Metrics for Product Managers – The Only 3 You Should Care About
I’ve read a number of articles lately about suggested metrics for product managers, especially ones they should track for their products, and I’m absolutely mortified.
It seems like the list of metrics keeps growing, only because we find new things that can be measured. But as the list gets longer, the metrics seem to have less and less value to product managers, their managers and the organization as a whole.
If you’re a “keep it simple” person, here are the top 3 metrics that net everything out. All the others are probably leading or lagging indicators to these three! Pay attention to these and everything else will fall into place.
Top 3 Product Metrics for Product Managers
1. Product Sales
If the product is selling well, that means it’s easy for sales to articulate the value story and buyers get it! It also means the value of the product as shown in a demo is obvious to the buyer, which is why it’s selling so well.
2. Product Adoption
When product adoption happens quickly after the sale across a lot of users, that means your product adds quantifiable value to their day-to-day work streams and job tasks. It also implies that usability is good enough if not great!
3. Customer Retention
There’s usually a 1:1 correlation here with adoption. If customers love it and they get value, they’ll keep paying! Think of it this way. If someone suddenly took your product away from the users, would it cause a revolution or a sigh of relief?
Are there any other metrics that really matter when it’s all said and done?
Sure, you have to consider profitability, but if the three metrics above are in order, profitability usually follows. If not, it’ll force you to figure it out pretty quickly.
Here’s the thing about product metrics that can help keep things simple and produce the desired results.
Every feature you build, no matter how small or how granular, has to tie back to something a user does as part of his or her job. Furthermore, it has to make that user more successful at a job task than they would be otherwise without the feature.
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