Solar Suction

One of my pet peeves is seeing a whole bunch of portable solar chargers on the market for mobile phones that are designed without even a clue as to how the user will use them.
Somebody basically took two solar cells, put them in a case and added a connector. It reminds me of a trip I took to Asia years ago with the first prototype of our iSun solar charger. I was on a plane from Tokyo to Hong Kong and my Ericsson T28 phone was dead. So I took out the prototype and held it to the window of the plane while the phone was sitting in the pouch of the seat in front of me.
I must have looked like a clod! Sitting in my chair, holding the unit up against the window. Well you guessed it, that lasted all of 5 minutes before I got tired. Lo and behold, I had the first experience with our new product and I was frustrated. Imagine someone who just spent their hard earned cash on what seemed like a good idea. So we simply added suction cups. You heard it, simple solution to a simple problem. And yet our product management team had not thought of it.
This brings me to a point I’ve been debating. Where does product management differ from product development? In a cradle to grave model of business, it doesn’t. The Product Manager in a consumer products company belongs in Marketing. In an industrial products company, the PM belongs in engineering. He/she understands the market and seeks out solutions. The PM in a consumer products unit engages a cross functional team to develop products, marketing campaigns and sales efforts that are coordinated. Some call it a Project Coordinator. In essence, its all about really knowing your customer’s needs and wants.
All to come back to suction cups. If you don’t hear the sounds of your customers, your products may sell, but they won’t last.
Sass