The following article comes from: A Alice AKIU, Author: A Alice here.
In a recent talk to a number of fresh graduates product manager basic course, a lot of people have asked me why I never told them the product manager tool how to use. These basic skills product manager Is not it?
Suddenly I realized that many students caught in a misunderstanding, that is the product manager positions as traditional industries, like the tool will be able to learn the job work. In fact the only tools of expression of thought, skill is more important than the product is the product capability.
I always think, product manager for the most basic ability to only two, one is the ability to solve problems, and the other is the ability to perceive the user. Problem-solving skills are well understood, but what is the user's ability to perceive it?
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01. "user-aware" and "I am the user" distinction
First talk a very interesting thing. Recently seen a lot of people are doing on campus products. They do Campus product idea is very simple, because in the past we have to be on campus before, knows that pain point a student to find a few scenes the product out, to find some students measured on some quasi-no problem.
The same situation also do a variety of communities of interest and communities of similar people, several Internet dog suddenly made a pet community, like several US medical colleagues to find an entry point to the resignation of entrepreneurial made a US medical community, most of their logic is: because I am such a person, so I know what these people have pain points.
Not in a bad way to make products such criticism, but this way it is easy to make a "taken for granted" products. Product managers and entrepreneurs often think the problem when a mistake is made when the user's own, with their own particular emotions or experiences instead of the majority of users.
For a university to develop a campus library and interconnected app, facilitate students to use the library. In this scenario, what students need to resolve this product is the core needs it?
After a 80 product manager, said: books on display and management is the most important, the library's latest newcomer is what books, what books were checked out, a brief introduction of the book is very important information for students.
After a 90-product manager, said: Lecture Library now more and more, go to lectures more than to borrow books, students are more concerned about what time the library has lectures. So the first app to show information about all courses to attract more students to participate.
At first glance it seems both reasonable. But the actual user research later, the results have shown that the library study room, how many vacancies is most concerned about the students, if they can directly select the predetermined location or position in the product is even better.
Why such a big deviation will happen? Obviously, these two product managers are thinking, "That is my user," because we have experienced a student, so it is natural to think that I am also a former user, I know their pain points.
Product Manager in which the student after most of the 80 years, the University of books generally more scarce, but went to the library to see a lot of books or is being borrowed, or is not. So they think that the convenience of students borrowing is a strong demand, but also a library should solve the problem;
Student, after which the product manager of 90, had no contact with the library so close, there are more ways to get books to obtain information on the Internet. But talks Library is indeed more attractive point, a good way for junior and senior students are also in contact with the community, so they pay more attention to lectures school settings.
And now most of the students already use the library as an alternative to the study room. Not only have more academic information can borrow at the same time have a quiet learning environment, students preferred to attend study hall. So make an appointment directly online location library is the core demands of the students, but also the students the most important issue.
Can be seen from this example, different product manager may have different "user impression." The first step do not put their own products as a user, but from the other point of view, "empathy," understanding diversity of users, this capability is also known as the ability to perceive the user.
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02. clustering is the first step in the user's perception
Simplify the classification of human knowledge and understanding of the world the most common way, and clustering is the product manager to do the first step in the user's perception. Find differences between groups and groups in order to better understand the user.
Real talk about two things.
The first thing that I've seen a lot of college students venture team to do campus class communities, their product managers confidently told me that all students in the school are their target audience, they are a community, all students at the school can find their place in the community, there are always places that interest you.
Then I turn on the product a look, really like a pot of Luandun. He thumbed through a few pages, the page like it, and that page as a group, as well as various community activities. Although it looks exhaustive, colorful, but a closer look at the interaction of poor communities, the students do not know how to integrate into the community, becoming a traveler from a spectator.
The second thing is that one occasion, around a friend do the smart audio products ready for work, I casually asked the sentence you who the user base is sound, he replied that their product is an intelligent sound, a lot of people in life they are required, so users quite a wide span, the minimum age of users was 14 years old, the biggest users age 48 years old, can say that they like the brand of people are their user communities it.
After I heard is quite trance. From these two examples we can see a common problem many product manager: Core users and secondary users can not tell, or that he did not know who the real product user groups Yes.
Do car wash products product manager: all those who have cars are their audiences;
Do financial information for product managers think: all those who are watching the financial news of their potential users;
Do the electronic cigarette product manager: All people are smoking that they can target marketing;
There are many similar examples, many product managers think they do is a generic product, a large user community. But such a standard user running the streets looking for targets, I believe must be very difficult, through 10 who smoke probably not interested in your electronic cigarette, went 10 4S stores is expected to download this product does not wash to half.
To help us identify the user, the user find the real target, we have to use some simple and quick way, that grouping.
User groups mentioned, first we need to find ways to differences between population groups and describe. Usually we will extract some of the features users who, in order to describe the characteristics of the user groups with these keywords. We are accustomed to thinking in traditional characteristics of the objective facts to classify users, such as gender, age, location, occupation, etc., so in the above example, it is prone to such groups describe the way: Our target audience is "like social University student".
