Category: Product

Short reads on product management, marketing and sales, self-awareness, and decision making.

The value of “I don’t know”

Every time a senior employee or manager explained an idea with immense passion, I used to play along. My response to them would be, "Sounds great," or "Makes sense!." I'd signal my agreement by instantly jumping to discuss the next steps. Once the discussion gets over, I'd feel weird. I'd ask myself - "Did you … Continue reading The value of “I don’t know” →

Communicate your ideas clearly

No matter what role you're in, communication is integral. And with the increase in the number of companies that lean towards remote work, the importance of communication can't be stressed enough. Be it daily stand-ups, Slack messages, emails, or long decision-making meetings — you've got to ensure that your coworkers, stakeholders, or customers listen to … Continue reading Communicate your ideas clearly →

Talk goals during product demos

Let’s say you’re selling live chat software to a customer support manager. You're aware of their business and the challenges with their customer support. So you structure your conversation around their problems and the magnificent solution you can offer. On the other hand, there’s another live chat software that offers similar features as you do. … Continue reading Talk goals during product demos →

Documentation – a foolproof way to fall in love with the problem

As a product manager, when you discover a problem, you're more likely to believe that you've uncovered the symptoms. It may be because many customers talk about the same problem, so you assume you're aware of the details. For example, imagine you’re building design software. Some customers tell you that they want your software to … Continue reading Documentation – a foolproof way to fall in love with the problem →

Rethink your user onboarding – Lessons from Descript, Basecamp, and Superhuman

Let's say you're signing up for a product. You see a welcome message on your screen. And that's followed by a few steps on how to set up the product. You roll your eyes and think to yourself that this is going to require a lot of effort. Now, one of these three things can … Continue reading Rethink your user onboarding – Lessons from Descript, Basecamp, and Superhuman →

Be considerate while sharing knowledge

Let's say you share an interesting post with your friend. You're excited to know what they think about it. They say, "I'll check it out!" but you never hear them talk about it later. Similarly, in marketing, you email your blog links to your prospects/customers, expecting them to open, click, and read it. And when … Continue reading Be considerate while sharing knowledge →

Why are you better than your competition?

If you're in sales or marketing, one classic question you always come across is, "Why is your product better than your competition?" And one of the most boring yet common answers is a list of feature differences. Something like, "We have XYZ features, but the competition doesn't have." First, let's try to understand why prospects … Continue reading Why are you better than your competition? →

A common blind spot in headline copywriting

Writing website copy is exciting yet challenging. Why? You use your creativity to come up with a catchy headline. You're excited about it. But you've no clue if a prospect who lands on the page can make sense of the headline before reading further.  So you assume the identity of a prospect and read it. … Continue reading A common blind spot in headline copywriting →