Remote Product Management as a Service
One in five products fails to meet customer demands.
Wondering why? Well, there may be various reasons for this. Yet, a critical one is that about 49% of companies don’t pay enough attention to their product management process.
Remote product management as a service offers the convenience of accessing top talent from around the globe, while creative staffing firms can provide an employer of record solution, ensuring compliance and seamless management of remote product management teams. But what is product management in the first place? Keep reading this post to learn more about it.
Product Management and Product Manager’s Responsibilities Overview
Product management is the process of overseeing each product’s life cycle stage: planning, development, launch, marketing, etc., focusing on customers. Its ultimate goal is to deliver a high-quality digital product that meets user expectations. Remote product management, in turn, is the execution of all the mentioned actions in distant mode.
A product manager is an expert, knowledgeable about the market and customers, and handles the product development strategy. This specialist participates in all activities related to the product and controls the actions of the teams working on it.
The primary duties of a product manager include analysis of the market, competitors, and customer requirements. Based on the collected insights, this specialist forms a digital product vision, which they later share with the development team. It’s necessary to deliver a functional product that meets the requirements of customers and the market.
Product managers also monitor a digital product even after its development stage. They participate in software testing, help create an effective marketing strategy, etc.
These experts are also fully responsible for the profits the business will get from the product. Responsibility for losses is also of these specialists’ concern.
Product Roadmap and Its Purpose
Another term critical in the work of an in-house or remote product manager is the product roadmap. Let’s figure out what it is.
Since product managers are responsible for all processes related to the product, they must have a specific plan of action to guide them. In this regard, the product roadmap serves as the perfect solution.
A product roadmap is a document that is a common source of truth for all parties involved in product creation. It describes the development plan, vision, and short-term and long-term goals of the product with a prediction of its progress over time. It also includes a description of the product’s technical side, outlining its features and technologies. As an action plan, the product roadmap defines the steps necessary to achieve the set goals.
Product managers use a product roadmap to keep all stakeholders on the same page. This document helps everyone reach a consensus on changes and product development.
Typically, a product roadmap harmonizes the work of the following stakeholders:
- Development team: to better understand the expected goals of the product.
- Company executives: to explain the complex technical side of the product in simple terms.
- Product owners and managers: to organize productive work on product development.
Challenges Resolved by Product Managers
Whether you hire an in-house or a freelance product manager, any of these experts will be a valuable asset to your business. These specialists help solve a range of challenges you may face, and they do it as efficiently as possible.
Here are some matters with which a product manager can assist you:
Find the Suitable Product-Market Fit
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, about 20% of products fail to satisfy their users. It’s no longer a problem if you work with an experienced product manager. Such an expert will help you create a digital product following the needs of the market and your target audience.
Define the Business Problem You’re Trying to Solve
Let’s say you have an idea for a product, and you’ve even started its development, but you don’t fully understand its benefit to your company. A product manager will give your product a meaning that will help your business thrive.
Conduct Quality User Research
A lot of data about your users can be confusing. Nevertheless, a product manager is an expert who studies customers. Such a specialist can conduct quality research and derive valuable insights for you.
Validate Ideas
Your project’s further success depends on the validation of your product concepts. A product manager will help you choose only viable ideas that will make your product profitable.
Choose Goals and Product Metrics to Focus On
The product manager will also help you prioritize the objectives of your product. This way, you will not use your time on lower-priority tasks but pay attention to what’s important.
Product Manager vs. Product Owner Responsibilities
You’ve probably heard of such an expert as a product owner. This specialty can be confusing compared to product managers and their responsibilities.
So what’s the difference between these two experts? Generally, the product manager remote does all the research, comes up with the product strategy, and sets goals and priorities. In contrast, the product owner works closely with the development team to bring the product manager’s strategy to life.
