5 Best Conferences for Product Managers

As the driving force behind successful product development, product managers must continually hone their skills, gain insights into emerging trends, and connect with industry experts. 

Undoubtedly, one of the most effective ways to achieve this is by attending conferences tailored specifically for product managers.

In addition, these conferences offer a unique blend of networking opportunities, expert-led sessions, and hands-on workshops.

Regardless of your reasons for attending, we’ve curated the 5 best conferences for product managers to attend.

Let’s dive in!

What Topics Can You Expect at Conferences for Product Managers?

Product management conferences cover a wide range of topics to address product managers' diverse challenges and responsibilities.

Naturally, while specific themes may vary between conferences, some common topics usually revolve around:

1. Product Strategy - Helps you craft and refine product strategy to align with business goals, market needs, and user expectations.
   
   
2. Product Development - Showcases the best practices for product development, including agile methodologies, design thinking, and lean principles.
   
   
3. UX and Design - Revolves around design principles, user research, and techniques for creating products, providing a positive and intuitive user experience.
4. Innovation and Creativity - Encourages and fosters innovation within product teams, leveraging creativity for problem-solving.
5. Product Roadmapping - Develops and communicates product roadmaps, prioritizes features, and manages product timelines.
6. 6. Product Metrics and KPIs - Identifies and tracks relevant metrics and KPIs to measure the success and impact of products.
   
   
7. Trends in Technology - Explores emerging technologies and trends that impact the product management landscape.
8. Scaling Products - Discusses challenges and strategies for scaling products, particularly in fast-growing or large organizations.
9. Product Marketing - Provides strategies for effectively marketing and positioning products, including go-to-market plans.
   
   
10. Leadership and Team Collaboration - Building and leading effective product teams, fostering collaboration, and enhancing leadership skills.

Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Attend Conferences for Product Managers

Since conferences for product managers cover diverse aspects of product management, the benefits they offer are also multifaceted.

1. Networking Opportunities

Considering that conferences bring together professionals from various industries and levels of expertise, networking at these events provides opportunities to: 

• connect with peers, 
• industry leaders, 
• potential mentors, 
• and like-minded individuals.

💡 ProTip

A digital networking solution, Tapni, has a Follow-up feature that lets you connect your Tapni Business profile to your CRM to act as a reminder to follow up with your new contacts.

2. Learning from Experts

Conferences often feature a mix of keynote presentations, panel discussions, workshops, etc., by industry experts and thought leaders. 

Attending those allows you to gain insights into the latest trends, best practices, and innovative approaches in product management.

3. Skill Enhancement

Workshops and training sessions often focus on practical skills and techniques relevant to product management, providing opportunities for hands-on learning.

4. Building a Supportive Community

Conferences provide a platform to build a supportive community of peers and mentors. 

Thus, sharing experiences, challenges, and insights with others in the field creates a valuable network that you can turn to for advice and collaboration.

💡 ProTip

With Tapni, you can send instant messages after the event.

5. Career Advancement

Attending conferences can enhance your visibility within the industry and open doors to new career opportunities.

Moreover, it demonstrates your commitment to professional development, which can attract employers.

How to Choose Which Product Management Conferences to Attend?

Product Management is a vast area with various topics, so choosing the best one for you is crucial for maximizing your professional development and networking opportunities.

In order to make an informed decision, consider the following key factors:

⚡ Relevance to Your Role and Goals 

Some conferences may cater to specific industries or sectors. Thus, choose a conference that aligns with the industry in which you work or aspire to work. 

Industry-focused events often provide more relevant and targeted insights.

⚡ Conference Agenda and Topics 

Review the conference agenda and session topics to ensure the content addresses your specific interests and challenges.

Furthermore, look for a mix of keynote presentations, workshops, and panel discussions that provide a well-rounded learning experience.

⚡ Speakers and Thought Leaders

Check the list of speakers and thought leaders participating in the conference. Are there industry experts or professionals whose insights you value? 

Conferences featuring renowned speakers often offer valuable perspectives and practical advice.

⚡ Reviews and Recommendations

Thanks to social media, professional networks, or dedicated conference review websites, you can gain insights into previous attendees' overall experience and benefits.

⚡ Cost and Budget

Evaluate the cost of attending the conference, including registration fees, travel, accommodation, and any additional expenses. 

Determine whether the investment aligns with your budget and the potential benefits you expect to gain.

⚡ Conference Size and Format

Larger conferences may offer a broader range of topics and networking opportunities, while smaller events provide a more intimate setting for meaningful connections.

By evaluating the above factors, you can choose product management conferences that:

🔥 best suit your needs,

🔥 contribute to your professional growth, and 

🔥 enhance your effectiveness in the field.

And now, let’s check the 5 best conferences for product managers.

5 Best Conferences for Product Managers to Attend in 2024

1. ProductCon

About the Conference:

ProductCon is a series of conferences focused on product management, featuring expert speakers and thought leaders in the field. 

It is one of the largest product manager conferences, and it takes place 4 times a year, lasting for one day. 

