Updated: April 25, 2024- 3 min read
In this talk, Anand Lakshminarayan, former PM at Microsoft, elaborates on Enterprise Product Management, the differences between the ‘big’ and ‘small’ companies when it comes to product lifecycle and expectations, and the role of a product manager in addressing the pain points of their customers.
Anand also debunks the myths surrounding the definition of an ‘enterprise’, and what factors make it one.
Meet Anand L.
Anand Lakshminarayan is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. He began his career working on the Windows Developer Ecosystem and Platform for the Windows SDK for Facebook. He was in charge of the features and roadmap for the Windows SDK for Facebook and worked with stakeholders across the Windows division to create a consolidated open source release process document for teams.
Later, Anand joined as a Product Manager in Checkr, Inc. where he worked cross-functionally across Sales, Marketing, Finance, Customer Success, Legal, and Operations on numerous projects as the company grew from 3,000 to over 10,000 customers.
Enterprise Product Management
Anand begins by illustrating the myths that people may believe when they come across the term “Enterprise”:
“Enterprise” Myths:
BIG
Recognizable
Just “gotta know” reality
No obvious definition
What is an “Enterprise” customer?
It’s important for companies to know that they shouldn’t always focus on ‘big’ enterprises to work with. They should assess that which enterprises have the possibility of becoming ‘big’ with a positive trajectory, for example, Uber.
So, what is Enterprise “Product Management”?
Enterprise Product Management involves working with stakeholders (internal or external) to support their business needs through a defined product, and iterate/innovate on those needs. For example:
Amazon (AWS)
Zenefits
Checkr
ZeroCater
Enterprise vs. Customer
Enterprise Product Lifecycle
Companies shouldn’t implement the enterprise product lifecycle from scratch. They should have a first stage where the base is covered.
Challenges
Customers will want everything to be fully end-to-end, tested, and production ready
Hard to convince a customer (or buyer) to switch to a half-baked solution without an interesting value proposition
Even if the solution is “better” than what is existing, the other factors to consider are switching cost, training, support, etc.
Strategy and Vision
Blindly taking in customer requests will lead to a disjointed product
Should have a strategy behind product decisions made
Cliche warning: North Star – if you don’t have a North Star, you wouldn’t know where you want to go, and you’ll follow your customer anywhere they lead you to
Understanding Customer Needs (PAM)
Direct, in-person interviews
Observing customer usage of Product
Getting information from Customer facing teams
Never take your best guess and assume!
Big vs. Small Companies
Product Process Before vs. Today Small Company
Day to Day as a Product Manager
Meetings with stakeholders, customers
Time set aside for spec writing
Feedback sessions with Engineering
Sprint planning & reviews
Extra time devoted to quarter / long term planning
Key Takeaways
Enterprise PM involves a lot of customer interaction
Take feedback and use it to drive enhancements to products and workflows
Use observation to derive real customer need for product innovation
Gifs make presentations better
Anand concludes by highlighting that it’s not always effective to ask your customers point-blank about any pain points they might have regarding using your product, as they might deflect. Sometimes it’s better to observe, rather than ask.
Updated: April 25, 2024
