ProductMarketing.com

Outsourcing Product Management

Len Lipkin of techprodo.com comments on the idea of outsourcing product management:

 What great new ideas can an outsider bring in that you shouldn’t be able to do internally.  There are only two circumstances that I can think of where I can see outsourcing PM as a good long-term idea.

I agree with Lipkin on this: outsourcing product management is outsourcing a distinctive competence. Surely no one outside your organization can understand your business and market domain better than one inside. But of course, some companies feel that product management is more janitorial work than leadership work. And sure, janitorial work can be outsourced. But shouldn't product management be more?

I've written about the strategic role of product management. In your organization, is product management about markets and problems or is it only prioritizing the feature list? If the latter, then sure, you can outsource it. But if product management is about understanding markets and problems, and arming the company with these market facts--in requirements, positioning, and sales tools--then you must keep product management inside.

The 2010 product management survey shows that product managers and product marketing managers are becoming more strategic and working more closely with senior management. Are yours?

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

Top5 Keynote Speaker Honorees for 2010

Each year, Speakers Platform recognizes five speakers within fifteen popular topic areas. Excellence in speaking is based on: expertise, professionalism, innovation within the topic area, client testimonials & references, presentation skills, original contribution to the field and votes from the general public.

via speaking.com

Congratulations to my friend, David Meerman Scott, for making the Top 5 in Marketing speakers.

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

Launch Clinic: Do we really need a new definition of "marketing"

In 2008 the American Marketing Association introduced a new definition for marketing. I found it in an article listed by BtoB Magazine in their 20 most popular stories of 2009. Intrigued and curious I wanted to know what I was missing.

via pragmaticmarketing.typepad.com

David weighs in on the "new" definition of marketing. Happily, the AMA doesn't think it's coffee mugs and leads. Click on the link to see the rest.

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

Star Trek IV: (the one with the whales)

Amazing what those old Macs can do.

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

"Confusion...

...is always the most honest response."-- Marty Indik

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

Touch Revolution's Android-powered microwave

Hailed one of the worst 10 new products at CES:

Touch Revolution's Android-powered microwave 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/worst-ces-2010-products-t_n_419765.html

Looks like someone was sitting in a room with too much time and not enough market data. 

I think it's likely we'll be seeing many Android-based bad ideas in the future. Android is a great embedded system but just because you can... Oh well, you know the rest. As we like to say, Development knows what can be built; product management knows what should be built.

Jeff Bezos on Amazon's success

I always tell people, if we have a good quarter it's because of the work we did three, four, and five years ago. It's not because we did a good job this quarter.

via slate.com

Amazon knows that good product management is focused on the future, not the next 30 days. And is focused on the customer. As Bezos puts it, "We start with the customer and we work backward." (Sounds like the right formula.)

The article has some insights into the way Amazon has grown and about the creation and success of the Kindle ebook. (Hey, did you hear that I have a Kindle?)

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

It's not what you know...

"It's not what you know, it's what you can find out."

Marissa Mayer, Google

http://www.edge.org/q2010/q10_2.html#mayerm

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

Always Be Closing

Slide slides slides! When will we ever stop creating bullet slides?

A pal found this on the web: 

Is this is the best they came up with for Kodak (a company built on compelling imagery)? It kinda reminds me of PowerPoint circa 1997!! I can almost hear Alec Baldwin saying "ABC: Always Be Closing!"

One of the nice things about watching presentations and demos remotely is that you can check your email while the sales guy blathers on and then pay attention when (if?) he ever gets to anything interesting.

Word of the day: cosmeticize

Main Entry: cos·met·i·cize

Pronunciation: \käz-ˈme-tə-ˌsīz\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): cos·met·i·cized; cos·met·i·ciz·ing

Date: 1824

: to make (something unpleasant or ugly) superficially attractive

via merriam-webster.com

to use the power of marketing to "create the need" for a product people ought to want, (see also "perfume the pig.") More at www.pragmaticmarketing.com/srpm

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

How do you turn data into revenue?

Scott Brinker offers this view of pricing for data, answering the question:

How do you turn data into revenue?

It's organized by how revenue is generated, from direct money-for-data to indirect branding programs.

Read more at http://www.chiefmartec.com/2010/01/7-business-models-for-linked-data.html

Roadwarriors: part 2

A flight from Atlanta to San Francisco was diverted to Colorado on Friday due to an unruly passenger, officials said.

Two F-16 fighter planes were deployed by NORAD to escort AirTran Airways Flight 39 to Colorado Springs Airport, NORAD officials said in a release.

The disturbance reportedly stemmed from an intoxicated passenger who became unruly and locked himself in a bathroom. The passenger, who was not immediately identified, was reportedly detained but had not been arrested.

"Given the current climate, it's just not a good idea," John McGinley, the airport's assistant director of operations, told Gazette.com of the man's actions during the flight.

via foxnews.com

Yeesh. As if it isn't hard enough to fly nowadays. Next step: let's forbid alcohol on planes (actually, not really a bad idea).

Posted via web from Steve Johnson on product management

what a time to be a road warrior

The Transportation Security Administration issued new security directives to all United States and international air carriers with inbound flights to the U.S. effective January 4, 2010. More at http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/dec25_guidance.shtm

source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/07/airport.security/index.html

I guess I better schedule some extra time for arriving at the airport. 

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

Requirements and Reality

Saeed at http://onproductmanagement.net offers this clever presentation comparing our desired state and reality.

Diagramming Product Management #1 - Requirements and Reality

View more presentations from Saeed Khan.

It wouldn't be funny if it wasn't so true.

Keep 'em comin', Saeed.

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

"Nobody can keep secrets anymore"

http://geekandpoke.typepad.com/geekandpoke/2010/01/tweetrets.html

Posted via email from Steve Johnson on product management

idpma : Idaho product management association

I've been invited to speak at the Idaho product management association on Feb 06, 2010.

The Idaho Product Management Association would like to invite you to attend and participate in our next meeting. The guest speaker for this session will be Pragmatic Marketing’s Steve Johnson, who will lead an interactive session on the recent changes in the Pragmatic Marketing framework and what they mean to you.
via www.crossno.us

If you're in the area, come out to see my presentation. I plan to give an update on the Pragmatic Marketing Framework with some updated stats from our annual product management survey.

New edition of The New Rules of Marketing & PR

I've just started the new year by reading the new edition of The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Excellent so far! This new second edition adds updates on the latest trends for today's marketer.

• New case studies and current examples are included to illustrate the very latest in technology marketing .
• Completely updated to reflect the latest marketing and PR techniques using social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube
• Includes a step-by-step action plan for harnessing the power of the Internet to communicate directly with buyers, increase sales, and raise online visibility

via www.amazon.com

Nowadays, customers get product information directly from your website, not from your sales people. Yet I continue to be astounded (okay, depressed) by the "old school" marketing that I see. Get a copy of The New Rules of Marketing and PR and share it with your product marketing and marcom team.

Product Camp Atlanta

For those of you in the Atlanta area, another ProductCamp Atlanta is scheduled for February 06, 2010. We'll be there. Will you?