from communicating with users to Crunchbase
Hello! My name is Elena Aladina, I am a GH lead at Alfa-Bank.
In the world of product management, observation plays a key role. This is the ability to notice, analyze and adapt the best practices of your product, as well as make fewer mistakes, knowing about the failed cases of others.
The higher your level of insight, the easier it is for you to make strategic decisions, find new ideas, and improve existing features.
This article presents 14 proven techniques to help product managers in the following areas:
Idea generation: Insight helps the product find innovative solutions and create new features, finding inspiration in successful examples of other products.
Understanding trends: Observation helps to be aware of current trends and needs in the market, as well as to predict their development, creating products that will be in demand in the future.
Better understanding of users: Regular observation of user behavior and their preferences in other products helps you adapt your product to the real needs of your audience.
Ability to adapt to change: Developing awareness helps you quickly recognize changes and implement the necessary updates to the product.
To develop insight, a product manager can use various tools: from simple to more complex.
1. Communication with users
The first and simplest tool is live communication with users. Find out from your customers what apps or services they use besides yours, what attracts them to competitors' products, and what solutions they find most convenient. Ask your colleagues, friends and acquaintances how they solve their daily tasks and which application helps them do it most effectively.
Example: Let's say you're talking to a colleague who's talking about how he uses apps to schedule tasks. He mentions that he especially likes the automatic reminder feature in one of the apps, which helps him stay on top of deadlines. This conversation may inspire you to implement a similar feature in your product if it meets the needs of your audience
2. Quantitative data and macrostatistics
Study the metrics of not only your product, but also other products in your company, this allows you to see the bigger picture and evaluate which solutions work better and which require improvement.
Analyze macro statistics: for example, what is the level of income of the population, how many entrepreneurs are there in the country, how many Russians have deposits in banks – all this can help you expand your vision and adapt your product strategy.
Example: If you're working on an educational app, knowing the demographics and income of your target audience can help you target more precise segments and improve your offering.
3. Marketing research
Market research, especially one commissioned by your company, can contain a lot of useful information. Even if they do not directly relate to your product, it provides an understanding of the overall market situation and helps identify key trends and needs.
Example: If market research shows increased interest in subscription-based ecosystem services, this could be a signal that your product may also consider adding a subscription model.
4. Competitors
Studying competitors is one of the important elements in the process of developing observation. Become their client, register for their services, go through the entire user journey to understand what works well in their solutions and what can be improved.
Example: Let's say you are developing a delivery service. While going through a competitor's customer journey, you notice that their app offers a very user-friendly order tracking interface that is much simpler than yours. This can be a starting point for improvements to your application.
5. Reviews in stores
Reviews in the App Store and Google Play are a real treasure trove of information where users share their emotions, problems and wishes. By analyzing this data from other products, you can find ideas for improvements or adding new features.
Example: If competitors' reviews often include complaints about a slow interface or inconvenient registration, this may prompt you to focus on improving these aspects in your product.
6. Analysis of other areas
Innovations are often born at the intersection of different fields. Study solutions that are used in other areas: e-commerce, edtech, fintech – all these industries work with millions of users every day, shaping their behavioral patterns.
Example: Have you noticed that taxi ordering apps have a function for instantly rating the driver after the trip. This may inspire you to implement a similar feature in your product for instant feedback.
7.Wordstat
Wordstat from Yandex is an excellent tool for analyzing search trends and helps identify user requests, which can become the basis for developing new features or product improvements.
Example:
Let's say you're developing an application to manage your personal finances. Using Wordstat, you find that users often search for queries related to “saving on groceries” and “managing a household budget.” This may give you the idea of adding a feature to your app that offers tips on how to save on everyday expenses, as well as the ability to create a family budget where users can plan their expenses together and monitor their financial goals.
8. Google Trends
Google Trends helps track global and local trends. By studying popular queries, you can find promising ideas for a product or adjust your strategy.
Example: If you noticed increase in requests on the topic of online education, this may inspire you to add learning modules or integrations with educational platforms in your product to help users learn new skills right in the app.
9. Crunchbase
Crunchbase is the largest database providing information on startups, companies, investments and venture deals around the world. It allows you to track startup activity and see which companies are receiving funding. With Crunchbase, you can track investing trends and see which niches are getting the most attention from investors right now. It is a valuable tool for product managers, entrepreneurs, and analysts to not only discover new ideas, but also understand where the market is heading.
Example: Let's say you notice that several healthcare AI startups have recently received significant investment. This may suggest that the market sees great potential in the use of AI to improve diagnosis and health monitoring.
10. Y Combinator
Y Combinator is one of the most prestigious startup accelerators in the world. Founded in 2005, it has supported over 4,000 companies, including big names like Airbnb, Dropbox, Stripe, and Reddit.
Tracking new Y Combinator projects provides valuable information about current technology trends and business models that have the most potential. It also allows you to identify innovative approaches that you can adapt to your products.
An example is the fact that nearly half of the startups in Y Combinator's latest cohort use AI technologies, covering areas such as legal services, recruiting and software development. This emphasizes the growing importance of artificial intelligence in modern business and opens up new horizons for the development and implementation of such solutions
11. Apple and Google app download ratings
Every year Apple And Google publish ratings of the most downloaded applications and games, providing data on which solutions, ideas and functions are most in demand by users.
These ratings help you follow trends, identify new audience needs, and see which app categories are popular (for example, social media, health apps, or fintech). You can analyze what attracts users to specific solutions (user-friendliness, unique features, or effective marketing), predict future trends, and customize your products to meet market needs.
Track ratings and explore these apps on the App Store and Google Play.
12. Reviews of startups and ideas from experts
Follow startup reviews from experts like Alexander Gorny. He shares information about the most exciting and promising projects that can inspire you to new ideas and approaches to the development of your product. Also note Arkady Moreiniswho posts a daily “Idea of the Day” on his blog. These resources will help you stay on top of the latest trends and find inspiration from successful examples from the startup world.
13. Market leaders in the world
Study global market leaders to understand how successful companies innovate and tailor their solutions to meet user needs.
Examples of companies such as Revolut And Rakutenserve as a great guide for finding ideas that can be adapted and applied to your market.
14.ChatGPT
Using ChatGPT to generate new ideas is an effective way to get inspired and find fresh solutions. Here is an example of a prompt that can be used for a product manager working on application development:
“Hi! I'm working on improving app X and am looking for ideas for new features that will improve the user experience and security. What innovative solutions can you come up with to improve the customer experience? Please provide examples of successful apps and explain how these features can help to users”
Developing insight is a process that requires constant observation, analysis and experimentation. Using all available approaches allows you to be one step ahead and create solutions that not only satisfy current user needs, but also shape future market expectations.
