The Power of Empathy in Product Management: A Conversation with Erin Wright
As Vice President of Product Management at MasterControl, Erin Wright has driven remarkable growth, tripling ARR through her customer-centric approach. In our conversation, Erin shares her insights on the importance of empathy in understanding customer needs and how her team incorporates this crucial skill into their product process.
From Healthcare to Product Management
Erin’s journey began in healthcare, where she worked as a behavioral health counselor. Her experience in this field taught her the value of empathy, which she later applied to her role in product management. Erin transitioned to the software industry, joining Clarix Products Group, where she worked on clinical trial software. Her idea for a validation process led to her current role at MasterControl, where she owns the patented product idea.
The Importance of Empathy in Product
Erin believes that empathy is a critical skill for product managers. It enables them to understand the problems customers are trying to solve and see things from their perspective. At MasterControl, Erin’s team conducts education sessions where they spend a “day in the life” of customers, observing their daily challenges and pain points. This helps them develop a deeper understanding of their customers’ needs and processes.
Recentering the Voice of the Customer
Erin emphasizes the importance of keeping customer needs at the center of the company. She recounts how MasterControl’s team had become focused on solving problems based on their own domain expertise, rather than considering the changing needs of their customers. To address this, they recentered the voice of the customer as their top priority, ensuring that their products align with customer needs.
Multidimensional Channels of Feedback
Erin’s team collects customer feedback through various channels, including qualitative and quantitative data, product advisory councils, and targeted product feedback questionnaires. They also track usage analytics and configuration analytics to make data-driven decisions.
Balancing Customer Feedback with Internal Ideas
Erin believes that everything is about solving customer problems. If an internal innovation can solve problems better, they invest in it. She doesn’t see it as an either/or situation, but rather as finding the best way to solve customer problems, whether through building new products or iterating on existing ones.
Growing the Company for the Future
During Erin’s time at MasterControl, ARR has tripled. She attributes this growth to the move to the cloud, adjustments to their bundling and packaging prices, and a solutions sales process. For longer-term planning, they use a five-year, three-year, one-year, and quarterly planning process to prioritize items and align them with their core objectives.
Change Management and Trust
Erin emphasizes the importance of one-on-one conversations in managing change. By building close relationships with internal stakeholders, they can have open and candid conversations about risks and concerns. This high-trust environment allows people to admit mistakes and learn from them.
A Culture of Trust and Empathy
Erin is proud of MasterControl’s culture, which is based on its core values, including the people quotient – treating people like people. This high-trust environment enables people to own their mistakes and learn from them, making it a wonderful place to work.