Understanding the Role of a Growth Product Manager
- blogs
- 5 min read
A Growth Product Manager (GPM) has one big job: help a product grow. This means making sure more people start using the product, and that they keep using it over time. The growth can be measured in different ways—whether it’s through attracting new users, keeping existing users engaged, or making more money from the product.
For example, assume that a company has developed a mobile app that teaches people how to cook. While the app might already be great, the company wants more people to download it, sign up for cooking classes, and maybe even buy premium content. This is where a Growth Product Manager steps in. They come up with strategies to encourage more people to download the app and then ensure those users stick around and spend money.
Unlike a regular Product Manager who might focus on improving the overall app features, a Growth Product Manager is dedicated to finding ways to grow the user base, boost engagement, and drive revenue.
Key Takeaways:
- Growth product managers drive user acquisition, engagement, and revenue growth through data-driven strategies and a relentless approach to experimentation.
- While a Product Manager handles the product’s entire life cycle, a Growth Product Manager focuses on particularly driving growth metrics such as sign-ups and retention.
- Growth Product Managers run experiments, analyze data, and work with teams on small but impactful changes that fuel growth.
- Key competencies of Growth Product Management are analysis of data, creative thinking, co-working, knowledge about user behavior, and adaptable strategies.
- Salaries for growth product managers in India range from ₹ 8,00,000 to ₹ 40,00,000+ per annum; however, this varies with experience, industry, and size of the company.
What is a Growth Product Manager?
In simple words, the role of a Growth Product Manager is just to increase the number of users for a given product, retain them as users, and go on to bring in more revenue for the company. They focus on making the product better at attracting users and retaining them by testing new ideas with small changes as well as analyzing data about what works.
For example, there is a Growth Product Manager at Netflix, which is a streaming service. He might realize that some users are signing up for the free trial, but those users never begin watching any shows. Hence, he has to figure out why this happens and what he should do to change this trend. Maybe they have already decided to send a reminder email or improve the recommendation system so that the users find one or more shows that appeal to them as soon as they sign up.
This means that the Growth Product Manager is always testing and iterating on things so that the product grows and is successful.
Product Manager vs. Growth Product Manager
The main difference between a Product Manager and a Growth Product Manager is their focus.
- Product managers care for the whole product. They represent everything: new feature ideas to bug fixes and ensure that the product works just well for users. Thus, it’s to make the product better.
- GPMs only focus on growth. They target more numbers of users and make sure they come back. Their objective is to increase performance of major metrics sign-ups, retention, and revenue.
In simple words, a Product Manager is concerned with how the product has to function and where the long-term vision lies, while a Growth Product Manager is more concerned with how one can get more people to use the product and then retain their usage.
For example, a growth product manager might be more interested in finding avenues for the increase of subscribers in YouTube Premium rather than developing novel features of videos.
Responsibilities of Growth Product Managers
Growth Product Managers have a range of responsibilities, all aimed at helping the product grow. Here are some of their key tasks:
- Defining Growth Goals: The growth product manager has specific goals defined. For example, they may target signing up people for a product to increase by 20% in the next three months. Thus, the goals are measurable so that the team knows when to declare success.
- Running Experiments: Growth Product Managers are always experimenting with new ideas to determine which works the best. For example, they might experiment with different designs of the sign-up page to decide which will get more users to complete the sign-up process.
- Analyzing Data: It involves the analysis of data massively. The search into how the users are behaving, what is working and what is not. For example if the analysis shows that most users drop after one week of using an application, a Growth Product Manager will break it down to understand why that is happening and come up with a solution to fix it.
- Working with Other Teams: Growth product managers don’t work in a vacuum. They co-operate with marketing, design, and engineering teams to bring about the changes that will fuel growth. For example, if they determine that simplifying the process through which users sign up for the app will result in more sign-ups, then they would work with those same design and engineering teams to make that happen.
- Continuous Improvement: Growth Product Managers are always looking for opportunities to improve further. Something that works is not even left at that; instead, they make it better in continuation of continuous improvement. That is how they test small changes to see how those impact user behavior.
Critical Growth Product Manager Skills
Being a Growth Product Manager requires a unique set of skills. Here are the key skills that a GPM needs to be successful:
- Data-Driven Thinking: Growth Product Managers need to be comfortable working with data. They use analytics tools like Google Analytics or Mixpanel to track how users interact with the product and use that data to guide their decisions. For example, if the data shows that a lot of users are abandoning their carts before checking out, a GPM might tweak the checkout process to make it easier.
- Creativity: Growth Product Managers often have to come up with new and creative ways to encourage growth. They might test a referral program, like the one Dropbox used to encourage users to invite their friends, or a special promotion to get more people interested in the product.
- Collaboration: Growth product managers are in close contact with other teams therefore, good communication and teamwork skills are highly required. In addition, they need to make designers, marketers, and engineers understand what they want to say and ensure that everyone is tracking growth objectives in the same context.
- Understanding User Behavior: Growth product managers need to understand their users down to every detail of what elicits a reaction from them, what frustrates them, and what brings them back. That helps them know the right calls to make with regards to just how to help the product grow.
- Adaptability: Some of these growth strategies won’t work, and that’s okay. Growth Product Managers should be agile and prepared to pivot off onto new experiments when data suggests that a change in direction could be more fruitful.
