Product Management for Web 2.0

This presentation, by Dan Olsen, does a great job of capturing the key concepts of Web 2.0 product management: Designing and Optimizing the DNA of a Killer App

Let the customer be the rock star

I'm seeing lots of job postings for rock stars who want to come help change the world. I know it's just a fun term. But I say, let the clients be the rock stars.

My favorite book toward that end is the business classic, Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey Moore. Click here for a nice summary. If you're a marketing manager you've probably read it but I'll reiterate the main point. To succeed with a new technology business, start with one very well defined set of customers. Look at their needs from end to end. Address every single one, so it's a no brainer to use your product. Not just via the feature set, but all the other factors around it - quality level, documentation, service, add ons, delivery, so that they are sure to come out ahead even after all factors have been considered. If it's too much, simplify rather than sacrificing the winning experience by missing details that end up affecting cost or effort. Narrow your market to limit the scope of what you need to do.

Make your customers feel like rock stars for having done business with you. Make them references to their peers. Be the go to company for that one little market. Then you're ready to do the same for another market.

Keep this question top of mind: Looking at the end to end experience, is your customer getting an off the charts win?

Twitter Effects

Since I started using Twitter, my posts here have gotten shorter. I wonder what happens to your attention span after prolonged use. Wait. What was I talking about?

Lots of Case Studies on Social Media Marketing

If you're interested in Social Media marketing, here's a really big list of case studies.