Modi Institute of Management & Technology

Approved by AICTE, New Delhi & Affiliated to Rajasthan Technical University,

Kota

Assignment on

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Business Administration
(Batch 2022-24)

Submitted By: Janvi Bajaj Submitted To: Mrs. Ramneet Kaur Ma’am
(MBA 3rd Semester)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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“It is not possible to prepare a project report without the assistance &encouragement of other
people. This one is certainly no exception.”

On the very outset of this report, I would like to extend my sincere & heartfelt obligation towards
all the personages who have helped me in this endeavor. Without their active guidance, help,
cooperation & encouragement, I would not have made headway in the project. I am ineffably
indebted to Miss SURBHI JAIN Ma’am for conscientious guidance and encouragement to
accomplish this assignment. I am extremely thankful and pay my gratitude to my faculty of MBA
3rd SEMESTER for their valuable guidance and support on completion of this project in
its presently.
I extend my gratitude to MIMT, KOTA for giving me this opportunity. I also acknowledge with
a deep sense of reverence, my gratitude towards my parents and member of my
family, who has always supported me morally as well as economically. Any omission in this
brief acknowledgement does not mean lack of gratitude.

Thanking You
Janvi Bajaj

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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S. No. Particulars Page No.
1. PRODUCT 3-5
a. DEFINITION
b. DESCRIPTION
c. CONCEPT
d. FEATURES
e. CHARACTERISTICS
2. PRODUCT MIX 6-7
a. WIDTH
b. LENGTH
c. DEPTH
d. CONSISTENCY
e. PRODUCT MARKET MIX STRATEGY
3. PRODUCT MIX PRICING STRATEGY 7
4. PRODUCT LINE 8-9
a. LENGTH
b. WIDTH
c. DEPTH
d. CONSISTENCY
e. DECISION
5. LEVELS OF PRODUCT 10-11
a. HISTORY
b. LEVELS
6. PACKAGING 11-13
a. FUNCTION
b. IMPORTANCE
c. TYPES
7. LABELLING 14-15
a. IMPORTANCE
8. PRODUCT MODIFICATION 16
9. PRODUCT INNOVATION 17
10. NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT 18-25
a. THEORIES
b. MODELS
11. GROWTH STRATEGIES 26-28
12. PRODUCT MANAGER 29-33
a. SKILLS REUIRED
b. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
13. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE 34-36
14. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 37-41
15. BIBLIOGRAPHY 42
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

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Before learning about product management, let’s first learn about product.

PRODUCT

• Definition: A product is the item offered for sale. A product can be a service or an item.
It can be physical or in virtual or cyber form. Every product is made at a cost and each is
sold at a price. The price that can be charged depends on the market, the quality, the
marketing and the segment that is targeted. Each product has a useful life after which it
needs replacement, and a life cycle after which it has to be re-invented. In FMCG
parlance, a brand can be revamped, re-launched or extended to make it more relevant to
the segment and times, often keeping the product almost the same.

• Description: A product needs to be relevant: the users must have an immediate use for
it. A product needs to be functionally able to do what it is supposed to, and do it with a
good quality.
A product needs to be communicated: Users and potential users must know why they
need to use it, what benefits they can derive from it, and what it does difference it does to
their lives. Advertising and 'brand building' best do this.

A product needs a name: a name that people remember and relate to. A product with a
name becomes a brand. It helps it stand out from the clutter of products and names.

A product should be adaptable: with trends, time and change in segments, the product
should lend itself to adaptation to make it more relevant and maintain its revenue stream.

• Concept: Product refers to a good or service that satisfies the needs and wants of
customers. It is offered in the market by an organization to earn revenue by meeting the
requirements of customers. Product is an asset of an organization and referred as the
backbone of marketing mix.

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According to Peter Drucker, “Suppliers and especially manufacturers have market power because
they have information about a product or a service that the customer does not and cannot have,
and does not need if he can trust the brand. This explains the profitability of brands.”

It is very important for an organization to understand the needs of customers. For example, some
customers use mobile phones for talking; whereas, some use mobile phones for talking as well as
business purposes, such as teleconferencing. Needs of the customers depend on their purchasing
power.

For example, a customer whose basic need is surfing over the Internet may opt for a simple
computer; whereas, a software engineer may need a high configuration computer. Therefore,
when the level of need increases then the level of product also increases.

• Features: Are as follows-

1. Tangibility: Products are tangible in nature, customers can touch, seen or feel a products.
For example, car, book, computer etc.

2. Intangible Attributes: Service products are intangible in nature, services like,

consultancy, banking, insurance etc. The product may be combination of both tangible
and intangible attributes like restaurants, transportation, in case of a computer it is a
tangible product, but when we will talk of its free service provided by dealer, then the
product is not only a tangible item but also an intangible one.

3. Associated Attributes: The attributes associated with product may be, brand, packaging,
warranty, guarantee, after sales services etc.

4. Exchange Value: Irrespective of the fact that whether the product is tangible or
intangible, it should be capable of being exchanged between buyer and seller for a
mutually agreed price.

5. Customer Satisfaction: A product satisfies the customer needs and wants of customers;
value of products is also determined by the level of satisfaction given by a product after
purchase.

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 • Characteristics: It can be a single commodity or a service; a group of
commodities or a group of services; a product service combination, or even a
combination of several products and services.

Its meaning is determined by the needs and desires of the consumer. The purpose of a
product is to satisfy some need of the consumers. The buyers purchase problem -solving and
time for creativity when they purchase a computer system.

