What can you learn from your Customer Service experience to become a Product Manager?

Customer Services is direct Voice of the Customer input which is critical for effective Product Management. Understanding how a product is actually used in the field versus a design is the crux of product improvement.

Creating an exceptional product doesn't mean we have an amazing engineering team or infra team and design team.. Until and unless the end users are unable to connect with your product it's a major failure. We product managers think about creating an MVP(Most Viable Product) and ship it to the market as soon as possible. But where in case the intrinsic motivation should be MLV (Most Lovable Product) by which users will love to use the product. We do not have to create a product we like, but a product which my end users will love to use. So, the understanding of the product will come from the pain points of the end users, we need to drill down and collate the pain points from qualitative, quantitative surveys and conduct through research.

I have seen some excellent Product Managers coming out of Tech support. The benefit they have is an understanding of customer issues with a fairly good technical understanding. I also believe that customer service/success could be a good path to get into PM as long as they make sure to get a good understanding of development/Engineering.

From customer service experience, valuable skills and insights can be gained for a Product Manager role: Customer Needs and Feedback: Understanding firsthand what customers like, dislike, and need can inform product development and improvement. Problem-Solving: Handling various customer issues sharpens problem-solving skills, crucial for managing product challenges. Communication Skills: Effective communication with a diverse customer base is transferable to cross-functional team coordination. Empathy: Gaining empathy through customer interactions helps in designing more user-centric products. Market Understanding: Exposure to customer preferences and trends provides valuable market insights.

There is nothing more critical than listening and learning from the customer. They are the end user and their feedback should directly drive roadmap decisions to best align with their needs and wants. Customer advisory boards are extremely helpful and beneficial in hearing from the customer and also a benefit to the customer as they feel empowered to share and be heard. Win win!

Collaboration is key cooperation is nearly a twin sibling, engaging your team to understand what role they would like to play in the scheme of things and what challenges them is crucial. Everyone enjoys an aspect of their chosen career and dislikes certain aspects, play to the strengths of your work mates!

Participer à une meilleure conception du produit renforce notre expérience. Car on échange avec les ingénieurs et d'autres départements liés au produit. Cela nous permet de mieux comprendre la démarche de création mais aussi d'être un acteur clé dans la mise à jour du produit.

Having worked as a production support engineer in Fintech, I understand how the customers(b2b here) feel & react when their payments fail, as they deal with high value payments. Effective communication is a key skill to continue the business. Acknowledging the problem can sooth the customer than no communication or hiding the problem. This will gain customer confidence.

We can't talk effectively to customers by learning the theory only. 7 years handling customers experience gave me everything I need to talk effectively, detail, informative, structured and solve the customer's problem.

Perhaps the most important aspect of a product manager is communication effectiveness. A product manager must work with many stakeholders, each with very different needs and motivators. The best product managers are highly transparent in their communications and must also identify, communicate, and resolve issues expeditiously. The earlier you identify an issue to resolve results in an order of magnitude savings in cost, time, and customer net promoter score (NPS).

There is nothing more important than time management and keeping yourself on track. Your peers rely on you to also keep them on track as a product/program manager so it’s crucial to take the time and organize yourself in an effective and efficient way. Find what works for you and use it religiously.

My customer service experience taught me to prioritize tasks based on urgency, potential impact, and resources. I have more than a decades worth of customer-centric mindset, defining and measuring KPIs that align with customer satisfaction and business objectives. I listen to customer feedback and translate insights into tangible product enhancements, building products that deliver sustained value to the market. My experience has provided me with skills to manage diverse tasks, prioritize strategically, and maintain a customer-focused perspective, making me a valuable asset in product management.

With my experience, product and program managers must prioritize and manage tasks effectively to handle multiple projects and balance stakeholder needs. - Begin by identifying and ranking tasks based on urgency and impact. - Use tools like Kanban/JIRA boards, or task / program management software to keep track of progress and deadlines. - Delegate tasks to team members based on their skills and strengths, ensuring clear communication of expectations and deadlines. - Regularly review and adjust priorities as needed, staying flexible to accommodate changes. - Foster a collaborative environment where team members feel empowered and supported. This strategic approach ensures efficient workflow and successful project outcomes.

Dealing with many personalities and their perspective on things comes with many challenges. Having experience in this area, you'll learn many effective way to diffuse an issue and quickly navigate to a solution.

