Customer-oriented Thinking Is Key

Q: What's the worst mistake you made as a Product Manager?

I built an entire product without ever connecting with the target customer.

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During my stint at Pakwheels, we were exploring monetization avenues. We were trying to go B2B & build something for the auto dealer market.

I met a couple of top influencers during those days who shared how dealers weren't managing their leads properly. They'd just cram their phones with numbers without any context. If they were unable to sell to someone, they'd fail to reach back to them when a suitable car did come along.

"If they just managed their contacts better, they could easily triple sales in lesser time.", said one expert.

I was sold. I soon finalized a proposal to develop a desktop version of an online CRM to help these dealers organize their contacts & deal flow.

I dived straight into wireframing. Checked a few competitors, copied a few user flows & done.

Result?

The product bombed hard.

When I finally met one of these dealers, it was pretty obvious why:

• They could hardly read or write in English
• The most advanced device they had was a Nokia 3310
• They were out & about (not behind a laptop or desk)

The mismatch was simply ridiculous.

Lesson: Know thy customer. Better yet, meet them