It may be durable such as those that are expected to deliver a stream of satisfaction over a
period of time,

Products may be luxuries which might be needed as a symbol of prestige and status such as
car, a well- furnished bungalow in a posh colony or necessities which are needed to keep the
body and soul together, such as bread, milk, sugar, etc.

It may be an agricultural, mineral, forest or semi-manufactured or manufactured product

TANGIBILITY

CUSTOMER
INTANGIBLE
SATISFACTIO
ATTRIBUTES
N

FEATURES

EXCHANGE ASSOCIATED
VALUE ATTRIBUTES

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PRODUCT MIX

Product mix, also known as product assortment, refers to the total number of product lines that a
company offers to its customers. For example, a small company may sell multiple lines of
products. Sometimes, these product lines are fairly similar, such as dish washing liquid and bar
soap, which are used for cleaning and use similar technologies. Other times, the product lines are
vastly different, such as diapers and razors. The four dimensions to a company's product mix
include width, length, depth and consistency.

• Width: The width of a company's product mix pertains to the number of product lines
that a company sells. For example, if a company has two product lines, its product mix
width is two. Small and upstart businesses will usually not have a wide product mix. It is
more practical to start with some basic products and build market share. Later on, a
company's technology may allow the company to diversify into other industries and build
the width of the product mix.

• Length: Product mix length pertains to the number of total products or items in a
company's product mix, according to Philip Kotler's textbook "Marketing Management:
Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control." For example, ABC company may have
two product lines, and five brands within each product line. Thus, ABC's product mix
length would be 10. Companies that have multiple product lines will sometimes keep
track of their average length per product line. In the above case, the average length of an
ABC Company's product line is five.

• Depth: Depth of a product mix pertains to the total number of variations for each
product. Variations can include size, flavor and any other distinguishing characteristic.
For example, if a company sells three sizes and two flavors of toothpaste, that particular
brand of toothpaste has a depth of six. Just like length, companies sometimes report the
average depth of their product lines; or the depth of a specific product line.

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 • Consistency: Product mix consistency pertains to how closely related product lines
are to one another--in terms of use, production and distribution. A company's product mix
may be consistent in distribution but vastly different in use. For example, a small
company may sell its health bars and health magazine in retail stores. However, one
product is edible and the other is not. The production consistency of these products would
vary as well.

PRODUCT MARKET MIX STRARTEGY

Small companies usually start out with a product mix limited in width, depth and length; and
have a high level of consistency. However, over time, the company may want to differentiate
products or acquire new ones to enter new markets. A company can also sell the existing
products to new markets by coming up with new uses for their product.

PRODUCT MIX PRICING STRATEGIES

STRATEGIES DESCRIPTION

Product Line Pricing Selling prices across an entire product line.

Optional Product Pricing Pricing optional or accessory products sold

with main product.

Captive Product Pricing Pricing products that must be used with the
main product.

By-Product Pricing Pricing low-value-by-products to “get rid” of

them.

Product Bundle Pricing Pricing bundles of products sold together.

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PRODUCT LINE

The product line is a subset of the product mix. The product line generally refers to a type of
product within an organization. As the organization can have a number of different types of
products, it will have similar number of product lines. Thus, in Nestle, there are milk based
products like milkmaid, Food products like Maggi, chocolate products like Kitkat and other such
product lines. Thus, Nestle’s product mix will be a combination of the all the product lines
within the company.

• Length: If a company has 4 product lines, and 10 products within the product line, than
the length of the product mix is 40. Thus, the total number of products against the total
number of product lines forms the length of the product mix. This equation is also known
as product line length.

• Width: The width of the product mix is equal to the number of product lines within a
company. Thus, taking the above example, if there are 4 product lines within the
company, and 10 products within each product line, than the product line width is 4 only.
Thus, product line width is a depiction of the number of product lines which a company
has.

• Depth: It is fairly easy to understand what depth of the product mix will mean. Where
length and width were a function of the number of product lines, the depth of the product
mix is the total number of products within a product line.

• Consistency: The lesser the variations between the products, the more is the product
line consistency. For example, Amul has various product lines which are all dairy related.
So that product mix consistency is high. But Samsung as a company has many product
lines which are completely independent of each other. Like Air conditioners, televisions,
smart phones, home appliances, so on and so forth. Thus, the product mix consistency is
low in Samsung.

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• Decision: The following types of product line decisions are related to the product line
strategies that are planned activities of adding and deleting a particular product from the
line.

1. Line Stretching Decision. Product line stretching means to lengthen the current product
line. It has three dimensions downward, upward, and both-ways.
▪ Downward Stretching means adding a new product to the current line, but at a
lesser price, for example, Mercedes in a joint venture with Swatch, introduced a
$10,000 Smart Micro Compact Car.
▪ Upward Stretching means adding new products but at higher prices. Companies
stretch upward because they want prestige, growth rate, or high-profit margins. For
instance, General Electric successfully added its current Monogram premium
kitchen appliance to target the higher-end consumer.
▪ Two-way Stretching means adding new products in both directions. Marriot did
this significantly and started the Renaissance Hotel target high-end consumer and
Town suites to cater to the needs of lower-end consumers.

2. Line Filling Decisions means adding new products to the same product range to use
excess capacity, increase customer base, extra profit, and keep competitors away. Sony
added waterproof and solar-powered Walkman to its current Walkman line.

