Product Management for dummies : A Deep Dive

By : Shravan Tickoo

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Ex-Principal PM ( BYJU’S)

• What is a Product ? - To define in simpler terms a Product is an experience or service which solves a user pain point and gives a 10x better value compared to the preceding experience

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• Product which are widely adopted have 3 core values

1. Significant value based differentiation

2. Simplicity of usage

3.Joy of usage in the process i.e Apple

What does a Great Product Focus on ?

A great product focuses on

• Core user value to the pain point a user has
• Flipkart << 10x>> better than previous discovery pattern
• Uber <<10x>> better than

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• Simplicity of experience
• If the experience is simple for a user to understand , more often then not the friction to understand the product is optimal
• You don’t need a learning curve to use the iphone

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• Element of Joy while using the product
• Most products or services focus on utilitarian value like uber for taxis but great products give you additional value of joy besides the core value
• Duolingo just doesnt teach you language learning , it teaches you the same with fun
• Great products build Network effects

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What is Engagement ?

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What is Product Analytics ?

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How does it help us drive engagement ?

• What is engagement ? - To define in simpler terms this is an intended action or set of actions a user has to take on your digital applications over a period of time
• What is the average number of add to carts a user does in a month
• Product Analytics is the discipline of understanding user behavior on your digital application i.e Website , Web App , App ( any application which is accessible on the internet )
• For example : On Flipkart - if we have to find out how many users actually come on the homepage → Category page ---> Add to cart ---> Checkout
• Product analytics helps us understand the drop-off funnels in our core actions which we expect the user to do and we as PM try to optimize that and that optimizes engagement

Steps to build a great Product

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The typical user journey for any product comprises of 5 states

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• Acquisition
• Activation
• Retention
• Referral
• Revenue

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Identify the MTMM - Metric that matters most

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It follows the law of diminishing returns , first it will be something which comes out as a low hanging fruit and then it becomes harder to do so and we move to a different metric

What is a Product funnel where Product Analytics helps & drives engagement ?

In simpler words , post a user is acquired via any channel , Activation of a user ( doing a particular step to hook the user ) , retention ( repetition of a certain behavior ) , referral , revenue are all in hands of a PM

What does engagement truly mean in the AARRR funnel ?

Engagement means any action or set of actions which gives instant gratification of a user , in terms of value and keeps adding value the more number of times you do it

For example

• Addition of friends on FB , the more number of friends you add , the more they are closer to you for interactions ( chat , video ) and hence you keep on adding friends
• Action point as a PM to drive engagement is - improve the friend discovery experience

How do we go about driving engagement for a new product - Case Study ?

For this we would look at Duolingo - one of my favorite language learning products and break down their engagement and retention funnel

What was the problem DUO was trying to solve ? What was their core value proposition?

Duolingo wanted to simplify language learning ? but why ?

Value for the user

1. As the world becomes global being a polyglot makes you accessible for more opportunities in your careers
2. As English becomes a “Global language “ - it opens up access to the homogenous countries like China , Russia to opportunities in the west ( US , Europe )
3. Even knowing better English allows you to communicate well to drive better success at your own workplaces
4. The cool part of learning languages is access to new cultures , dimensions of life and improve as an Individual to understand the world in a better and ingenious manner

But why DUO & not the zillion products in the market ?

Duo knew that language learning is not something people will stick to if they dont enjoy the process of it and they knew the hook is to set the process right

• Hook 1 : Remove commitments - Learn a language for free forever
• Hook 2 : Remove friction to the value of the product - No logins or information is required to use the product - A user can do language lessons first and then is asked to login
• Hook 3 : Login to save your progress : Once a user does a lesson which is easy to do - they are told if they want to save their progress - login now

This way DUO ensured easy activation , engage via Gamified learning + image learning ( will explain in next slides ) and retain the user

Link to explain the flow

But isnt this prezi regarding engagement ?How does activation aid there ?

Duo realised that an easy activation will mean - no friction to the product experience which will be the root of the tree of experiences for driving engagement and retention

• Easy activation meant - low friction to lesson taking
• No commitment in activation flow meant - user can anytime experience the lesson funnel and leave ( but that would be the case DUO knew)
• A aesthetically appealing UX in activation meant - users enjoyed the very few clicks they did

So the product learning didnt really start at the product but activation funnel only ( which indirectly aided in retention)

Link to explain the flow

Now that we understand how they activated the user -lets understand how they retained them ?

• Duo did 4 things very very right from the early onset of their product
• Retention hooks
• Hook 1 : Aesthetic appeal to UI : Aesthetic appeal brings the enjoyability quotient of the user to a high which improves NPS
• Hook 2 : Usage of Images to create retention : Images speak more than a thousand words and that what DUO did for words to stick in mind of user
• Hook 3 : Creation of sensory gratification via success cues : Success cues make a user feel empowered to continue
• Hook 4 : A no nonsense structured syllabus module : Users dont have to choose a path , its chosen for them , the eliminates user discovery

This way DUO ensured retention at its core , where sensory appeal , aesthetics , structured learning created a pull for the product

Link to the flow

Now a easy activation , strong pull what does it do ?

What an easy activation , strong retention pull did for DUO is - it brought two things for them

• CAC < LTV - their CAC for a customer drastically reduced and LTV drastically increased since every acquired customer stays for way longer than an average Language product
• Easy to optimize revenue funnel - since users more often get hooked after 3 lessons , end up paying ( At least I did )
• This also built word of mouth which further optimised CAC

For doing all of this , DUO optimised 3 metrics

1. Easy lesson access - Activation
2. Easy lesson completion - retention
3. Easy journey completion - conversion

And this all boils down from using product analytics to understand

So lets look at the holistic funnel for DUO ?

Acquisition - Any language learning seekers

Activation - no commitment flow

Retention - Gamified sensory gratification

Revenue and referral : Word of mouth and completion rates

Core Product analytics funnel for DUO

What is our take away from this ? How does this help me become a better PM to engage my users ?

Growth analytics / Product analytics is a skill which takes time to master with core focus on a few areas

• The right metrics to choose
• The right experiment design
• The right insight to measure

You don’t have to just look at CAC , Traffic sources but also have a sense of what you customers are doing on your product and if that’s what you intend them to do

And when you truly get a jist of what your customers are doing . The next innovation in any industry is at your finger tips.

Any Questions ? and Thank You