Day-to-day tasks of a product manager
The essence of a product manager’s workday is constantly evolving, and no two days are the same. This is because the role requires continuous growth and keeping up with changes happening within the team, with stakeholders, and in related industries. The job of a product manager combines leadership, coordination, and strategy and is dynamic, knowledgeable, creative, entrepreneurial, analytical, and very challenging. It is a fascinating blend of different aspects.
People often think product managers are caretakers of the micromanagement of an organization. But there is a thin line between spearheading the details and partaking in each one of them. Knowing the roles of other team members, allows product managers to appreciate their contributions and understand what is important to them. Being able to empathize and communicate effectively based on their needs can make them influential leaders. It’s important to note that this does not mean taking over their responsibilities or micromanaging them, as both of these can be counterproductive. Rather, it means trusting and allowing other team members to play their part in achieving success. Product managers are more effective when they acknowledge they need the support of others to accomplish their goals and seek out the most effective ways to do so.
Product managers allocate a portion of their daily schedule for an independent research routine, such as studying, analyzing, updating themselves, and documenting strategic tasks. Ideally, they stay ahead of their strategy! They must have critical time every day devoted to going over newer insights, trends, and the future journey of the product. At large, they dedicate their time to strategic thinking and planning rather than mundane tasks like rearranging spreadsheet fields or formatting presentation slides.
The responsibility of managing backlogs is not just about completing administrative tasks such as story writing, drafting roadmaps, and refining backlogs, but it involves making decisions. While these tasks are important, delegating them to someone else can greatly enhance a product manager’s productivity. It’s common for product managers to be confused with project managers, who are primarily concerned with answering the question of when a project will be completed. However, the product manager’s role is to decide whether the project should be done at all, which is not always a time-sensitive task. The product manager’s role is more strategic than tactical.
Let us list down the day-to-day tasks of product managers summed up under broad umbrellas:
1) One of the primary tasks is hosting regular core team meetings, where they catch up with their colleagues and ensure everyone is on the same page concerning the product roadmap.
2) They regularly review their product’s sales, revenue, and other key performance indicators (KPIs), and study the market by reading analyst reports, competitor literature, and user data.
3) In addition to these meetings, they frequently meet with support, sales, development, and marketing teams to gather feedback and ensure they have the necessary resources to do their jobs effectively. These meetings offer a valuable opportunity to stay in touch with the needs and concerns of the customers, prospects, and the wider market, review progress, answer questions and address any concerns.
4) Another set of tasks includes writing problem statements and hypotheses and sharing them with the relevant stakeholders can help facilitate decision-making and progress toward product goals.
5) Other daily tasks include creating and updating sales training materials, conducting customer surveys and interviews, and recording key takeaways from meetings.
On top of this, there could be last-minute meetings to discuss product strategy or to clarify pressing confusing issues to developers.
The day-to-day routine of a product manager is both thrilling and demanding. It involves a unique blend of creativity, strategic thinking, an unwavering dedication to the product, and sharp analytical skills. With each passing day, this dynamic role becomes even more intriguing, making it an exciting and compelling field to be in. The role of a product manager is poised to become the future of digital marketing.