Here are some other differences between these experts:
- Strong analytical and research skills
- Critical and strategic thinking
- Business process understanding
- Decent communication skills
- Leadership abilities
- Technology-wise
- Result-oriented
- Customer focus
- Creating and developing the product strategy
- Defining and increasing the value of the product
- Defining and managing the product requirements
- Defining success markers, goals, and product vision
- Managing all product life cycle processes
- Managing the product budget
- Driving product innovation
- Supervising the in-house and offshore teams
Of course, the duties and roles of these two experts can shift and blend under certain circumstances. But these were the key points that distinguish the product of the manager and the owner.
Must-Have Product Manager Skills and Responsibilities
At this point, you already roughly understand the product manager’s role for businesses. Let’s summarize everything and outline this specialist’s must-have skills and responsibilities.
The core skills of a decent full time or part time product manager are as follows:
Here are the primary responsibilities of a product manager:
In-House vs. Outstaffing vs. Freelance Product Manager Hiring Models
When it comes to attracting a product manager to your company, you will probably face a choice: which hiring model is the most suitable?
In this case, you have several options: in-house, outstaffing, or freelance product management. Let’s look at these three hiring approaches in more detail.
| In-House | Outstaffing | Freelance | |
| Definition | In-house product managers are experts who work full-time in your office. | Outstaffing involves hiring a full-time product manager remotely. | Product management freelance involves engaging remote independent experts. Usually, such specialists work on several projects simultaneously. |
| How to Employ | You can find an in-house product manager through job aggregators, or your HR specialist will handle the hiring process. | You can find a product manager through specialized outstaffing companies, where the HR of your potential vendor will select the best candidate. | You can find the necessary product design freelance expert and contact him through specialized freelance platforms like Upwork. |
| Employee Cost | In-house product managers are the most expensive of all three types of employees. | Product management outstaffing is a more profitable option compared to in-house hiring. | A freelance product designer is the cheapest of all three types of employees. |
| Project Type | In-house product managers are suitable for long-term projects that require full commitment. | Remote product managers are suitable for long-term projects that require full commitment. | Freelance product designers are suitable for short-term projects. |
Product Manager Salary Rates
If you intend to hire a product manager finance remote or in-house, you should prepare for this in advance. Thus, it will be handy to find out the salary rates of such specialists.
We have prepared a salary overview for junior, middle, and senior product managers in different countries. Learn more in the tables below.
| Country | Junior | Middle | Senior |
| USA | $38 | $61 | $67 |
| UK | $20 | $23 | $44 |
| Germany | $27 | $32 | $34 |
| Netherlands | $18 | $28 | $39 |
| Ukraine | $25* | $35* | $45* |
*Ukrainian salaries are provided based on Mobilunity’s Recruitment Team research on the local job markets. All salaries are net and do not include the service fee (in case of hiring on a dedicated team model). The salaries are provided for comparison purposes and could be not entirely accurate. Contact us to know the exact cost of hiring a developer corresponding to the required parameters.
If you opt for freelance product development, you may pay between $25 and $45 for a product manager. That’s what Upwork stats suggest.
As you can see, hiring Ukrainian product managers is the most cost-effective option. On top of that, if you choose an employee from Ukraine, you will leverage high-quality services and profound expertise.
Why Choose Mobilunity as Your Reliable Product Management Services Provider in Ukraine?
Mobilunity is a Ukrainian IT service provider with over 12 years of experience. We offer dedicated teams proficient in various industries and technologies.
We can deliver you top-notch product management services as we did for our numerous clients. We have already partnered with an XPLG data management company from Israel, a Zenchef restaurant digitization vendor from France, an i-doit IT documentation firm from Germany, and over 40 other companies worldwide.
With us, you can effortlessly hire a product designer freelance or opt for an outstaffing option: whatever is the most convenient for you. Thus, if you need a reliable product management service provider, drop us a line, and let’s get to work.
Looking for a remote product management partner? Consider Mobilunity as your reliable vendor from Ukraine.
All salaries and prices mentioned within the article are approximate NET numbers based on the research done by our in-house Recruitment Team. Please use these numbers as a guide for comparison purposes only and feel free to use the contact form to inquire on the specific cost of the talent according to your vacancy requirements and chosen model of engagement.
