Best Career Advice For Aspiring Product Managers
Product management is a high-demand job prospect, with immense growth and lucrative income potential. Not surprisingly, more and more young professionals are keen to explore it to get a career head start. Likewise, seasoned ones are also ready to switch roles to reach the next level. But the field is still nascent, and the role of a product manager may differ from organization to organization. So you may need some guidance as a beginner in the niche, even if you are an experienced professional. Here is the best career advice for aspiring product managers.
Understand the Responsibilities
You may come from a software development, business, or even arts background to start a career as a product manager. But you must understand the responsibilities of the role to prepare for it. Typically, you will need to determine customer needs, define product vision, develop its road map, and work with the product development team. You will also need to collaborate with a cross-functional team as a part of your role within your organization.
Develop Your Skills
Another tip is to develop your skills according to the product you need to manage and the organization you work for. Hard skills like a clear understanding of programming, UX, and content creation give you a good start. Likewise, you must work on soft skills such as good communication, critical thinking, and flexibility to achieve success in the role. The skills may differ organization-wise, so be ready to learn as you go.
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Dig Deep Into Financial Prospects
Once you understand your responsibilities and develop the necessary skills, you are all set to dive in. But you must dig deep into the financial prospects before embarking on a job search. Start by researching the entry level product manager salary in the specific niche or market you want to target. You can also consider your skills and experience if planning a career switch. Knowing the numbers puts you in a better place to negotiate the salary for your first job in the role and later.
Survey the Job Landscape
Although the demand in the product management domain is high, you must survey to job landscape to know about the opportunities and competition. Check the options to decide on a perfect fit according to your skills, experience, and preferences. Also, understand the competition in the landscape as it enables you to prepare to beat the competitors and land the best opportunities.
Set Long-term Goals
Starting a career as a product manager sets you on the right path, but you cannot stop chasing growth from here. The best piece of advice is to plan long-term goals in the role, as it is likely to get bigger and better. More and more companies will need experts to boost sales and drive customer retention. You can make the most of the opportunity by setting goals, planning a roadmap, and defining milestones.
Becoming a product manager is an excellent career choice, but you must plan your growth route to maximize growth. Follow these tried and tested tips from experts to get a good start and grow from here.
5 Simple Ways to Increase Business Revenue
Business revenue is the money the business makes over a set period before expenses are subtracted. Revenue is generated by selling goods and services, earning interest on investments, or other core operations. Increasing business revenue is a key way to drive profits. To be a successful business, it’s important to find workable strategies to increase business revenue and, therefore, profits.
In this article, we’re going to look at the simplest ways to achieve this.
Target Existing Customers
Finding new customers is resource intensive. It’s a lot easier to concentrate your efforts on existing customers since you already know they are interested in what you sell. The likelihood of a sale is between 60% and 70% when you target an existing customer, compared to 20% or less with a new customer. Not only can you sell them new products, but they’ll also be receptive to upselling and cross-selling.
There are several ways to target existing customers. Offering discounts is a tried and tested way to encourage people to make repeat purchases. Email marketing is inexpensive and can yield excellent results, but it’s important to segment your list so emails are better received.
Loyalty campaigns are equally effective with B2C and B2B customers. B2B loyalty software such as this one helps businesses segment and target customers using specific campaigns via SMS, email, and an onsite inbox.
Review Your Prices
It is worth reviewing your prices regularly, to ensure you are charging enough for your products or services. However, be careful not to raise prices across the board without testing small increases first.
If demand isn’t there or your brand is perceived as too expensive or charging unfair prices, it will negatively impact your brand and, therefore revenue. That said, if your expenses have increased, as is the case currently with the high cost of utilities, it is sensible to increase prices before your revenue and profits are impacted too badly.
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Review Profit Margins
Markets change all the time. What’s in demand now might not be in a few months. Continually review your product ranges and work out the profit margins for each item. If profit margins fall, either because supplier prices have increased or demand for that product has fallen, decide whether it’s worth increasing prices or removing it from your inventory.
