SVPMA Monthly Event - Web 2.0 Tools with John Burton, SAP August 6, 2008

Organization: SVPMA - Silicon Valley Product Management Association
Topic: Use Web 2.0 Tools to Build Better Products and Strengthen Customer Relationships
Speaker: John Burton, Director of Product Management, SAP
Date: Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
Time: 6:30pm - 9pm
Location: Network Meeting Center at the TechMart - 5201 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara
Cost: Free for Members. $20 for pre-registered Non-Members. $25 at the door.
More info: http://svpma.org/meetings.html

Presentation:
As a product manager, you own the product. That is, you are the person who is ultimately responsible for the success of your products in the market (despite what the folks in Marketing or Sales might believe to the contrary). But, what you may not realize is, that as a product manager you also own the customer relationship. You are the person who collects requirements and defines the new features that customers will ultimately use. You are the person who signs off on the product before it is released to the customer. And, you are sometimes even the first person to hear complaints if customers are unhappy. As if your job wasn’t difficult enough, you have a hundred other daily tasks including answering emails, attending meetings, and filling in random templates, all of which keep you from focusing on your real job – making sure customers are successful.

In this presentation, we will look at ways to leverage Web 2.0 tools such as online communities and blogs to make your products better and your customers happier – while also making your job easier. Find out how you can let your customers take over your job responsibilities (i.e., defining new product requirements, creating product marketing collaterals and roll-out materials, answering technical questions) while you sit back and relax, perhaps with a nice latte.

Speaker:
John has been involved in the enterprise software industry in Silicon Valley for the past 9 years. Currently he is a Director of Product Management at SAP, responsible for SAP’s call center offering within the customer relationship management (CRM) product. John is the author of the forthcoming book, “Maximizing Your SAP CRM Interaction Center,” planned to be published by Galileo Press in October, 2008. He also served as the technical editor of the book, “Discover SAP CRM,” published by Galileo Press in 2008. John has also published numerous technical articles and whitepapers, and presented at dozens of conferences and events. Prior to joining SAP in 1999, John was a faculty member at Central Michigan University, teaching undergraduate business computer classes. John holds a B.A. degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and an MBA (concentration in management information systems) from Central Michigan University.

Official Website: http://svpma.org