3. Line Pruning Decision means to reduce the depth of a product line by removing
unprofitable products from the existing lines. Crystal Pepsi launched in the market and
discontinued after some time.
DECISION

LINE STRETCHING

LINE FILLING

LINE PURNING

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LEVELS OF PRODUCT
The Five product levels models provide a way to show the different levels of need customers
have for a product. These needs range from core needs to psychological needs, at each level,
more customer value is added.

History: The Five product levels models was developed by Philip Kotler in the 1960s. Kotler’s
book, Marketing Management (15th Edition), was voted one of the 50 best business books of all
time in the mid-1990s by the Financial Times.

Before Kotler, marketing existed within a silo, the marketing department Kotler was instrumental
in making an organization-wide activity.

Levels: The Five Levels are given below-

1. Core Benefit – It is the fundamental need and wants that the customer satisfies when they
buy the product. For example, the core benefit of a hotel is to provide somewhere to rest
or sleep when away from home.
2. Generic Product – It is a basic version of the product made up of only those features
necessary for it to function. In our hotel example, this could mean a bed, towels, a
bathroom, a mirror, and a wardrobe.
3. Expected Product – The Expected product is the set of features that the customer expect
when they buy the product. In our hotel example, this would include clean sheets, some
clean towels, Wi-Fi, and a clean bathroom.
4. Augmented Product – This refers to any product variations, extra features, or services
that help differentiate the product from its competitors. In hotel example, this could be
inclusion of a concierge service or a free map of the town in every room.
5. Potential Product – This includes all augmentations and transformations the product
might undergo in the future. In simple, this means that to continue to surprise and delight
customers the product must be augmented. In the hotel example, this could mean a
different gift placed in room each time a customer stays.

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PACKAGING
Packaging is the activity of designing and producing the container or wrapper for the product. It
is an important and effective sales tool for encouraging the consumers for buying. It is powerful
medium for sales promotion. It must perform all the basic function such as protection, ease of
handling and storage, convenience in usage etc. and should not be deceptive and convey any
deceptive message. It is the best method for attracting the consumers for buying the products.

According to W.J. Stanton, “Packaging may be defined as the general group of activities in
product planning which helps in value designing and producing the container or wrapper for a
product.” According to Pride and Farell, “Packaging involves the development of container
and a graphic design for a product.”

Functions:-

1. Protects the content- The basic function of packaging is to protect the contents from
damage, dust, dirt, leakage, pilferage, evaporation, watering, contamination and so on.
Packaging helps in the protection of the contents of the products. Seasonal fluctuations in
demand may be smoothed out through packaging. Packaging helps to protect the contents
of all the available products.
2. Provides product density- Packaging helps to provide product density. It implies
selecting such package materials, design, and shape that helps to use the limited space in

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 the best way. It improves relations with common carriers, permits better use of space in
storage and usage and increases the grace and poise of arrangement.
3. Act as promotional tool- Good packaging can sell the product more easily and quickly
as it works as a promotional tool. As a promotional tool, it does self-advertising ,
displaying, publishing and acts as an advertising medium. It is the package, size, design,
color combinations and graphics that decide its ability to attract the valuable attention of
customers or the prospects.
4. Provides user convenience- Packaging helps to provide the user convenience. The good
packaging does this in a greater degree. As a result, the marketing functions of the
transportation, storage, and handling are performed with ease and without wastage .
Consumers are greatly assisted so long as the product is in usage. Neat packaging has
brought a home reduction in inventory costs, packaging costs, space and time costs.
5. Facilitates product identification- Packaging helps to facilitate the identification of the
product. This process of product differentiation is furthered by effective product
identifiers; one is branding and another is packaging. The product package identifies the
product no matter where you see it, under what circumstances you see it, or when you see
it. A package is product’s personality, its reality. Product identification goes easy with
distinguished packaging as it adds to its personality or image.
6. Allows easy product mix- Product mix relates to the product lines and an assortment of
sizes, colors, measures, grades, package types etc. offered by the selling house. Change in
product mix can be possible as packaging helps to influence weight, size, and dimensions
of the product. Packaging helps to allow the product mix easily for the consumers.

Importance:- Importance are as follows:

• Creation of demand- Packaging plays an important role in the creation of demand by

attracting the consumers. The customers become known with the product through advertising.
It helps to increase the demand of the customers.
• Protection of product- Packaging helps to protect the product from heat, light,
moisture, evaporation, dust etc. during its long passage from the factory to the target
customers. It protects the products from breakage, leakage spoilage etc.

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 • Transportation- Packaging facilitates transportation of products from one place to
another. It ensures easy transportation and better handling of products in transit.
• Guidelines to customer- Packaging helps as a guidelines for the customers. From the
informative literature regarding the quality and use of the product, the customers get the
guidelines. The customers are ensured about the quality of the products.
• Better storage- Packaging acts as a better storage of the products. Goods with good
packages can be stored in the retail shop also in lesser price.
• Identification of product differentiation- Packaging helps to identify the product
differentiation easily. It ensures the individuality of the products and one product can be
easily differentiated with each other products in the market. The customers can easily
identify their product of choice at the time of purchase. This helps the customers to
prevent substitution of goods by other customers.

