Manager’s Guide to Product Management Discontinuation

Product Management typically places the highest emphasis on launching new products; however, putting end-of-life in that basket as well provides twice the headache and a double opportunity for failure. Discontinuing a product is not just about removing a product from the market. Still, it goes beyond that and is a more strategic process that impacts customers, internal teams, and the overall company reputation. Improper handling of product discontinuations can result in customer discontent, brand equity harm, and operational disarray. However, a successful discontinuation plan can restore customer confidence, save resources and help the company to adjust its product portfolio in line with strategic business ambition.

According to Product Strategy core principles, discontinuation decisions should be data-driven and must incorporate a good knowledge of the product lifecycle and market analysis. Decommissioning a product. Whether it has fallen out of favour in the market(s) in which you compete, or, more appropriately and even less attractively, because its technology cabinet is empty, mainly signalling slow build failure, sunset planning requires metronome timing and beautiful coordination.

Recognising When It’s Time to Discontinue a Product: Key Indicators for Product Management

One of the most challenging aspects of Product Strategy is knowing when to kill a product. This is not a decision made lightly, as it concerns customers and internal resources, and it also damages the company’s brand. Discontinuation decisions are typically made based on data-driven insights, market dynamics and strategic alignment that Product Management teams can leverage.

This will be a decrease in sales, or they may stop growing from one period to the next, which is usually the first sign we have of a product being in decline. Product Strategy needs to expand its perspective beyond just sales and understand what is driving real outcomes, like changes in customer needs, new competitor actions, technology trends, etc. If the old market no longer requires a previously popular product, it will lose interest.

Another warning sign is when the costs of upkeep run very high. Products that cost too much in maintenance, development, or operations can prevent a company from investing in other, more strategic opportunities. To avoid becoming one of the untouchables, Product Strategy teams need to evaluate the cost of missed opportunities by nursing an underperforming portfolio versus doubling down on growth areas.

That can result in suboptimal decisions made due to confirmation bias, even when the evidence might suggest that success is driven by other factors related to the product or how it fits into a broader company strategy. When a product is out of that scope, or if it is no longer part of the long-term vision of the company, its fate must be discontinued. Ongoing portfolio reviews and product health checks enable Product Management teams to be ahead of the curve in identifying old products that are potential sunshine candidates.

Crafting a Clear Communication Plan: Essential for Product Management Success

The secret to the successful discontinuation of a product is effective communication. Product Management teams need a cohesive communication plan. Whether we are talking to customers, partners, in-house teams or the broader market, it is essential that all popular questions, concerns and doubts can be handled. A discontinuity with poor communication can cause confusion, frustration, and reputational damage, while clear and transparent messaging supports trust and credibility.

Step 1: Clearly explain the when, why, and Last Step to break the Bad Product News, whether resulting from market changes, an evolution in a product, or strategic business decisions. Product Strategy needs to provide relatable customer-facing context, without being overly detailed or lacking substance. Naturally, it is better to give a clear, simple answer than a wordy or technical one.

Timing is another critical element. Product Strategy should give advanced notification so that customers can adjust cleanly. By outlining deadlines for an end-of-sale, an end-of-support and a possible solution, the disruption can be kept to a minimum. This could include migration help, new products in its stead or incentives to ensure existing product relationships do not go to waste.

Internal communication is equally important. Product Strategy needs to make it their job to equip the sales, customer support, and marketing teams with the information they need to handle customer calls. By producing comprehensive FAQ documents, internal briefings, and training sessions, teams are prepared to handle customer interactions seamlessly.

Managing Stakeholder Expectations: A Core Responsibility in Product Management

Discontinuing a product requires managing the expectations and concerns of a broader range of stakeholders, both internal and external. Product Management has such a core role in getting these interests aligned, so making sure the discontinuation process is smooth and strategically handled only makes sense. This is where clear communication, careful planning and collective execution are essential to manage stakeholder expectations.

Discontinuation co rationale: Internal stakeholders need context around the decision to discontinue. Product Strategy needs to prove a case with data, market analysis and strategic alignment. This alignment was also essential to enable all internal teams to plan when, how, and with what type of announcement to reach out to customers and to facilitate their future operations in a united way.

Customers and partners are very often external stakeholders; they don’t work for you and need some reassurance that their needs are being considered. High-touch communication and support, Account managers should directly engage with key customers, personalised by Product Strategy, to guide them through the transition. This could mean dedicated account management for enterprise clients, helping with migration plans or providing tailored solutions.

For example, channel partners and resellers must be educated and trained by companies, since they are usually the intermediaries providing services to end-user consumers. Provide partners with clear, consistent messaging and resources, and guide them toward alternative product offerings to keep the business going.

Lessons from Successful Product Discontinuation Cases: Best Practices for Product Management

Becoming aware of these successful discontinued products allows product managers to learn a lot from them. Great companies that do kill products usually use a particular set of best practices to minimise blowback. They can continue to reinforce their brand commitment to care and innovation.

A classic example, for instance, is when Google killed off Google Reader. Although there was initial backlash against the decision, the Product Strategy team at Google made those decisions meticulously with a clear timeline and reasoning behind them. Gave users plenty of time to make the changes and explained to them how they can transition in a relatively seamless manner. It also prepared me for the necessity of early, transparent communication to maintain users’ trust.

Another sad example is Apple discontinuing the iPod Classic. Apple’s Product Management team timed the discontinuation with the introduction of newer technologies, couching it in terms of the continuation of product innovation. They have supported existing users and promoted newer products as superior replacements, selling the discontinuation not as a loss but as an evolution.

Product Strategy takeaways would be that it is key to think 2–3 steps ahead, communicate clearly and link discontinuation with greater narratives of innovation. Migration paths, incentives and some mileage; the open methods to help you navigate include unbundling their service or support dependencies.

Product Strategy oversees documenting the process and applying lessons learned into future initiatives to help. Post-discontinuation reviews help fine-tune strategy and improve organisational learning. Product Management teams can rely on these best practices to successfully navigate discontinuation, retain strong customer relationships, and further enhance the brand leadership in thought.

Conclusion

Despite not often getting its due, one of the significant responsibilities for most PMs, to guide product discontinuations, is a critical aspect of Product Management. In a business culture that is all about innovation and refreshing products quickly, learning how to put an end-of-life to a product is almost as important as launching one. Discontinuation should also be seen as an inevitable part of product management and not a failure. It is a matter of working with your portfolio appropriately, according to the maturity of the market it operates in and closing at its due time.

At the heart of it, knowing when to kill off a product is about understanding the performance of your products, customer needs and resource distribution, and making it an objective data-based decision. While product teams must consider these elements, they need to weigh them against their larger implications on their customers and within the company.

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