How to Become a Growth Product Manager
If you’re interested in becoming a Growth Product Manager, you’ll need a mix of education, experience, and practical skills. Here’s how to get started:
- Education: While many Growth Product Managers have backgrounds in business, marketing, or engineering, it’s more important to have a good understanding of how growth works. You can take online courses in areas like growth hacking, product management, or data analysis to build your knowledge.
- Experience: Hands-on experience is key. Many Growth Product Managers start their careers in marketing, product management, or business analysis roles. In these positions, they learn how to track user behavior and run experiments that drive growth.
- Understanding Growth Tools and Techniques: Familiarity with tools like Google Analytics and Mixpanel is essential. Growth Product Managers also need to understand strategies like A/B testing (comparing two versions of a feature to see which performs better) and funnel optimization (making it easier for users to move through the steps that lead to a purchase or sign-up).
- Building a Portfolio: You clearly show as a candidate that you have run successful growth experiments or increased key metrics in a previous role. Start tracking successes and build a portfolio showing your ability to drive growth.
Growth Product Manager Salaries in India
The salary of a Growth Product Manager in India varies significantly based on experience, the size of the company, and the industry. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of salary expectations based on different levels of experience:
1. Entry-Level Growth Product Manager (0-2 years of experience):
- Salary Range: ₹8,00,000 to ₹12,00,000 per year
An entry-level growth product manager usually starts with a basic background in product management and data analysis. They are usually working under the guidance of more senior professionals because they are learning the ropes. Their task in this role would be the running of smaller growth experiments in aid of the overall growth strategy.
2. Mid-Level Growth Product Manager (2-5 years of experience):
- Salary Range: ₹12,00,000 to ₹18,00,000 per year
Mid-level Growth Product Managers can work at times quite independently in handling growth initiatives. They run experiments, look through data, and work on various teams to drive growth. This means they are expected to know the fundamentals of growth frameworks and tools, and their work will involve more intricate growth strategies.
3. Senior Growth Product Manager (5-8 years of experience):
- Salary Range: ₹18,00,000 to ₹25,00,000 per year
With many years of experience operating growth programs, senior growth product managers typically lead the growth strategy for a product, manage cross-functional teams, and develop high-revenue driving initiatives. At this level, they run experiments but also develop and refine the overall growth strategy for the company.
4. Lead/Head of Growth (8+ years of experience):
- Salary Range: ₹25,00,000 to ₹40,00,000+ per year
At this level, the Growth Leaders most often set the growth vision for the organization, manage a team of Growth Product Managers, and take on responsibility for playing an important role in the overall strategy of the company. These roles may come with added responsibilities like budget management and strategic planning about how to grow the product over time. The compensation can include bonus options tied to specific performance, in addition to stock options in larger companies or big startups.
(source: Glassdoor, Payscale)
Additional Factors Influencing Salaries:
- Company Size: Larger companies such as Flipkart, Swiggy or Zomato often pay better because their operation is much bigger in scale and of course, their budget is much larger as well. However, smaller startups will often keep a lower base pay but will compensate with equity or bonuses that are tied much more closely to performance.
- Industry: Industries such as fintech, e-commerce, and SaaS generally pay Growth Product Managers a higher salary because user growth is a highly competitive area in such industries.
- Location: Salaries also vary as per the region. Growth Product Managers in metro cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR typically earn more than those operating in smaller cities because of the higher cost of living and the concentration of tech companies in these places.
The Future of Growth Product Management
Growth Product Management is increasingly significant because success relies highly on data and technology. It is the base form of business development to help companies address changes in the market and discover new paths for progress.
AI and machine learning ensure promise in the future as growth product manager tools. AI enables faster data analysis, and predicts what will drive growth. For instance, AI can analyze all user behavior and tell how to improve the product experience, thereby enabling informed decision-making by growth product managers.
The demand for Growth Product Managers is likely to keep growing, especially in industries like fintech, e-commerce, and software as a service (SaaS), where growth is critical to success.
The Growth Product Manager is a position of utmost importance as business emphasis begins to touch on aspects like user base growth, engagement, and revenue-driven solutions. By trying out new ideas and working with different teams, Growth Product Managers help deliver products to realize their ultimate potential. They give attention to metrics that matter- the ones that increase sign-ups, reduce churns, or even lift overall customer lifetime value.
As more companies recognize the value of data-driven growth strategies, the demand for Growth Product Managers will continue to rise. This role offers a unique opportunity to make a tangible impact on a product’s success, combining creativity, analytical thinking, and strategic decision-making. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to transition into a Growth Product Manager position, developing the right skills and gaining hands-on experience can set you on the path to success in this exciting field.
Becoming a Growth Product Manager is a rewarding career path with many growth opportunities in product management. If you’re looking to start your journey, consider the courses offered by Institute of Product Leadership (IPL). IPL provides an on-campus UGC-accredited Executive MBA in product management degree program and live online product management courses to help you build the necessary skills and network to succeed in this field. With the right skills and mentoring you can successfully navigate your journey to becoming a growth product manager in 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Growth Product Manager focuses on growing the user base, increasing engagement, and driving revenue by running experiments and making data-driven decisions.
A Growth Product Manager focuses specifically on improving growth metrics like user acquisition and retention, while a regular Product Manager oversees the overall product development and feature set.
Key skills include data analysis, creativity, collaboration, understanding user behavior, and adaptability.
You can become a Growth Product Manager by gaining experience in product management, marketing, or business analysis, and learning about growth strategies and tools.
Growth Product Managers in India typically earn between ₹15,00,000 and ₹25,00,000 per year, depending on their experience and the company they work for.
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