Identify New Products
Carry out regular market research and monitor market trends. You might be able to identify new products in a less saturated niche. If you can beat your competitors and stock items before anyone else, it’s an excellent way to generate significant revenue when demand is high.
Incentivise Your Sales Teams
Revenue will increase if your sales teams are working harder, but they won’t do this without incentives. Offer bonuses to employees hitting their targets, so they are incentivised to go the extra mile. Your best-performing sales teams should always be rewarded, as they are a valuable asset to the company.
Increasing business revenue requires a multi-faceted approach. Pour resources into tackling each area on this list and you’ll see dividends in no time.
A Beginner’s Guide to MIG Welding
Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding is a popular welding process used in a variety of industries. It’s an efficient and cost-effective method for joining metals together, making it ideal for both industrial welders and DIY projects. Let’s explore what MIG welding is, how it works, and the types of materials it can be used on.
What Is MIG Welding?
MIG stands for Metal Inert Gas; the “inert gas” part refers to the type of shielding gas used in the process. The shielding gas protects the area being welded from oxidation and other contaminants that would otherwise weaken or diminish the weld. This makes MIG welding ideal for outdoor settings where wind or other environmental factors could affect the quality of the weld.
MIG welding uses a wire electrode that is fed through a gun, creating an arc between the base material and itself; this arc melts both materials together until they become one piece. The wire electrode also acts as filler material, which means there is no need to use additional rods or powder like with other forms of welding. This process makes MIG welding faster than many other forms of welding and allows for precise control when joining two pieces together.
Types Of Materials That Can Be Used For MIG Welding
MIG welding can be used on a variety of metals including steel, aluminum, stainless steel, copper alloys, brass alloys, nickel alloys, titanium alloys, magnesium alloys, zinc alloys, cobalt alloys, cast iron and iron alloy steels. It can also be used on plastics such as PVC or fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP). Proper setup is key to successful MIG welding; different types of materials require different settings in order for a successful weld to take place. Additionally, some materials may require preheating before they can be successfully joined with MIG welding.
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Advantages of MIG Welding
MIG welding has several advantages over other types of welding. It’s fast, easy to learn, produces high-quality welds, and can be used on many different materials including steel, aluminum alloy, stainless steel, copper alloys, brass alloys, and nickel alloys. It also has low levels of fume production compared to other types of welding processes like stick or TIG welding. All these benefits make it ideal for beginners or experienced welders alike who want a reliable way to get their projects done quickly.
Safety Considerations When Using MIG Welders
When using any type of welder there are certain safety considerations that should always be taken into account before beginning any work—especially when using high voltage equipment such as a MIG welder. Always make sure you wear proper protective gear including flame resistant clothing as well as safety glasses or goggles with side shields (or better yet—a full face shield). Make sure you are aware of your surroundings when working with large pieces of metal; look out for sparks flying from your work piece or from other nearby machines that could potentially cause injury if not properly contained or shielded off with fire retardant materials such as sand bags or sheets of thick plastic sheeting.
MIG welding is an efficient way to join different types of metals together quickly and easily without having to use additional filler materials or rods like you do with other forms of welding. It’s also suitable for outdoor settings due to its shielding gas protection against oxidation or contamination. Whether you are an experienced welder looking for something new or just starting out with your first project – MIG welding may be just what you need! With proper setup you can join almost any type of metal – giving you endless possibilities for your next project.
Three Ways to Improve Your Personal Brand Skills as an Entrepreneur
There is no doubting the fact that personal branding has become huge over the past few years and is only set to grow in popularity over the next few months.
With social media becoming an acceptable (and arguably necessary) place for entrepreneurs to be seen, neglecting to build a personal brand is a rank disadvantage.
Why?
Because people buy from people. While having a strong business brand is crucial, the personal brand of the owner or CEO is equally as powerful. Just look at any mega-successful brand over the past few years.
Whether it is Elon Musk with Tesla, SpaceX, and now Twitter, Michael Saylor with MicroStrategy, Whitney Wolfe Herd with Bumble or Stephen Bartlett with Flight Story, strong brands have strong founders.
