The Internet has made our world a global village. You can get online and easily talk to someone who is tens of thousands of miles away. Businesspeople leverage the scope of the Internet so as to sell products all over the world. Despite being a digital platform, the traditional business processes still apply on the Information Superhighway. Processes such as managing and marketing the products must still be done. Here is some information about how this can be accomplished online.
What is product management and how is it different when conducted on the Internet?
Product management is the process of laying out a market entry strategy, a roadmap as well as a comprehensive definition of the features of a product. This process also includes forecasting the performance of the product and estimating profit and loss statistics. During product management, the market is analyzed and the levels of competition identified. After that, a vision for the product is established based on the demands of the customers in the niche market.
Product management is both tactical and strategic. Various departments of a business are involved in the process of product management. Some of these include the engineering teams, the sales and support departments. Product management is a business activity that literally brings together the strategic departments of a business. It is led by a product manager.
Product management on the Internet is very different from that which is performed in the real world. Many product managers are not aware of this. They apply real world product management styles on the Internet and do not achieve as much success as they hoped. The style through which one approaches the Internet landscape while managing online products affects the overall strategy and outcome of product management. If you approach the online world in the right way, your product management efforts can bear fruit. To do this, the product manager needs to know the differences between real-world and online product management. Here they are.
Differences between real-world and online product management
There are a number of these differences. They include:
- A difference in product lifecycle
- The speed of user feedback
The product lifecycle is different
On the Internet, the product lifecycle of an online product is very different from that of a real, tangible one. Physical, tangible products have a long lifecycle that is steady. Reinventing a physical product so as to apply the features proposed by the Research & Development (R&D) department takes time. On the other hand, the lifecycle of digital products is much shorter. This lifecycle is led by the R&D department and therefore the product evolves very fast.
Re-evaluation of a product is one of the main activities performed in the product lifecycle. Physical products require you to re-evaluate and redesign them once or twice a year. On the other hand, online products require you to perform this activity every single month. As such, the R&D department is always active when it comes to digital products. Online products can even be redesigned every week if the owners of the product are able to come up with new innovations quickly. Digital products do not need manufacturing or distribution networks. Therefore, the logistics of releasing new ones are easier.
Feedback from users is quick and rapid
Communication on the Internet is immediate and quick. There are effective channels and software that you can use to communicate at lightning-fast speeds on the Internet. Therefore, the consumers of digital products are able to give you feedback about your products almost as soon as you launch them.
In the world of real, physical products, user feedback is collected slowly. It is gathered through every cycle. Each cycle can last three to six months. Therefore, the manufacturers have to wait for this long before getting some user feedback. This is a major difference between the product development lifecycle of digital and physical products.
These differences help product managers to understand the online market. They are also guidelines on how to approach this landscape in the right way. Product management has a marketing aspect to it. Therefore, the marketing process for digital products is unique and different from that of physical products. Read on to learn more.
What is product marketing?
Product marketing is the process of translating the features or qualities of a product into benefits for the target customers. To perform effective product marketing, one should understand that the market will purchase a product so as to gain pleasure or avoid some pain. This principle cuts across both physical and digital products. However, there is a difference in how it is applied for digital and for physical products.
The main difference between product marketing of digital and physical products
Product marketing for physical products is conducted right after launch. According to the marketing rules of physical products, there is a specialized set of steps that are followed to achieve the marketing objective. Once this objective is achieved, then the marketing effort goes slow. The case is very different for digital products.
Digital products require constant, continued marketing. The marketing campaign begins even before launch. Once the product is launched, the campaign is maintained. There are multiple channels through which this is achieved. Examples of these are:
- A professional website constructed by an Award Winning Web Design Agency
- Social media platforms
- Blogs
- Online directories
The marketing campaign for these digital products continues throughout their lifecycle and only stops when new products are released.
Conclusion
Product management and marketing are important business processes for companies today. These processes are quite different but cooperate to ensure the success of a product. Today, you can sell physical products or digital ones. The physical ones are sold in the real world while the digital ones are sold on the Internet. They are quite different and so are the processes involved in managing and marketing them. These differences are indicated above and they can help modern businesspeople to manage and market their products better. By understanding these differences, you can increase the chances of your digital or physical product thriving in the market.