Types:- Various types of packaging include-

• Consumer packaging: Consumer packaging is one which holds the required volume of a
product for ultimate consumption. It is the means of buying household. In other words,
the consumer has the option to purchase the pack size which he/she considers adequate
for the consumption of his/ her family over a length of time.
• Transit packaging: Transit packaging is another type of packaging. It is either for the
industrial consumer’s use. The consumer package itself very often requires an outside
package in which it is sometimes referred to a bulk package or an outer container.
• Industrial packaging: An industrial packaging can either describe a bulk package or the
package for durable consumer goods. These are the basic package types although many
subdivisions can be listed which can be broadly listed under these basic headings.
• Dual use packaging: A dual packaging is one which has a secondary usefulness after its
contents have been consumed. The examples of dual use packaging are Drinking glasses,
boxes of jewelry, waste baskets, refrigerator dishes, etc.

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LABELLING
It is a part of packaging of a product. Labelling is the written information on the packages. These
written labels on the package covers important information which needs to be communicated to a
customer. Product labelling is different from packaging. It might have the brand colors, the logo,
the material as well as the shape of the package, etc.

Example- A food product “Maggi” noodles might have the ingredients of the product as well as
the instructions on how to make the product written and illustrated on the package. These
instructions are nothing else but product labelling by brand.

Product Labelling can be as less as simple one or two lines on the back of the product. Or it can
be as much as the whole back end of the product being full of written information. If you pick up
shampoo, you will find the back to be full of information about the manufacturing location,
customer service, ingredients, ways to apply, safety instructions and whatnot.

All these labelling requirements come from the regulatory body. These are numerous regulatory
bodies for all products. So., the regulatory and governing body for the food product is the food
and drugs administration (FDA). Even for cosmetics, FDA can decide the labelling requirements.

Thus, any new product in the market has to adhere to these packaging and labelling guidelines of
their country’s regulatory bodies.

Importance:- as follows-

1. Brand and Product Identity- The label on the product is the primary product identity.
The name of the product and brand itself is considered as part of product labelling and
these products labels from the brand identity.
Example – HUL generally mentions its own parent brand on all its products because it
wants to remind customers that their products are under the umbrella branding of HUL
and are not independent. Furthermore, it might be a legal requirement to publish the
parent brand along with the sub-brand.
2. Grade and type- Every ‘Sunsilk’ shampoo has different types. Besides changing the
design and packaging styles of the product, they also change the label on the shampoo.
Some of them will say that the shampoo is “Anti-Dandruff” shampoo whereas the other

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 will say smooth silk. Thus, product labelling can be used to differentiate between the
various grades and types of the product.
3. Requirement by law- As mentioned above, there are numerous labelling requirements
which might be specified by a regulatory body. Some of them which are very common
include Ingredients, Manufacturing plant, Batch number, Expiry date, MRP, Safety
instructions, etc. Thus, a company has to consider all legal requirements before deciding
on the product labelling.
4. Description- By law, a product might not be required to print usage instructions on the
package of the product. Some of the products use a manual to communicate the same
whereas others imbibe usage instructions on the packaging itself. Thus, in a description,
we generally use instruction such as How to use, How to store, etc.
5. Promotion- Buy 2, get 1 free. This is a type of product labelling which you would have
most likely encountered especially during festive season. If a promotion is printed on the
package, it has to be adhered to. It also comes to the immediate attention of the customer.
Note that in retail and hypermarket, there might not be in store promoters. At such times,
your product labelling can become the last mile seller for your brand.
6. Additional Information- There may be additional information on the product, of use to
the customer, which can be used for product labelling. Example- A packet of Maggi
which is made of whole wheat might have a picture of Maggi packet on top of wheat.
This image will show that the product is healthy and might encourage customer to buy
the product. Similar such additional information, which can be a differentiation factor can
be used on the product.

In the era of E-commerce, product labelling has become very important because the customer
are much more likely to reject a product which they don’t know how to use. So, e-commerce
sellers should ensure that the labelling on the product covers all the legal norms and at same time
promotes the product.

It should also use proper usage description, storage instructions, and various marketing tactics to
encourage word of mouth. In essence, research is required while deciding the product labelling.

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PRODUCT MODIFICATION
An adjustment in one or more of a product's characteristics. It is most likely to be employed in
the maturity stage of the product life cycle to give a brand a competitive advantage. Product line
extensions represent new sizes, flavors, or packaging. This approach to altering a product mix
entails less risk than developing a new product.

There are three major ways of product modification, i.e. quality modifications, functional
modifications, and style modifications.

1. Quality modifications: These are changes that relate to a product's dependability and
durability and usually are executed by alterations in the materials or production process
employed. Reducing a product's quality may allow an organization to lower the price and
direct the item at a larger target market. The quality of a product may give a firm an
advantage over competing brands and may allow the firm to charge a higher price
because of increased quality. Or the firm may be forced to charge more because of higher
costs to achieve the increased quality.
2. Functional modifications: Changes that affect a product's versatility, effectiveness,
convenience, or safety are called functional modifications. They usually require
redesigning the product. Functional modifications can make a product useful to more
people, which enlarges the market for it. This type of change can place a product in a
favorable competitive position by providing benefits not offered by competing items.
Functional modifications can also help an organization to achieve and maintain a
progressive image.
3. Style modifications: Style modifications are directed at changing the sensory appeal of a
product by altering its taste, texture, sound, smell, or visual characteristics. Since a
buyer's purchase decision is affected by how the product looks, smells, tastes, feels, or
sounds, a style modification may have a definite impact on purchases. Through style
modifications a firm can differentiate its product from competing brands and perhaps
gain a sizable market share for this unique product. The major drawback in using style
modifications is that their value is determined subjectively. Although a firm may modify
a product to improve the product's style, customers may find the modified product to be
less appealing.

