.

I was thrilled and honored to have a visit by my good friend, Jim Holland, for the recent Product Camp in Minnesota. While he was here, he scanned my business book shelf and borrowed a book, my copy of Seth Godin’s “Poke the Box.” Jim enjoyed the short read and wrote a nice blog post based on his learning from it; in exchange, he brought me a small token gift, a simple non-descript cube that has somehow changed my life.

The product is the One Less Drop by Heckler Design. What does it do? It’s a cord keeper for my iPhone (though I am sure it will work on other devices.) This 1 inch cube has two channels in it; one is on the top and one is on the bottom so I could manage two devices with one cube. By placing the cube on a table or desk, the channels hold your cords without letting them fall to ground. Brilliant.

What’s the use case? I keep a power cord for my iPhone on my nightstand, and I fumble around looking for that cord every night I don’t anchor it down with something – often it was a bedside book, the alarm clock, another knickknack – basically anything already on the night stand, or else I am fumbling around on the floor looking for the cord when I am tired and all I want is some sleep… and I do this all so I can simply plug in my phone to charge it up overnight. Now, this simple cube means no more fumbling around on the floor in the dark. Brilliant. Do you take your smart phone to bed and plug it in right by your side, so that you never miss a call? Am I the only one with a problem to solve here? I want to think I’m not.

I never thought a one inch square cube could make me so happy, yet I was very excited by this. Why? Because it solved a simple problem and, as a product manager, we are always searching for solutions. What did I learn from this cube’s design? A simple rule – sometimes the smallest aggravation can be solved by looking a simple solution. The solution doesn’t always need to be over-engineered just because “we can.”

In our world of developing products, we all too often look for elaborate solutions. And, worse yet, we put all too many features in our product hoping that it solves all the problems our market may face. What if we simply stepped back and tried to simplify our product instead of building it out to solve many of the world’s problems? Take a step back and look at your own product portfolio. Have you been trying to solve the world’s problems with everything you have added to meet everyone’s interests and desires; or, are you trying to simply solve the basic problem in the easiest and most basic manner? If you don’t know, ask the market and your customer how simply they want their problem solved. The simple way is always preferred.

I know that I will be sleeping better tonight knowing exactly where my iPhone cord is without having to fish around for it when I am exhausted. Thanks, Jim.

In this week’s #prodmgmttalk, (on Twitter Mondays at 4 pm pacific) there was a big discussion on what to do with “bad” customers; how did they get to be called “bad”; how do we know they are “bad”; and, what do you do with them. It’s amazing how many points you can make in 140 characters, in a 20 minute timeframe!

While there was enough content to write a book on a “bad” customer, the focus here is to understand why your product even has “bad customers”.

First, let’s get rid of the word “bad”. It implies that something is naughty, and mean, not nice. Our customers, even the ones who demand excessive time and support are not mean. We value our customers, all of them. If you aren’t sure about that, go read the motivational statement on the poster in the break room or on your web site – you say it to others – We value our customers. So, believe it.

Start at the Basic

Once you get past labeling the customer, let’s look at the root cause. Why are they asking so much of us and our resources? Did someone along the way, not necessarily sales, over-promise on delivering functionality or features? Did you find a customer whose problem wasn’t an exact fit to the solution you provide, so much so that you have to change that solution to fit their problem.

Problem/solution misfit is the number one reason for a customer being a drain on your resources. When you have to build everything to their needs, and explain it individually since you don’t have the information disseminated (it is out of scope of the plans you set forth,) and then train the support team on how the features are designed to work – that takes a lot of effort. It pulls you off the path you had set. And, it started because someone along the way – sales, executives, product management – committed that the solution you sell will fix the problem they have.

Another reason why customers become misfits to our solution is simply because we outgrow them, or their problem outgrows us. In this case, see the misfit statement above.

It All Comes Down to a Simple Fact

But, in the end, the main reason why our customers don’t fit is that we didn’t listen to them. We didn’t listen when they first described the problem they had. We didn’t listen when they explained how their internal processes worked. We didn’t listen when they requested more features to solve their problem, and then included that information in the contract. We didn’t listen to the problems that caused broken processes on their back end; rather we focused on how the product was originally designed to work. We didn’t listen.

