Transitioning from a B2B PM to a B2C PM requires a transformation in product mindset and strategy. There are some skills that are transferable and carry over easily, such as, customer obsession, data driven decision making and deep-dive skills. However, the bigger challenge is developing the non-transferrable skills that are specific to B2C PM. Mastering these skills requires conscious and consistent efforts and practice. Here are some focus areas that can ease the transition from a B2B to B2C PM:
- User Research: The user research methodologies for enterprise or B2B PMs is quite different from B2C PMs. Typically, the variance in demography is higher with the latter and the ease of access to the right customer is also harder with the latter. As a B2B PM, it is usually easier to apply your business bias/empathy and think as a customer, but that empathy might not come as naturally for a B2C PM. Also, large-scale focus groups, user studies and A/B testing are far more effective research mechanisms for B2C products, whereas individual customer calls and 1:1 user research interviews turn out to be more effective for B2B.
- Metrics: The same metric evaluation strategy doesn't scale over B2B and B2C products. This is also related to the difference in business and financial models for B2B vs B2C. Typically, B2B products are more focused on conversion metrics, such as paying customers and recurring revenue. However, B2C products are focused more on engagement metrics such as active users, reach, session length, and churn. As a B2C PM one has to apply a different lens to the problem of identifying the right set of metrics that indicate both customer satisfaction and growth of business.
- Launch Velocity: Typically, the velocity of feature launch and updates is significantly higher for B2C products vs B2B. To some extent, this is a reflection of the customer needs and expectations where B2C customers are more open to frequent updates and new feature launches, while B2B customers expect more stability and ease of integration (i.e. avoid changes/updates that can cause overhead). As a B2C PM one has to focus on finding the right velocity for feature launches that can match the customers needs and expectations.
In summary, there are certain B2B PM skills that are transferable to B2C, such as, customer obsession, data driven decision making and deep-dive skills. However, one has to put conscious effort and practice into honing the non transferable B2C PM skills such as user research, metrics evaluation and feature launch velocity. Shared below are some additional helpful notes and articles on the topics of transitioning from B2B to B2C PM.