Therefore, you need to tell your story and cultivate a personal brand.
How?
Well, it is not the work of a moment and requires you to build a digital marketing skillset and the ability to write online (unless you want to hire a ghostwriter).
However, it is entirely possible and a task that is made easier the longer you stick at it.
To help, here are some actionable tips you can use to improve your personal branding skills as an entrepreneur:
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Enroll in a digital marketing course
Before you start posting online or considering what you want to say, you should ensure your foundational marketing knowledge is in place.
Depending on what your existing knowledge base is, this may require you to either brush up on some specific social media skills or join a digital marketing online course at an online business school.
Doing this will put you in the best possible position to grow your personal brand.
After all, there is nothing worse than starting a social media account or appearing on podcasts and it doing your corporate brand damage rather than improving it. By sharpening your digital marketing skills, you will minimize the chances of a misstep.
Start posting on one social media platform
The best place to start building your personal brand is on social media. The reason for this is obvious – it is where people go to share their personal stories, connect with others and cultivate a network.
However, with a plethora of platforms to choose from, it can be tempting to start multiple accounts and post on loads of different social media platforms. Although logic would suggest this increases your chances of gaining followers, the opposite is true.
You need to start building your following on one single platform, because it will mean your content is tailored towards it and you can develop a concentrated community.
For entrepreneurs, Twitter or Linkedin are usually seen as your strongest choices.
Share personal stories and valuable tips
Finally, you need to open up.
It can seem counterintuitive to share personal (or even embarrassing) information in public online as an entrepreneur, but it will attract people to you and make you seem more relatable.
By sharing these stories, your brand will become more human and spark an emotional connection in your audience. You could share your challenges when building a business, private stories that relate to your business, or share tips for other entrepreneurs.
Unspoken Rules Of Mascot Marketing Every Brand Must Follow
While digital marketing has emerged as a transitional trend in the branding landscape, some strategies continue to go strong. For example, brand mascots are still crucial, and they will never be outdated when it comes to promoting brands. In fact, you can use them to fuel promotions across all channels, from retail settings to print ads, TV, business events, websites, and social media. Since mascots are everywhere, you must choose them wisely and take a strategic approach toward promoting them. Let us share a few unspoken rules of mascot marketing that every brand must follow.
Rule #1- Conduct in-depth research
Start by choosing your mascot design wisely. You may have something in mind while launching it for the first time, but do not stick with a random idea. An in-depth research of your target audience is a good start. For example, your mascot should be fun if your target audience is the younger generation, while you can choose something more serious if targeting older buyers. Likewise, ensure replicating your brand’s vision, values, and message in its design. You must also dig deep if you want to rework the mascot of your brand down the line. Research should always be the first step.
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Rule #2- Consider personalization
The market has countless competing brands selling similar products and services to the same target audience. A mascot that looks like any other is the last thing you need for your marketing campaigns. So you must consider personalization with a unique look, feel, messaging, and features. A personalized character is more likely to connect with the audience and stay in their memory, no matter how much competition is in the market. You can finalize a design and invest in Custom Mascot Costumes to promote your brand at events and in retail settings for the long haul. You can even try customizing it with different costumes or expressions for changing moods, seasons, and campaigns. Consider it a small investment to make your brand visible and memorable.
Rule #3- Maintain consistency with your visual identity
Another unspoken rule you must follow for mascot marketing is to maintain consistency with your visual identity. Simply speaking, your mascot should look the same everywhere, whether on your website, social media promotions, print campaigns, or business events. Consistency is also about aligning it with your brand assets, such as logos, colors, messaging, and tone of voice. Not maintaining consistency can send out confusing signals to your buyers, and they may end up feeling disconnected from your brand. You cannot afford the disconnect because it can affect customer loyalty and sales in the long run.
Mascot marketing is more than choosing a character to represent your brand. Think beyond and scratch the surface to make the most of this compelling branding strategy. You must follow some rules to select an ideal design and promote it effectively to gain attention, recognition, and loyalty for your brand. Following these unspoken rules can keep your business on the right track with an effective mascot marketing plan.