We need to make our mistakes fast and correct the errors fast… we learn more when we try to do something, this where we see the wrong path we are following. In my opinion, product management is about to be ahead, to understand your customer, to look aside and learn from your competitors, to brainstorm and rewrite until you archive the formula to answer / minimize the pain of your customer.

A product manager must embrace continuous learning and continuously challenge groupthink or conformity (even their own cognitive biases). A product manager must be an innovator for all aspects of the product and go to market processes and continually strive to improve. Fail fast and then quickly recover. Accept mistakes as a learning moment.

Embracing a learning mindset as a customer service representative, I've honed the ability to seek and apply feedback, continually update my knowledge, and refine processes. Handling failures and negative feedback with resilience and positivity has been integral. These skills seamlessly translate into product management, enabling me to test and iterate products, learn from experiments, and incorporate valuable customer feedback into strategic decisions. I am committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the product development lifecycle.

One thing I've found helpful is to never see yourself as done learning. There is always something more to add to your knowledge base and it can come from unexpected sources. Maybe a different product has a feature that would be useful. Pulling from multiple sources of inspiration and knowledge allows for greater comprehension of a product and customers.

Drawing from my fine arts degree and experience as a customer service representative, creativity is at the core of my problem-solving approach. Whether delighting customers, suggesting improvements, or resolving issues, I've consistently embraced innovation. Graduating from an art school has instilled in me a unique perspective, enabling me to think outside the box, challenge assumptions, and explore unconventional possibilities. This creative foundation empowers me to generate and validate innovative product ideas, design prototypes, and craft distinctive value propositions that set products apart in a competitive landscape.

From my experience with customer service, letting the customer know that you can easily and quickly resolve their issue will make them praise you and constantly seek you specifically when they have an issue with any product of the company. It shows that you are very calm and can quickly resolve any issue that is thrown at you.

In my experience let your clients tell you their situation. Let them tell you what they need from you. Give them the feedback they need. There is nothing wrong with saying you would like to do a little research and get back to them. Being honest that you want to give them the correct information for the situation. I am always amazed how happy they are that I actually call them back. And that I am able to give them the correct answer to their situation.

As a former customer service representative transitioning to a Product Manager role, my experience showcases creativity and innovation in addressing customer needs. I've honed skills in delighting customers, suggesting improvements, and thinking outside the box. These abilities position me well to generate ideas, design products, and craft unique value propositions in my new role.

Sometimes you don’t need to be innovative, you just need to use the solutions and combine them in a manner that you’ll be differentiated from your competitors. It’s about creating new ways to be noticed by the market, it’s about making your customer the why and because you do what you do.

3 product management skills my customer service experience taught me. Product Knowledge: a deep understanding of the product beyond the developers' perspective, positioning me to meet user needs better. Requirement Elicitation: It honed my skill in drawing out critical information from users, which is beneficial for defining accurate product requirements. Problem Solving: I learned to optimally focus on the user's needs, which is invaluable in prioritising product features and enhancements. Job titles offer more than just a salary; they provide opportunities for learning new skills and growth within a role. Enjoy the journey while it lasts!

One thing I found helpful during my career in customer services is : Paying attention when clients are disappointed in a product or service. I take feedback seriously because it helps me to better my products or services. I use those points to guide me on the clients expectations. Never egnore negative feedback in your organisation. One thing you should also do is to make the client aware that you appreciate their feedback and honest reviews. Your customer service journey can lead you into a great position of becoming a product manager because understanding the clients needs is very important.

Customer service experience serves as a crucial foundation for successful product management. Many of the best professionals in the software industry began their careers in customer support roles. These roles offer invaluable insights into customer requirements, product usage trends, and the hurdles faced by support teams. This experience fosters adeptness in problem-solving and provides a holistic understanding of how the users engage with your product.

With my experience as a customer service person, I will focus my strength on treating my customers kindly and eventually turn them into friends, building trust, reliability and confidence in our relationship. I will ensure to guide their decisions with information regarding the product they might want to purchase. I will ensure to focus my energy on what I can change, harness that privilege to maximum heights and ensure to position myself always (availability), ready to answer all my clients questions.

From my customer service experience, I can gain insights into user needs, pain points, and feedback. Understanding customer perspectives equips me to prioritize features, improve user experience, and effectively communicate with cross-functional teams as a Product Manager.