2. WHAT IS PRODUCT MANAGEMENT?
Product management is a company's
organizational function that handles a product's
life cycle. This includes the development of new
products as well as the planning, production,
pricing, marketing and final product launch.
Product managers aim to develop a product that
is better or different from the company's current
offerings, which ensures the new product is
valuable to its target audience.
3.
4. What is a product management
strategy?
A product management strategy is a plan that
guides a product's developmental process by
focusing on customer needs and the company's
goals and overall vision. Here are the essential
elements of a product management strategy:
5. • Customers: Product managers need to understand who
their target customer is, what they want or need and
how to get products to them. It's important for product
managers to consider customer feedback and adjust
their strategy accordingly. They also need to adapt to
changes in public perception and the current
marketplace.
• Competitors: Product managers need to make a
product that is different and unique compared to
similar products competitors are offering. To be most
effective, a product management strategy needs to fill a
gap in the market by providing a product that serves its
customers in a way that its competitors aren't
addressing.
6. • Profitability: Product management strategies also need
to take into account how new product offerings or
product lines can generate a profit and help achieve
company goals. When a strategy takes this into
consideration, the product has a greater chance of
gaining success and benefiting the company.
• Macro environment: The macro environment
encompasses trends in the economy, technology,
politics and culture. These factors can influence a
product's impact and profitability. An effective product
management strategy needs to address how the macro
environment influences the target audience's needs
and behaviors.
7. What does a product manager do?
Product managers are cross-functional leaders
who coordinate all the tasks required to bring a
product from conception to the market. They
plan the product or product line's development
and implement a strategy for its successful
execution. To do this, they analyze market
needs, customer demands and competitor
offerings.
8. The strategy a product manager uses depends
on the organization and its target customer. To
create an effective strategy, they consider who
their target audience is, how the new product
will fair in the current market and how it can
help achieve the company's overall goals. This
ensures new products have a lasting impact on
not only a company's business but its customers
as well.
9. • Here are the main responsibilities of a product manager:
• Conduct market research to understand customers and
competitors.
• Develop strategies for new products that address company goals,
customer needs and external influences.
• Plan project timelines that address when a product reaches each
developmental phase from inception to completion.
• Create a product vision and communicate plans and strategies to
key stakeholders, including investors, the product development
team and company executives.
10. • Maintain a product roadmap and ensure it is followed or
updated as needed.
• Coordinate a product's developmental process to relevant
teams.
• Interpret feedback from customers, perform data analysis to
improve future product management strategies and relay
findings to relevant teams.
11. What skills do you need for effective
product management?
To perform product management effectively, you need a certain set of
skills, including the following:
• Communication: This skill includes general and role-specific writing
abilities, interpersonal conversation, public speaking and active
listening. The role of a product manager requires strong
communication skills to collaborate with other teams and share
ideas with stakeholders.
• Technical skills: Effective product management may require you to
help your team understand technology trends and technical
challenges. Technical skills also help product managers understand
the functionality of their products.
12. • Leadership: Leadership skills refer to your ability to oversee and
manage a group of people. Product managers are responsible for
providing guidance, promoting collaboration and facilitating
communication across the company's engineering, marketing, sales
and support departments, along with other teams as needed. Their
cross-functional leadership skills also help them develop strategies
and ensure their execution.
• Problem-solving: Product managers apply logical and analytical
thinking when solving a variety of problems related to a product's
development, often under shifting or impending deadlines.
• Creativity: These professionals must look at tasks, strategies or
problems in a new way so they can guide their teams in developing
innovative products and methods for product marketing.
13. Product management steps
Product management involves two main ideas—product
development and product marketing.
Product development
Product development comprises everything having to do with
a new product or product line's ideation and growth. These
are the steps within product development:
• Market research: The first step of product development
involves determining a suitable market fit for a company's
product or product line. For example, if you're creating a
new line of sweaters, it's important to consider what the
current clothing trends are, the weather and what
customers want from this article of clothing.
14. • Product strategy: The next step is to create a strategic plan
for a product's release that addresses a target audience,
competitor offerings, profitability and the macro
environment. For example, if your competitors aren't
offering a certain style of sweater for teenagers, you might
strategically think about how to fill this void in the market.
• Product development: This comprises a product's design,
product testing and final revisions for product completion.
Using the sweater example, its development involves
acquiring the materials, designing it, testing its functionality
and making modifications as needed.
• Product launch: A product launch is the development and
execution of a product management strategy. Once a
product has passed through the developmental process, it
is ready for public release.
15. Product marketing
Product marketing deals with the customer-facing aspects regarding
product sales. These are the steps within product marketing:
• Branding and promotion: Companies create a brand and promote a
single or line of products most commonly through print and digital
advertising. Once you create a product, the marketing team must
establish its brand to better target its customers. Then, they can
promote the new product by informing the public about it and
persuading them to buy it.
• Pricing: This involves setting a strategic price for a new product that
covers production costs and generates revenue. For example,
companies may consider setting their product at a price that is
slightly lower than their competitors to entice customers.
16. • Distribution: The next step is the delivery of products from a
company to its customers. It also involves the management of
product sales. Product managers need to ensure their products are
reaching customers by having them available online or in stores.
