Product Manager Job: What They Do and Why They’re Important (2024)

Whether you’re a startup developing an AI chatbot for customer support or an ecommerce company concocting a line of eco-friendly cosmetics, a product manager can guide your process from ideation to launch and beyond. But what does a product manager do?

While a product manager’s precise tasks vary depending on your company, they often focus on understanding customer needs and aligning product development with business objectives. Here are the specific responsibilities and best practices of product managers.

What is a product manager?

A product manager is a professional who oversees the development and success of a product or product line. They’re responsible for defining the product strategy and vision, setting priorities, and ensuring the product meets customer needs.

Product managers use the principles of product management to guide the product through its lifecycle, working with the design and development team, the marketing and sales teams, and the customer service department.

Product management involves gathering and analyzing customer insights, crafting product features and road maps, and collaborating with teams to bring the product to market and continuously improve based on user feedback.

What does a product manager do?

A product manager’s role includes many responsibilities, from project management skills and strategic thinking to crafting your product vision and collecting user research. When crafting a product manager job description, look for candidates who do the following:

Set product vision

A successful product manager defines and maintains a product roadmap that outlines the vision, direction, and priorities for the product. They ensure the roadmap aligns with the company’s broader business goals and strategy while considering specific market trends and customer needs.

To set a product vision, product managers must carefully assess and rank initiatives based on their potential impact, feasibility, and alignment with the product life cycle.

Analyze market trends

One of the key product manager responsibilities is to conduct market research and analyze trends to identify opportunities for new features or products. This requires a deep understanding of your target audience, its needs, and the competitive landscape.

For example, given tech companies’ demands for increased data security, a product manager at a cybersecurity software company might propose a machine learning feature that predicts and neutralizes threats in real-time.

Collaborate

Product managers collaborate with other teams throughout the development process, including engineering, design, marketing, sales, and customer service colleagues, and must communicate the product vision, goals, and requirements to these various stakeholders.

By fostering open communication and alignment among different teams, product managers ensure that everyone works toward a common goal and that the final product meets customer expectations.

For example, a product manager at an online clothing retailer developing a virtual try-on feature might collaborate with the product team on requirements like garment rendering and user interface, with the development team on 3D modeling and augmented reality integration, and with marketing and sales to create promotional content and provide training.

Conduct user research

Successful product managers understand the importance of conducting thorough user research to inform product decisions. They use research methods, like surveys, interviews, focus groups, and usability testing to gather valuable insights into user behavior, preferences, pain points, and goals.

For example, a product manager working on a new mobile app feature might conduct surveys to identify the most common user problems, interview users to understand their current habits and frustrations, and run usability tests to observe how users interact with the app.

By deeply understanding target users, product managers can make informed decisions about product features, design, and user experience, leading to a product that resonates with the intended audience.

Set and track key product metrics

Successful product managers identify, define, and measure key metrics like customer acquisition, engagement, retention, revenue, and customer satisfaction. They set specific, measurable targets for each metric and regularly monitor and analyze them to gauge the product’s performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.

Product managers also use key metrics to evaluate the success of specific experiments and product initiatives, such as product launches or marketing campaigns.

Advocate for customers

Product managers strongly advocate for customers, ensuring that the product teams are always on the same page about user needs and preferences. The best product managers develop a deep understanding of their target audience through user research, feedback, and data analysis, letting them build a solid business case for customer-centric product decisions. They cultivate user empathy within the organization, representing user perspectives in product discussions.

A product manager at a kitchenware company might advocate for customers by incorporating user feedback on ergonomics and durability to improve the design of a new cookware line.

Best practices for product managers

The product manager role includes a range of responsibilities, from setting the product vision to managing the day-to-day execution. To create successful products, product managers follow these best practices:

Prioritize and manage product features

Companies often have a list of product feature requests from various sources—customers, executives, and investors. Product managers must prioritize these requests while building a list of desirable features.

By developing a clear set of criteria for prioritization—such as user impact, business value, and feasibility—product managers can make informed decisions and reject requests that don’t align with product goals.

Adapt communication to your audience

Product managers should tailor their communication style to convey information to different stakeholders. When communicating with the C-suite, the focus should be on metrics and how the product aligns with the company’s overall strategy. When communicating with the engineering team, the emphasis is on technical specifications and ensuring everyone understands the requirements.

Product managers must build authentic relationships with their teams to understand everyone is on the same page.

Focus on the big picture

It’s easy for product managers to fixate on short-term goals, such as next week’s user testing sessions or the product launch next month. However, it’s also important to focus on the big picture: the customer and their needs. Product managers must develop the ability to zoom in and out as needed, ensuring that short-term decisions align with the long-term product vision.