At first glance this seems to be pretty precise definitions, but this grouping of products we do not have a social representative. This summary description of the way seemingly strong, but in fact nothing to say, no way to help us determine the characteristics of these people, there is no way to guide us how to do this kind of product. The main reason is: these people exist vastly different way of thinking, there are different behaviors and preferences, can not simply be confused.
Imagine that a group of "sociable college students" are what concern it?
Joe Smith is a senior party gaming, usually more concerned about e-sports on campus;
Zhao Si was a photography enthusiast, sweep the streets with the same want to find a group of like photography students;
Wang Wu is a postgraduate party, are looking for the same pro forma comrades;
Zhou Yi is an ordinary student, wanted to see what activities students can enrich their life after school;
You can see the four students are gregarious college students, but their concerns are not the same.
Although Zhang and Zhao Si are like student social, but their appeal is obviously not easy to achieve within the campus community (gaming and photography needs a larger vehicle than the campus), at this time, they need the campus community is not a product that is no way to campus to meet their social needs. If we try to pull them on the community, the last and end up broke up in the end.
So learn to correctly performing clustering, and clearly the target groups, the premise is to expand the research work of subsequent users.
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03. From a single user group to the user matrix
Under normal circumstances, the development of a product is extended from a demand point out, to achieve the expansion point of the construction product by function matrix, becoming a net. So at different stages of the product, there is a different division of user groups.
In the product infancy stage, even when the product is not yet out, we need to find the face of the user base of this product, which is the core users of this product.
Know almost original vision was to create a knowledge-based community, in order to create an early tone of the community, they need to find a group of high quality and are willing to share knowledge. In this case, the initial know almost all Internet users high-quality practitioners as well as art, film, education and other sectors of high-quality practitioners. Because of the way to invite registration system, resulting in a very long period of time, a lot of people know almost jokes from the Internet elite Hi. This expansion known way to make peace in the pre-build community features and services, will be able to focus on this group of people who meet their needs. Therefore, at this stage, we know almost on the establishment of a large number of loyal users.
It now appears that the impact of these early users know almost is far-reaching. They have a lot of technology entrepreneurs, their expertise to ensure the quality of responses. Technology entrepreneurs have a sense of mission, is someone else to solve the problem. So, bring a group of people know almost unique atmosphere of discussion.
To this product development stage to a certain extent, we have the ability to offer richer functionality, and this time you can further expand the user base, or is one step closer to the refinement of operations.
With content after, the community needs to have more readers. We know almost need to gradually expand its user base to attract highly qualified readers, on the one hand allows these people to become creators, on the other hand by the community to interact securely transferred between them, but also to improve the creators activity.
2013, know almost officially canceled "by invitation only", then went from 400,000 registered users, soared to 400 million.
This time the community in addition to the core user group of creators, it also produces a high-quality group of readers secondary users, as well as low-quality group of viewers edge users. Secondary users with an edge will show a completely different user's browsing habits, they prefer to leave a message, or point-like focus on other ways to interact with the creators, and users can often browse the edge, but never like this point is not willing to comment . These phenomena have shown differences in user groups and different demands between them.
When the number of user communities is increased, the user community is beginning to show a sharp contrast. This stage know almost intensive iterations, mainly in order to adapt to changes in user groups. On the one hand to expand the diversity of respondents to convert the secondary user creators; on the one hand reduce the threshold for the use of ordinary users, so that more users to participate in interactive edge, converted into a secondary user.
This product to the user base becomes larger, or have the ability to provide a stage more personalized service, this time not only based on the core user, the secondary user and user to extract the edge of their demands. Products in the transverse dimension of the user groups have split finer granularity in order to help us identify customer needs, determine the product development direction.
After the influx of large numbers of users, know almost see the current form of questions and answers can not meet the needs of creators and readers of a high quality.
Know almost team found that there are a lot of users eager to upgrade their professional knowledge on the platform. They mainly private letters and a consultative way exchange, access to demand customized knowledge has always existed. In addition, high-quality creators need for a more efficient sharing of knowledge, but also get part of the way of earnings, so the incentive of high-quality user generated content and broaden the scene into a "know almost Live";
At the same time, we know almost team also found that in addition to the type of user, there are many user-oriented interest on the internet. They are not professional knowledge and skills, but for their own broad vision, eager to discuss the exchange to generate depth, so this scene carries interest of reading and expand their horizons and become a "know almost" · Book Club ";
In addition, know almost gradually increase the idea, hot list and other functions, opening mechanism number registered, established creators Center, this series of features are constantly expanding split different groups, sub-groups demand mining results. At the same time these products feature to know almost become a production, sharing and dissemination of knowledge tools, the knowledge gathered everyone together and available to the public, a real community values.
Space reasons, to be continued.
