An Examination of SaaS Product Management Job Titles

It’s a great time to be in the software industry. Software is now at the center of many industries and has revolutionized how we do business, run our homes, and interact with others. 

One of the most significant shifts over this period relates to product management. It has been transformed from a tactical role into one that looks at both strategy and execution. 

This article will discuss what SaaS product management entails and why understanding these roles is essential for all SaaS projects’ stakeholders.

What is SaaS product management?

The management of a SaaS product lasts for its entire product lifetime. Management includes participation in all processes relating to the product – from ideation to sales and even post that. 

Therefore it has come to mean different things to different organizations. It is important to define roles as the efficient implementation of management plans can mean significant profits. Each SaaS product has its unique management plan. 

The roles included in the management of a SaaS product are concerned with researching, charting a goal and vision for the company and its product, communicating these plans, management, and product improvement. 

While SaaS product management has an overall goal to create a plan for the organization, research and customer needs are deciding factors. 

What are the different roles in a SaaS company?

Job roles in SaaS companies like flywheel alternative are challenging to navigate differently, with new technology introduced more frequently. This article shall discuss the different job roles involved in managing a SaaS product. 

The key roles in a SaaS product are 

Customer Success Manager

They are responsible for doing exactly as the title suggests: keep the customers’ and clients’ satisfaction in check. Saas products are more likely to be complex than not, and CSMs are responsible for knowing everything there is to know about the product. 

This knowledge helps in the onboarding process of the clients. They are also responsible for customer feedback throughout their use of it. The customer success manager (CSM) acts as an intermediary between what users want and how they can get it.

Chief Technical Officer

The SaaS product needs to be up-to-date for its users at all times, ensuring that bugs or issues encountered by other users are fixed promptly should they arise. 

They’re responsible for building the product and expanding on it, improving it, and preparing for the future of the product. These professionals act as mediators between the customer and other departments.

Product Manager

The product manager is responsible for a product’s entire lifetime. They oversee everything, right from its design to the post-sale experience to determining the future projects. 

Additionally, they work with the marketing department to ensure that the product reaches as many customers as possible. They update and refine the product, and they are the link between the development team and the audience of the concerned product.

It is highly collaborative and analytical work. A project lead coordinates between internal teams to ensure the continuation of the product in the market.

Marketing Manager

This professional is responsible for promoting a product. They work with the design, development, and sales teams to determine how best to improve conversion rates. 

Marketing managers also run A/B tests on their website to understand what works well and identify areas that need improvement or fine-tuning.

UX Designer

The UX designer ensures that the product is user-friendly. They are responsible for providing an interface that allows easy navigation and features usage. This role includes everything from UI to workflow usability, information architecture, site maps, etc. 

Sales Manager

This role is only concerned with one thing – maximizing revenue. They are responsible for pricing strategy and providing deals most accessible to clients. They also retain existing clients with periodic updates in revenue patterns.

What is a SaaS product manager?

SaaS product manager creates a roadmap for the team responsible for the product management. The intent is to secure its functionality in the present and work on future product plans. 

SaaS product managers are responsible for the overall business strategy and defining its vision. SaaS product managers work on SaaS products while keeping the SaaS sales funnel in mind. 

SaaS Product Manager monitors critical metrics like the number of customers acquired, expansion rate, revenue per customer, and churn rate. 

What is the SaaS product manager job description?

SaaS product manager creates a roadmap for the team responsible for the product management. The intent is to secure its functionality in the present and work on future product plans. 

SaaS product managers are responsible for the overall business strategy and defining its vision. SaaS product managers work on SaaS products while keeping the SaaS sales funnel in mind. 

SaaS Product Manager monitors vital metrics like the number of customers acquired, expansion rate, revenue per customer, and churn rate. 

The product manager fleshes out a plan that defines the product roadmap and communicates it to their team. The PM also establishes significant milestones for a release, including deadlines. 

They also clarify questions from the engineering teams on what they should build next or improve something in the product’s existing version. The Product Manager has complete information about all functions of the software solution that the team is developing. 

While they have primary data, it is also within their purview to locate research and use it appropriately. They monitor sales and market closely to make better-informed decisions. 

Product managers work intensively on generating ideas for the product and its features. This work starts in the pre-development stage and lasts for the product’s entire lifetime. 

This ideation is further implemented under the supervision and decisive space of the product manager. 

They have to work closely with the team and provide guidance on how they want things done. 

The product manager also remains in constant touch with customers, users of their products, and sales teams to get information about new developments incorporated into their solutions.

As part of the product manager role, they also look after new employees and train them to fit their needs and expectations. 

One of the most critical factors is working collaboratively and keeping the significant stakeholders of the concerned SaaS product informed about the decisions. 

What is a SaaS product manager’s salary?

According to salary sites like Glassdoor and Payscale, typical salaries among product managers can range anywhere from $63,000 to over $200,000. The range is broad. 

It factors various aspects such as work role expectations, industry type, education, experience, and geographic location while hiring. Seniority is a factor all across the table.

The more your experience in product management, the better your pay. However, we also see that fresh graduates are taking up space increasingly in these roles. 

Specific certifications allow you that leeway. Some industries have a higher need for these roles than others, which reflects that. If the living cost is high in a city, again the salary shall reflect that. 

What is a SaaS product owner? 

As a Product Owner, one works in sync with the Product Manager to understand the customer’s needs at a microscopic and macroscopic level.

The role expects one to define, document, and communicate requirements in dedicated deadlines. 

In Software as a Service (SaaS), Product Owners are responsible for managing and prioritizing backlogs to deliver quality products. 

With supporting terms agreed, with research that aligns, the Product Owner is responsible for strategizing activities and the scope of work for the rest of the product management team to help achieve all project goals. 

What is a SaaS product marketing manager?

Marketing teams in B2B SaaS companies are typically divided into two main groups: product marketing and customer success. 

Product marketers create the content and programs that tell the story of a company’s products to both prospects and existing customers. 

They do this primarily through blogs, white papers, webinars, social media posts, and promotional email campaigns. 

Product marketing is one of the most vital roles in a B2B SaaS Marketing team, and it’s also the least well-defined and hardest to hire for. 

The role fulfills a critical leadership position for the marketing team and the rest of the organization. This role demands enthusiasm for the product, and they must be committed to making it a business success and maximizing revenue turnout from marketing strategies. 

Dedicated product managers’ expertise in all areas regarding products, customers, technology, competitors, marketing trends, and analysis helps drive profits for the company. 

A product marketing manager should express themselves well in writing and communicating with others. 

What are SaaS marketing strategy advisors?

Their labor is intended to help software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies acquire and retain customers. Marketing strategy advisors fill in the role to gain expertise on the connotation of messages sent out by the organization, its value proposition & positioning. 

To speak concisely, their role includes strategizing who and what an organization should invest time, labor, and money into and a clear understanding of its reasoning. 

Strategy advisors communicate this strategy to the rest of the product management team and the advisors. The day-to-day work of marketing strategy advisors often includes communicating with business analysts, product managers, and engineering teams. 

Marketing strategies are developed with the help of these individuals to facilitate consistent messaging across all touchpoints, for example, email campaigns, website content, etc. They also coordinate closely with other departments in an organization.