• Sales: This involves finding sales opportunities and closing product
sales. Product sales help drive a company's revenue. The more sales
a product makes, the more successful the product and the company
will be.
• Customer experience: This involves managing all aspects of a
company's customer service experience and satisfaction.
Companies need to ensure that customer questions and concerns
are answered promptly and efficiently.
17. DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT
Distribution management refers to the process of overseeing the movement
of goods from supplier or manufacturer to point of sale. It is an overarching
term that refers to numerous activities and processes such as packaging,
inventory(stock), warehousing, supply chain, and logistics.
Logistics refers to what happens within one company, including the purchase
and delivery of raw materials, packaging, shipment, and transportation of
goods to distributors.
Supply chain logistics coordinate the storage and shipping of goods and
services across the supply chain. The practice begins with raw materials,
continues on to manufacturing and/or distribution and ends when a business
delivers finished goods to the customer or when products are returned to
their final destination.
18. Distribution management is an important part of the business
cycle for distributors and wholesalers. The profit margins of
businesses depend on how quickly they can turn over their
goods. The more they sell, the more they earn, which means a
better future for the business. Having a successful distribution
management system is also important for businesses to remain
competitive and to keep customers happy
19. • Distribution management manages the supply chain for a
firm, from vendors and suppliers to manufacturer to
point of sale, including packaging, inventory,
warehousing, and logistics.
• Adopting a distribution management strategy is
important for a company's financial success and
corporate longevity.
• Distribution management helps keep things organized
and keeps customers satisfied.
20. Understanding Distribution Management
• Distribution management is critical to a company's
ability to successfully attract customers and operate
profitably. Executing it successfully requires
effective management of the entire distribution
process. The larger a corporation, or the greater the
number of supply points a company has, the more it
will need to rely on automation to effectively
manage the distribution process.
21. Modern distribution management encompasses
more than just moving products from point A to
point B. It also involves gathering and sharing
relevant information that can be used to identify
key opportunities for growth and
competitiveness in the market. Most progressive
companies now use their distribution forces to
obtain market intelligence which is vital in
assessing their competitive position.
22. There are basically two types of distribution: commercial
distribution (commonly known as sales distribution) and
physical distribution (better known as
logistics). Distribution involves diverse functions such as
customer service, shipping, warehousing, inventory control,
private trucking-fleet operations, packaging, receiving,
materials handling, along with plant, warehouse, store
location planning, and the integration of information.
The goal is to achieve ultimate efficiency in delivering raw
materials and parts, both partially and completely finished
products to the right place and time in the proper
condition. Physical distribution planning should align
with the overall channel strategy.
23. Advantages of a Distribution
Management Strategy
• Aside from keeping profits up, there are many reasons a
company may want to use a distribution management
strategy. First, it keeps things organized. If there was no
proper management system in place, retailers would be
forced to hold stock in their own locations—a bad idea,
especially if the seller lacks proper storage space.
• A distribution management system also makes things easier
for the consumer. It allows them to visit one location for a
variety of different products. If the system didn't exist,
consumers would have to visit multiple locations just to get
what they need.
• Putting a proper distribution management system in place
also alleviates any potential for errors in delivery, as well as
the times products need to be delivered.
24.
25. Example
Consider a smartphone manufacturing company, which wants to sell its
phones. The company can use multiple distribution channels to ensure its
phones are sold across various geographies & customers. The company can
distribute its phones though its own stores, through multi-brand retail outlets
& even ecommerce platforms. As a part of its strategy, the company will have
to tie-up with intermediaries like distributors, wholesalers, retailers etc.
26.
27. Distribution Management as a
Marketing Function
• The fundamental idea of distribution management as a marketing
function is that the management of distribution happens in
an ecosystem that also involves the consideration of the following:
• Product: Not always a tangible object, product can also refer to an
idea, music, or information.
• Price: This refers to the value of a good or service for both the seller
and the buyer, which can involve both tangible and intangible
factors, such as list price, discounts, financing, and likely response
of customers and competitors.
• Promotion: This is any communication used by a seller to inform,
persuade, and/or remind buyers and potential buyers about the
seller’s goods, services, image, ideas, and the impact it has on
society.
28. • Placement: This refers to the process that ensures the
availability, accessibility, and visibility of products to
ultimate consumers or business users in the target channels
or customers where they prefer to buy.
Effective distribution management involves selling your
product while assuring sufficient stocks in channels
while managing promotions in those channels and their
varying requirements. It also involves making sure a supply
chain is efficient enough that distribution costs are low
enough to allow a product to be sold at the right price, thus
supporting your marketing strategy and maximizing profit.
29. • How Does Distribution Management Impact Business?
Distribution management is a key leg in the business cycle for both
distributors and wholesalers, with company sales and ongoing profitability
impacted by how quickly and efficiently a company can sell and distribute
their products.
• What Activities Occur During Distribution Management?
Distribution management involves moving finished goods from a
manufacturer or supplier to the so-called end user. The process includes
warehousing, inventory management, packing, shipping, and delivery.
• What Are the Main Distribution Channels?
Distribution channels are the intermediaries through which goods or services
pass on their way to the final buyer or consumer. The main channels include
wholesalers, retailers, distributors, and in some cases, the internet.