The aim of the conference is to share tactics and best practices on how to build the next generation of software products.

Location:

In San Francisco, New York, London, and remotely ( live-streamed on Hopin). 

Best for:

Senior Product Managers, Directors of Product, Heads of Product Management, VPs of Product, or Chief Product Officers

Why You Should Attend:

You can hear from product leaders at tech giants and get new ideas you can immediately implement.

Furthermore, ProductCon also focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in tech.

2. INDUSTRY

About the Conference:

INDUSTRY is the conference for software product managers to learn the latest methods, tools, and frameworks to build, launch, and scale software products.

The conference happens 4 times a year, and depending on the conference, it lasts between 1 - 2 days:

• INDUSTRY Europe - 2 days
• INDUSTRY Global - 2 days
• INDUSTRY Virtual - 1 day, and
• New York Product Conference - 1 day.

Location:

Europe, the USA, and virtual. 

Best for:

Software product managers.

Why You Should Attend:

INDUSTRY conferences offer roundtable discussions, interactive Q&As, and an event Slack group to connect with your peers.

Furthermore, you will receive recordings and keynote sessions so you can focus on networking rather than on taking notes.

💡 ProTip

Did you know that with Tapni, you can take digital notes to remember important info about your fellow attendees?

3. Mind The Product

About the Conference:

Mind The Product is one of the largest product management conferences happening annually. 

In addition, it also hosts a regional conference in Hamburg, now known as Product at Heart. 

Topics usually explore the intersection of technology, design, and business to build better products.

Location:

San Francisco - in-person and online, 

London and Hamburg - in-person.

Best for: 

Product managers looking for innovative and fresh ideas for product building. 

Why You Should Attend:

This might be a conference for you if you are looking for inspiration, resources, advice, and training designed for all experience levels.

Furthermore, many attendees praise the diversity of speakers and attendees themselves. 

Along the same lines, the conference has its #mtpcon channel in the Slack Community to help you connect with fellow attendees. 

4.  Front: UX and Product Manager Conference

Front: UX and Product Manager Conference focuses on user experience and the ways to build and design a useful, practical, and desirable product.

The conference has 2 individual segments: a theoretical Case Study Conference and a practical Workshop Series segment.

Both segments last for 3 days and happen annually in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Location:

Salt Lake City, Utah.

Best for: 

UX designers, product managers and teams focused on research,  leadership, digital product discovery, and delivery.

Why You Should Attend:

Having a conference that focuses on hands-on experience is optimal for attendees who want to experience and practice the techniques and methods to accelerate the efficiency and accuracy of product discovery and delivery.

5. Product-Led Summit

Product-Led Summit is a 2-day event focusing on product-led growth and insights into product operations, product strategy and value, etc.

In previous years, the conference brought product experts from companies such as Spotify, Visa, Netflix, PayPal, Amazon, etc.

This year, there will be 10 editions all around the globe, with the topics covering the latest trends and best practices in PLG.

Location:

• The USA: Austin, New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco
• Europe: Amsterdam, Berlin, London
• Global: Toronto, Sydney, Singapore

All events last for 2 days except the ones in Berlin and Singapore.

Best for:

PLG Managers, Product Leaders, Product Ops Executives, etc.

Why You Should Attend:

This conference is a good opportunity to learn or upgrade your knowledge on positioning products to drive customer acquisition, retention, and monetization.

Furthermore, the conference gathers growth gurus and industry leaders and tackles the latest trends and changes in the SaaS landscape.

Wrapping It Up

According to the “Challenges in Product Management” report, 56% of the interviewees rated their Project manager’s skills as above or below average.

Knowing that, attending a well-chosen and high-quality project manager conference can be a great skill upgrade.

Engaging and being part of a conference will equip you with:

• new knowledge, 
• insights, 
• practice, and 
• new valuable contacts.

Moreover, there is a solution that can boost your networking and make it more efficient so you can focus on absorbing valuable sessions.

Enter, Tapni!🚀

How Can Tapni Upgrade Your Networking?

Tapni is an all-encompassing digital solution that combines digital networking products with robust networking features.

As such, it helps you not only make great first impressions but also connect and manage your contacts more efficiently.

So, what does Tapni have in store for you?

💥 Fully customizable digital business cards and products.

💥 Customizable QR codes you can link to your webpage, social media page, resources, etc.

💥 Lead generation automation and data syncing through various CRM integrations using Zapier.

💥 Multiple link types

• Custom - Send your contacts to your webpage.
• Direct - Directs your contacts to your desired social profile.
  
  

• Link-in-bio - Stores multiple relevant links under one link.

💥  Multiple sharing options by a scan, tap, via links, text, email signature, Apple Wallet, etc.

💥 Scan paper business cards and convert all data into digital forms.

💥 Group and regroup new contacts and filter and tag them.

💥 Get valuable insights through Tapni’s analytics tools that track and measure your card performance, number of views, etc.

💥 And so much more.

Ready to try your hand at Tapni?

Download the Tapni app today and redefine how you connect to the world around you.

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