Any product manager worth his or her "easy button" knows very well product management has many challenges, certainly far more than three. Below, are a few of the more notable challenges that Quantum WHISPER is determined to address.

Innovation is what drives business. It fuels revenues, brand value and ultimately, competitive advantage. Although the average company derives 50 percent of annual revenues from products introduced in the last five years[1], the innovation process itself is wildly inefficient. Remarkably, 76 percent of research and development (R&D) funds are spent on products that either do not make it to market or fail after introduction[2]. Moreover, nearly half of executives are unsatisfied with their company's ratio of R&D hits to misses[3]. The same problem exists for SMBs --- only compounded because of less available funding. 

[1] Source: Stage-Gate Inc. [2] Source: Stage-Gate Inc. [3] Source: Booz Allen, Global Innovation 1000.

Product management today must be more focused than ever on the customer, specifically, the end user. The recent growth of subscription based (SaaS) applications has significantly increased the value and importance of timely customer feedback. The on-demand model emphasizes the need to acquire, maintain and expand customers. It also introduces a significant new paradigm. Unlike the past, customers are now empowered to "turn-off" or cancel their subscription within a mouse click. The balance of power has shifted --- and customers know it.

More than ever before, software companies operating under a service business model are increasingly at the peril of end user deposition. For this reason, software companies are increasingly focused on ensuring a positive user experience. To sustain and grow their business they need repeat buyers and therefore must LISTEN to customers.

Product management is an essential discipline that assumes ownership and management of products or services whose primary objective is to ensure an expected return on investment (ROI). In most companies the product management mandate is to identify market needs, cultivate business opportunities and deliver product innovation to sustain a competitive ROI. However in actual practice, product managers fall considerably short of their directive and almost utopian mandate.

Overwhelmed by the tactical activities that consume their day - email, customer support, sales support, requirements clarification, engineering questions, etc., Product Managers are significantly challenged to efficiently deal with and effectively execute the increasingly complex role of product management. The result is a "tuned-out" company, characterized by increased business risk and unsustainable competitive advantage.

On the other hand "tuned-in" and market-driven companies are much more likely to succeed. They experience twice the rate of growth, 30% more profitability and 20% more customer satisfaction[1]

[1] http://www.pragmaticmarketing.com/tunedin

For specific benefits product managers and executives can expect to realize from market-driven or "outside-in" product management practices, click on the links above or in the top left menu.