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PRODUCT INNOVATION
Is defined as the development of new products, changes in design of established products, or use
of new materials or components in the manufacture of established products Numerous examples
of product innovation include introducing new products, enhanced quality and improving its
overall performance. Product innovation, alongside cost-cutting innovation and process
innovation, are three different classifications of innovation which aim to develop a company's
production methods. Thus, product innovation can be divided into two categories of innovation:
radical innovation which aims at developing a new product, and incremental innovation which
aims at improving existing products.

Advantages and Disadvantages: -

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Growth, Expansion Counter effect of Product Innovation
Brand switching High cost and risk of failure
Gaining a competitive advantage Disrupting the outside world

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NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
New product development is a task taken by the company to introduce newer products in the
market. Regularly there will arise a need in the business for new product development. Your
existing products may be technologically outdated, you have different segments to target or you
want to cannibalize an existing product. In such cases, New product development is the answer
for the company.

There are 7 stages of new product development and they are as follows.

• Idea generation: In this you are basically involved in the systematic search for new
product Ideas. A company has to generate many ideas in order to find one that is worth
pursuing. The Major sources of new product ideas include internal sources, customers,
competitors, distributors and suppliers. Almost 55% of all new product ideas come from
internal sources according to one study. Companies like 3M and Toyota have put in
special incentive programs or their employees to come up with workable ideas. Almost
28% of new product ideas come from watching and listening to customers. Customers:
even create new products on their own, and companies can benefit by finding these
products and putting them on the market. Example – Pillsbury gets promising new
products from its annual Bake-off. One of Pillsbury’s four cake mix lines and several
variations of another came directly from Bake-Off winners’ recipes.
• Idea Screening: The second step in New product development is Idea screening. The
purpose of idea generation is to create a large pool of ideas. The purpose of this stage is
to pare these down to those that are genuinely worth pursuing. Companies have different
methods for doing this from product review committees to formal market research. It, is
helpful at this stage to have a checklist that can be used to rate each idea based on the
factors required for successfully launching the product in the marketplace and their
relative importance. Against these, management can assess how well the idea fits with the
company’s marketing skills and experience and other capabilities. Finally, the
management can obtain an overall rating of the company’s ability to launch the product
successfully.
• Concept Development and Testing: The third step in New product development is
Concept Development and Testing. An attractive idea has to be developed into a Product
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 concept. As opposed to a product idea that is an idea for a product that the company can
see itself marketing to customers, a product concept is a detailed version of the idea
stated in meaningful consumer terms. This is different again from a product image, which
is the consumers’ perception of an actual or potential product. Once the concepts are
developed, these need to be tested with consumers either symbolically or physically. For
some concept tests, a word or a picture may be sufficient, however, a physical
presentation will increase the reliability of the concept test. After being exposed to the
concept, consumers are asked to respond to it by answering a set of questions designed to
help the company decide which concept has the strongest appeal. The company can then
project these findings to the full market to estimate sales volume.
• Marketing Strategy Development: This is the next step in new product development.
The strategy statement consists of three parts: the first part describes the target market,
the planned product positioning and the sales, market share and profit goals for the first
few years. The second part outlines the product’s planned price, distribution, and
marketing budget for the first year. The third part of the marketing strategy statement
describes the planned long-run sales, profit goals, and the marketing mix strategy.
Business Analysis – Once the management has decided on the marketing strategy, it can
evaluate the attractiveness of the business proposal. Business analysis involves the review
of projected sales, costs and profits to find out whether they satisfy a company’s
objectives. If they do, the product can move to the product development stage.
• Product Development: Here, R&D or engineering develops the product concept into a
physical product. This step calls for a large investment. It will show whether the product
idea can be developed into a full- fledged workable product. First, R&D will develop
prototypes that will satisfy and excite customers and that can be produced quickly and at
budgeted costs. When the prototypes are ready, they must be tested. Functional tests are
then conducted under laboratory and field conditions to ascertain whether the product
performs safely and effectively.
• Test Marketing: If the product passes the functional tests, the next step is test marketing:
the stage at which the product and the marketing program are introduced to a more
realistic market settings. Test marketing gives the marketer an opportunity to tweak the
marketing mix before the going into the expense of a product launch. The amount of test

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 marketing varies with the type of product. Costs of test marketing can be enormous and it
can also allow competitors to launch a “me-too” product or even sabotage the testing so
that the marketer gets skewed results. Hence, at times, management may decide to do
away with this stage and proceed straight to the next one.
• Commercialization: The final step in new product development is Commercialization.
Introducing the product to the market – it will face high costs for manufacturing and
advertising and promotion. The company will have to decide on the timing of the launch
(seasonality) and the location (whether regional, national or international). This depends a
lot on the ability of the company to bear risk and the reach of its distribution network.
Today, in order to increase speed to market, many companies are dropping this sequential
approach to development and are adopting the faster, more flexible, simultaneous
development approach. Under this approach, many company departments work closely
together, overlapping the steps in the product development process to save time and
increase effectiveness. Above was the complete process of New product development.
You can also read this related article on why new product development is necessary for
survival.