When we dig the hole with our customer because of our actions, we have two possible courses of correction that are available to us. First, we can bend over backwards and do all that is necessary to make them happy, correcting and adding features and functionality, going onsite to offer additional training, support and service, and promising future discounts and products to “apologize” for the inconvenience we put them through. Or, second, we can simply fire the customer.

Most executives hate the idea of firing a customer. When you tell a customer that you can’t help them any further, it will translate to lost revenue recognition on the books. But, take a fiscal view of the cost of that customer. Most likely, you have already spent more than the value of the contract on support, development and management efforts to try to make them happy, or at least satisfied. Losing revenue is hard, but if you didn’t listen to the customer up front, this is a small price to pay for correcting your own mistake. It’s not a mistake, it’s a learning experience.

Looking in from the outside, in reality there is no such thing as a bad customer. You simply need to understand who is and isn’t a fit for your product; and, put your focus on finding the customers who fit. Your product will be rewarded when that happens.

In several online forums/blogs recently, there has been a lot of talk and discussion about “how often do I update this?” “Change that?” “Do this?” There was a specific thread that was related to a question about a product roadmap, but I’ve also seen the same question about web content, marketing communication pieces, customer visits and other outward facing activities. Our product professional peers are looking for some schedule so they can plug the activity into their calendar and update x, y or z regularly.

But, a calendar appointment is not what is needed to address the challenge.

The only way you know how often product management and marketing artifacts should be updated, and how to share the information, is to know both your organizational culture and your market. You need to understand the beat and rhythm of your business.

Let me try and explain. Beat is part of rhythm. When you clap to music or tap your foot on the floor, you are following the beat. The beat is steady.  Rhythm is the pattern of the notes, which make up the melody. Rhythm is made up of patterns of sounds (notes) and silences (rests); it can vary throughout a melody.

To effectively develop and present a roadmap, it needs to be collaborative. But, how often do you update? How often do you share? The answer lies in the beat of your business.

So, you ask, how do I actually determine the beat of the business?

Try looking at some of these questions:

• When does your organization do strategic planning?
• When are goals developed and shared?
• Who looks at the product goals to ensure that they are aligned to the new business goals? When?
• Are goals periodically updated? When?
• Are there any patterns emerging?

This will be different in every organization and sometimes even by the different markets served by the products and business. By understanding when planning happens and when goals are set, you can then confidently check your existing roadmap, and other plans, against the updated information and goals.

Know that different stakeholders have different needs and views of the business. Sales might want the road map updated frequently and only really care about next quarter. Investors might be more interested in a 5 year view. Marketing may need to change their schedule for planned campaigns quarterly. It’s about knowing the beat of the stakeholder within the rhythm of
the business.

Looking in from the outside, the key to successfully updating the information, in a way that meets the needs of each stakeholder, is to communicate the right what to right whom, at the right time to enable their beat so it works in the greater rhythm. Successfully done, this will have everyone playing the same tune.

It’s fall, and Product Camp season began last month starting in Atlanta, New York and Salt Lake City. But, the real camping season picks up speed starting this weekend with upcoming events in So. California (Orange County,) San Francisco, Seattle, Rocky Mountain, Chicago, Minneapolis and welcoming Nashville. (Apologies if I forgot any.) Make plans to attend a PCamp near you by visiting the “master” schedule list at: http://www.productcamp.org/schedule/

If you are planning to attend – and there really is no reason you should not attend at least one - or present or simply don’t understand the concept and why you should engage, please visit some of my past posts on product camps on this site:

• http://www.outsideinview.com/2011/03/pcamppurpose/
• http://www.outsideinview.com/2010/08/so-you-want-to-present-at-a-product-camp-really/
• http://www.outsideinview.com/2010/08/jump-right-into-pcamp-the-water-is-fine/
• http://www.outsideinview.com/2010/08/pcamp-season-is-back-a-4-step-primer-to-take-action/
• http://www.outsideinview.com/2010/02/this-one-time-at-product-camp/
• http://www.outsideinview.com/2010/01/top-10-reasons-why-you-should-attend-pcampmn/

Looking in from the outside, it’s time for product professionals – both management  marketing types – to take control of their own careers and growth. Product Camps are OUR venues to do both

(and women, ping me to discuss the “Rainbow Chuck Initiative!”)