Inflation is up. Revenues are down. Budgets and headcount are frozen or shrinking. These are just some of the complex challenges an economic downturn poses to companies looking to navigate the future successfully. But there’s a silver lining. In meeting these challenges, organisations are forced to narrow their focus. They’re building for a better tomorrow by investing in their most significant opportunity. But what is that exactly?
In a recent survey, Pendo and Mind the Product asked over 500 product professionals how their work and their companies’ priorities have changed in response to current economic conditions.
Companies rally around product to weather economic storm
A key finding from this report is that organisations are turning their attention to product teams and leaders to weather the current turbulent economic climate. We found that 67% of product leaders say their company has become more focused on product.
Our survey shows organisations now realise that product is so much more than the core services and functions it provides to users. It’s a primary channel for sales and marketing, where customer support happens and how you communicate your brand vision.
In addition, our survey revealed that 62% of product leaders say the downturn has driven their organisation to value the role of a product manager more importantly. With Keji Adedeji mentioning that she has noticed the rise of more formal product management courses in this #mtpcon London panel discussion, there’s no doubt that we will likely see an increasing number of companies follow a similar suit in supporting product.
Finally, we found that 61% of respondents say new business decisions are made possible by product data. We can see that data is influencing the way in which business decisions are made. This is bound to increase the demand for product teams to be given more resources.
To see our full set of findings, download The power of Product in an economic downturn here.
Discover more great content on Mind the Product
- Finding your frosting as a product leader by Jeff Birkeland
- Moving from individual contributor to product leader – Jason Knight on The Product Experience
- Demystifying Product Strategy by Amy Zima
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