This document discusses the advantages and disadvantages of sales-driven versus market-driven product management strategies. It notes that while a sales-driven approach can work well for emerging companies, a market-driven strategy is better for long-term success by developing sustainable product lines that build market leadership. The document provides details on the roles and responsibilities of a product manager and how they must communicate with various stakeholders. It ultimately concludes that an emerging product is better suited to short-term, sales-driven tactics for increased revenue, while a market-driven strategy allows for planned innovations to create new market opportunities.

1. Sales or Market Driven
Product Management?
LEVERAGING NEW MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
FOR SUCCESS !
Peter Dye.
Technology Professional
2011

2. Summary
 In order to succeed in the long-term, all product
and services based companies must be
customer/market driven, while fully realizing the
market potential.
 It should be no surprise that understanding of
customers’ needs/requirements is the main
differentiating factor between successful and
unsuccessful products or services.

3. What does a Product Manager do?
 The Product Manager is responsible for:
- Managing the product lifecycle
- Product strategy, including Communication
- Product development priorities
- Product release plans
- Gathering and prioritizing product and customer
requirements
- Defining the product vision.
- Increasing the profitability of existing products
- Fostering Innovation for products

4. Product Manager and Stakerholders
 The Product manager must communicate
- With sales, marketing and support to ensure revenue
and customer satisfaction goals are met.
- With product marketing supporting Corporate Strategy
and goals.
- Product vision in context with the Corporate Strategy
- Product Roadmaps
- Product Release strategy
- All Internal and external stakeholders.

5. Advantage of being sales-driven
 The advantage of being sales-driven
- Ideal for emerging software companies
- There is nothing wrong with being sales-driven
- Fulfilling Individual customers needs
- Lower risk, there are always business opportunities
- Can be used as a survival mode tactic if market segments start
deteriorating
- Works in a chaotic market which prohibits targeted marketing
programs.
- Can be perceived to be ‘Agile’

6. Disadvantage of being sales-driven
 Disadvantage of being sales-driven
- Inherently a short-term approach that does not build highly-
sustainable product lines, support cost not sustainable.
- Re-active approach to customer requirement/needs
- No sustainable product lines it is hard to build market leadership
and promote. No ‘Commercially Of The Shelf’ (COTS) products
- Organic company growth is not predictable
- Planning becomes ‘best guess’
- The eventual outcome of a sales-driven approach in high-tech
companies with too many product versions, too few customers
- Sales-driven strategy leads to resource duplication, loss of
distinctive competence, and in consistent product roadmaps.

7. Advantage of being market-driven
 Advantage of being market-driven
- Pro-active, innovative and disruptive product management
strategy
- Sustainable product lines building market leadership.
‘Commercially Of The Shelf’ (COTS) products market-driven
product helps establish market leadership
- Fewer product versions with many customers
- Predictable revenue growth, plan for success.
- Enables customer and market centric product development
- Experience has shows that growth is delivered to those who
invest in market-driven product management

8. Disadvantage of being market-driven
 Disadvantage of being market-driven,
- A longer-term approach that can frustrate sales teams
- Sustainable product lines require higher investment with best
practice life cycle management.
- Product planning can be perceived to be slow
- Requires a more mature organisation

9. Conclusion
 Emerging products are more agile & able to
make game changing innovations, more suited
to short term Sales Driven tactics to increase
revenue for additional funding.
 Market/Customer Driven strategy allows planned
introduction of technology futures enabling new
market paradigms to be created or penetrated..

10. Sales or Market Driven
Product Management?
LEVERAGING NEW MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
FOR SUCCESS !
Peter Dye.
Technology Professional
April 2011

11. Appendix

12. References
 Pragmatic Marketing – Steve Johnson
 Research of Rajesh K. Tyagi And Mohanbir S.
Sawhney