IDEA GENERATION

IDEA SCREENING

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING

MARKETING STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

TEST MARKETING

COMMERCIALIZATION

21
Theory of New Product Development

TRIZ THEORY

All sort of projects reach a point in the development process where the analysis portion of the
project is complete, but it is unclear what the next step should be. To figure out the next best
step, the project team must be creative to figure out what to do. Traditionally, common creativity
tools and methodology have been constrained to brainstorming and similar methods, which are
dependent on team members’ intuition, knowledge, and orders given by somebody in a position
of authority. These common creativity tools and methods are often described as psychologically
based; and unfortunately, they often have unpredictable and unrepeatable results. And that’s
where TRIZ should come in.

TRIZ is a (Russian) acronym for the “Theory of Inventive Problem Solving”, which was
developed by G.S. Altshuller and his colleagues between 1946 and 1985 in the former U.S.S.R.
According to the TRIZ Journal webpage, “TRIZ is a problem-solving method based on logic and
data, not intuition, which accelerates the project team’s ability to solve these problems creatively.
TRIZ also provides repeatability, predictability, and reliability due to its structure and
algorithmic approach.” As opposed to psychologically-based common creativity tools, “TRIZ is
an international science of creativity that relies on the study of the patterns of problems and
solutions, not on the spontaneous and intuitive creativity of individuals or groups. More than
three million patents have been analyzed to discover the patterns that predict breakthrough
solutions to problems.” It also should be noted that TRIZ solves all kinds of problems, not just
those involving patentable entities. TRIZ research first began with the idea that there are
universal principles of creativity that form the basis for technology-advancing creative
innovations. The TRIZ researchers hypothesized that if these universal principles of creativity
could somehow be objectively identified and codified, then they could be made teachable to
people and make the innovation process more predictable. A condensed version of this idea is as
follows: “Somebody someplace has already solved this problem (or one very similar to it).
Creativity is now finding that solution and adapting it to this particular problem.”

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Models of New Product Development

Conceptual models have been designed in order to facilitate a smooth process. The concept
adopted by IDEO, a successful design and consulting firm, is one of the most researched
processes in regard to new product development and is a five-step procedure. These steps are
listed in chronological order:

• Understand and observe the market, the client, the technology, and the limitations of the
problem;

• Synthesize the information collected at the first step; • Visualize new customers using the
product;

• Prototype, evaluate and improve the concept;

• Implementation of design changes which are associated with more technologically advanced
procedures and therefore this step will require more time.

BAH MODEL

Booz, Allen and Hamilton’s New Product Process divides new product development into seven
sequential stages: new product strategy development, idea generation, screening and evaluation,
business analysis, development, testing, and commercialization. Firstly, BAH process begins
with the development of new product strategies in line with the company’s objectives which
provides “guidelines for establishing screening criteria” and a “point of reference for subsequent
new product development stages.” This is then followed by idea generation and screening and
evaluation of the generated ideas that merit further analysis thereby focusing on those ideas that
offer the greatest potential. These select few ideas are subject to business analysis where
hypothetical business plans for the ideas are evaluated on the basis of quantitative factors such as
market growth information, financial projections, etc. Successful product ideas are then
graduated to the development stage where these ideas are translated into actual product offerings
and these offerings are further tested to validate earlier projections and business judgments.
Finally, after required alterations have been made depending on the test results, the product
offerings undergo commercialization which involves “full-scale market introduction of newly
developed products.”

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STAGE-GATE MODEL

Stage-Gate is a value-creating business process and risk model designed to quickly and
profitably transform an organization's best new ideas into winning new products. When
embraced by organizations, it creates a culture of product innovation excellence - product
leadership, accountability, high-performance teams, customer and market focus, robust solutions,
alignment, discipline, speed and quality.

The Stage-Gate Product Innovation Process- In addition to the benefits that are well-
documented by research and benchmarking firms, many companies that have implemented and
adopted an authentic Stage-Gate process realize:

• Accelerated speed-to-market.
• Increased new product success rates.
• Decreased new product failures.
• Increased organizational discipline and focus on the right projects.
• Fewer errors, waste and re-work within projects.
• Improved alignment across business leaders.
• Efficient and effective allocation of scarce resources.
• Improved visibility of all projects in the pipeline.
• Improved cross-functional engagement and collaboration.
• Improved communication and coordination with external stakeholders.

How does a Stage-Gate Process work?

The Stage-Gate model is based on the belief that product innovation begins with ideas and ends once a
product is successfully launched into the market. This has a lot to do with the benchmarking research that
the Stage-Gate model design is premised on, and is a much broader and more cross-functional view of a
product development process. The Stage-Gate model takes the often complex and chaotic process of
taking an idea from inception to launch, and breaks it down into smaller stages (where project activities
are conducted) and gates (where business evaluations and Go/Kill decisions are made). In its entirety,
Stage-Gate incorporates Pre-development Activities (business justification and preliminary feasibilities),
Development Activities (technical, marketing, and operations development) and Commercialization
Activities (market launch and post launch learning) into one complete, robust process.

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THE STAGES-

Each stage is designed to collect specific information to help move the project to the next stage
or decision point. Each stage is defined by the activities within it. Activities are completed in
parallel (allowing for projects to quickly move towards completion) and are cross-functional (not
dominated by any single functional area). These activities are designed to gather information and
progressively reduce uncertainty and risk. Each stage is increasingly more costly and emphasizes
collection of additional information to reduce uncertainty.

In the typical Stage-Gate model, there are 5 stages, in addition to the Idea Discovery Stage:

Stage 0 – Idea Discovery Pre-work designed to discover and uncover business opportunities and
generate new ideas.

