Using Market Data In Product Management

The human brain is not very good at drawing statistically correct conclusions from large amounts of data. But on the other hand, we are very good at creating generalizations based on individual events. For instance, you might believe that you “always” forget your keys instead of recalling all the times when you effortlessly were able to unlock the door with them.

In product management, the same phenomenon applies. Product improvement initiatives may be driven by a relatively small number of isolated cases where the product didn’t perform well, ignoring the numerous successes. Other times, the company may end up investing heavily in improvements to products for which there is little market potential in the future.

Using market data, the products with the most potential can be identified, enabling the product manager to concentrate their efforts on the areas where they are needed the most. If product performance and customer feedback are analyzed together with market data, it is possible to find patterns. Once the patterns are identified, product managers can segment initiatives focusing on those with the highest market potential and/or those with the most frequent failures.