How can product managers innovate through deep customer understanding? In this podcast hosted by VNS Health Product Director Mark Bailes, Cyber Salus CEO Sher Baig will be speaking on how a deep understanding of customers can lead to innovative ways of gaining competitive advantage. Sher shares insights from his extensive experience in the med-tech and healthcare industry, highlighting how thinking from the customer’s perspective and immersing in the field can unlock new opportunities for product innovation.
Subscribe to the Product Talk podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and catch every conversation with leading product executives. Episodes drop on Wednesdays.
Show Notes
- The shift from program management to product management requires a change in mindset and skill set.
- Successful product managers need to think from the end-user’s perspective, not just the technology.
- Having good mentors can provide valuable insights early in one’s career.
- Validating assumptions and understanding customer needs is crucial to avoid over-engineering solutions.
- Nothing interesting happens in the office – getting out in the field provides invaluable customer insights.
- Product managers need to have an entrepreneurial spirit to overcome rejection and find creative ways to engage customers.
- Leveraging networks, attending conferences, and indirect engagements can help gain customer access.
- Resilience and persistence are key when facing constant rejection in customer outreach.
- Innovating on pricing and business models can provide a competitive edge.
- Aligning pricing with the customer’s budget life cycle and simplifying the offering can drive adoption.
- Making the solution easily consumable and lowering barriers to entry are important for customer-centric innovation.
- Change management within the product team can be as challenging as external change management.
- Building internal stakeholder profiles and identifying benefiting teams can help influence change.
- Showing the value of the innovation and aligning it with internal stakeholders’ interests is crucial.
- Continuous learning and staying updated with industry trends are essential for product managers.
- Advancements in technology and data science are creating exciting opportunities in product management.
- The same principles of product management apply across industries, from healthcare to aviation.
- Immersing oneself in the field and customer interactions is key to effective product development.
- Questioning the status quo and looking for differentiation opportunities based on customer needs is vital.
- Reaching out to industry experts and leveraging their insights can accelerate one’s product management journey.
About the speaker
About the host
I am passionate about using technology to solve problems and I take great pleasure in helping others to achieve their goals. I live these values every day working in Product.