Stage 1 – Scoping Quick, inexpensive preliminary investigation and scoping of the project –
largely desk research.

Stage 2 – Build the Business Case Detailed investigation involving primary research – both
market and technical – leading to a Business Case, including product and project definition,
project justification, and the proposed plan for development.

Stage 3 – Development The actual detailed design and development of the new product and the
design of the operations or production process required for eventual full-scale production.

Stage 4 – Testing and Validation Tests or trials in the marketplace, lab, and plant to verify and
validate the proposed new product, brand/marketing plan and production/operations.

Stage 5 – Launch Commercialization – beginning of full-scale operations or production,

marketing, and selling.

THE GATES-

Preceding each stage, a project passes through a gate where a decision is made whether or not to
continue investing in the project (a Go/Kill decision). These serve as quality-control checkpoints
with three goals: ensure quality of execution, evaluate business rationale, and approve the project
plan and resources.

25
Each gate is structured in a similar way:

• Deliverables: The project leader and team provide Gatekeepers with the high-level
results of the activities completed during the previous stage.
• Criteria: The project is measured against a defined set of success criteria that every new
product project is measured against. Criteria should be robust to help screen out winning
products, sooner. The authentic Stage-Gate process incorporates 6 proven criteria:
Strategic Fit, Product and Competitive Advantage, Market Attractiveness, Technical
Feasibility, Synergies/Core Competencies, Financial Reward/Risk.
• Outputs: A decision is made (Go/Kill/Hold/Recycle). New product development
resources are committed to continuing the project. The action plan for the next stage is
approved. A list of deliverables and date for the next gate is set.

The Stage-Gate model is designed to improve the speed and quality of execution of new product
development activities. The process helps project teams prepare the right information, with the
right level of detail, at the right gate to support the best decision possible, and allocate capital
and operating resources. The process empowers the project team by providing them with a
roadmap, with clear decisions, priorities, and deliverables at each gate. Higher quality
deliverables submitted to Gatekeepers enables timely decisions.

IDEA
DISCOVER
Y
DELIVERABLE
LAUNCH
COMMERCI SCOPING
ALIZATION

CRITERIA
TESTING BULID
AND
VALIDATIO
BUSINESS
N CASE

DEVELOP
MENT OUTPUT

26
GROWTH STRATEGIES

Important Business Growth Strategies:

• Market penetration
• Integrative strategy
• Growth strategy
• Diversification strategy

Companies have various growth strategies available before them if they want to grow their
business. Some of the most common growth strategies utilized by companies are penetration,
diversification and integration. Of these three growth strategies the one that is considered least
risky is the market penetration strategy. It involves selling existing products in existing markets.
Companies can penetrate their existing markets more thoroughly. However, this strategy is to be
followed in cases where one of the following conditions exists:

• Market is still unsaturated

• Growth rate of the industry is rising but competitive market share is falling
• If the existing customers are likely to buy the existing products in higher quantity.
• Economies of scale provide a competitive advantage.

In case one of the given conditions exists, this strategy can be used to create further growth.
Generally, as a part of market penetration companies increase their investment and focus on
distribution and promotion. They spend more on marketing and advertising. Other promotional
methods like discount coupons and seasonal sales are also utilized for this purpose and the size
of the sales force is increased as a part of this strategy.

Another notable strategy used for business growth is diversification. Companies use this
strategy to grow business as well fully utilize its resources and excess cashflow. Diversification
is not about existing products like penetration. It involves addition of similar but new products to
the company’s core business. To do this a company can develop new products internally or
acquire a competing business that already deals in related products.

The aim is to realize higher profits and extend the brand’s presence into related areas. There are a
few important concerns related to diversification. Before diversifying, firms must check if the

27
industry they are trying to enter is really profitable. They must check if they would be able to
generate a competitive advantage in the business they are entering and if there is a synergy
between their new and existing businesses. Firms can obtain this synergy in case of acquisition
using following methods:

• Exploit economies of scale: Increase production and unit costs will fall
• Exploit economies of scope: Utilize the same resources better for different tasks
• Allocate capital efficiently

However, compared to market penetration, diversification can be a riskier strategy. Several firms
have failed in their attempts to diversify in the history of the business world. The reasons vary
from one business to another. There are other examples where firms have seen considerable
success after diversifying. So, the difference lies in how well they planned and executed their
strategies.

Another important strategy frequently utilized by businesses to find growth is the integration
strategy. It differs from both penetration and diversification. Two firms in similar businesses can
integrate to become a large business. If two combine, it is known as amalgamation whereas if the
larger one absorbs the smaller one it is absorption or merger. There can be following various
forms of integration:

• Backward integration: It can be understood as backward expansion. If a firm integrates

parts of its supply chain or acquires a supplier’s business to ensure smooth and continue
supply of raw material, it is called backward integration. Firms can ensure business
growth and higher profits by using this strategy.
• Forward integration: This can be understood as forward expansion. A company
integrates parts of its distribution channel into its core business to eliminate the
intermediaries and to get closer to its customers. It provides them with higher control
over the distribution and sales of their products and increases profits.
• Horizontal integration: It occurs when two firms that are competing in the same
business field are brought together. It eliminates competition and increases market share
and profits.

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 • Conglomerate growth: It is the strategy of acquiring a firm engaged in a business
altogether different from the acquiring firm’s core business.

However, a growth strategy is also full of risks and companies need to evaluate several actors
before embarking on a growth plan. First important factor to be checked is the availability of
economies of scale. If economies of scale allow to sell products at lower prices or to derive
higher profits per unit, companies must embark on a growth plan. Apart from it companies must
check what the response of the customers is going to be to the expansion.

If companies are uncertain whether customers will spend on new products and services or not a
growth strategy might be dangerous and could fail. If demand is falling, the business
environment will not support expansion and again the growth plan will be a failure. Companies
must check if the right conditions including customer demand exist. Firms must also see if
internal financing of the expansion is possible or if there is enough cash to support the expansion
plan. Another thing to be ensured is that if the business one is trying to enter will be more
profitable than the existing one. If planning to diversify then firms must not try to diversify very
far from their core business without properly evaluating the risks. These are only three growth
strategies. Companies also use other growth strategies like Market development or product
development to grow their businesses.

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PRODUCT MANAGER
Irrespective of the size and structure of a business, a product manager is accountable for the
success or failure of a product. They are the ones who take a product from concept to market.
Depending on the company, a product manager may be responsible for different product life
cycle stages. The roles and responsibilities of a product manager are constantly evolving. As the
marketplace changes, so do the functions of a product manager. This blog post will explore
the roles and responsibilities of a product manager in today’s dynamic business landscape.

Skills required for Product Manager Role

Product managers are responsible for a product’s strategy, roadmap, and features. They work
with cross-functional teams to bring products to market. The skills required for this role include
the following:

Strategic Thinking: A product manager must be able to strategically think about the path of the
product and align it with the company’s business goals. For instance, they need to decide which
features to build and how to position the product in the market.

Analytical Skills: There is a lot of data to track when managing a product. A product manager
must be able to analyze this data to make informed decisions about the product.

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Roadmap Development: A proficient product manager has to develop a clear and executable
roadmap for the product. For instance, they need to decide which features will be delivered.

Feature Prioritization: It is all about balancing the needs of different stakeholders when it
comes to features. A product manager must be able to prioritize features based on their impact
and feasibility. For example, the marketing team wants a new feature that will take six months to
develop.

However, the sales team needs a different feature that can be developed in two months. The
product manager has to prioritize the features according to the needs of the company and the
customers.

Cross-functional Collaboration: A product manager must collaborate with cross-functional

teams effectively (e.g., engineering, design, marketing, sales) to bring products to market. Here,
effective communication is key.

Project Management: Last but not least, a product manager must be able to manage the product
development process from start to finish. It includes creating timelines, tracking progress, and
ensuring that the product is delivered on time from conception to launch.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Product Manager

It is a relatively new field in India, and there are many reasons why it is the right career for you.
As a proficient product manager, you will have to overlook the development and success of a
product. It includes managing all aspects of the product life cycle, from ideation to launch to
post-launch analysis.

You will need strong analytical skills to succeed in this role, as you will constantly be evaluating
data to make decisions about your product. Making strategic plans for the product is important,
as you will be responsible for creating and executing the vision for your product.

If you are aiming for a challenging and rewarding career, then product management is the right
choice. Check out our Advanced Executive Certificate in Product Management to start your
product management career on an insightful note.

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In general, the key roles and responsibilities of a product manager are to develop and oversee the
implementation of plans for new products or services. It includes everything from conducting
market research and feasibility studies to developing product strategies, roadmaps and business
cases.

Product managers are also responsible for managing the product life cycle, including creating go-
to-market plans, coordinating with cross-functional teams during launch, and ensuring ongoing
post-launch support and optimization. They also track metrics and KPIs to assess performance
and ROI, identify areas for improvement, and make recommendations for future product
development.

Product managers need to have strong communication and problem-solving skills, as they will be
interacting with customers, team members, and stakeholders. They must also work effectively
under pressure and handle multiple tasks simultaneously.

Finally, product managers must also stay up-to-date on industry trends and the competitive
landscape to develop strategies that ensure their products remain market leaders. Without a
doubt, being a product manager is a challenging role, but it is also an extremely rewarding one. If
you have the required skills and are up for the challenge, then product management could be
your perfect career choice.

➢ TECH PRODUCT MANAGER

The roles and responsibilities of a tech product manager are many and varied but can be broadly
divided into three main areas: product strategy, product development, and product marketing.

As the owner of the product vision, the tech product manager is responsible for defining the
strategy for how the product will be built and delivered to customers. It includes setting the
roadmap and priorities for the engineering team, working with other teams across the company
to align on dependencies, and ensuring that the product meets both customer needs and business
objectives.

The tech product manager also owns the product development process, working closely with
engineering to bring the product vision to life. It involves writing user stories, defining
acceptance criteria, overseeing quality assurance efforts, and managing beta programs.

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Finally, the Tech product manager is responsible for driving the growth and adoption of the
product through marketing efforts. It may include creating go-to-market plans, conducting
market research, developing partnerships, and creating demand-generation programs.

➢ BUSINESS PRODUCT MANAGER

The roles and responsibilities of a business product manager can vary depending on the
organization but typically include

• Developing product strategy, roadmap and requirements.

• Managing the product lifecycle.
• Conducting market research and competitive analysis.
• Coordinating with cross-functional teams and communicating with stakeholders.

The business product manager may also be responsible for some organizations’ product
marketing and go-to-market activities.

The development of product strategy involves understanding customers’ needs and market trends
and setting direction for the product. The roadmap outlines the steps needed to achieve the
product vision, while requirements define what features or functionality must be included in the
final product. The product lifecycle management includes planning and executing launches,
monitoring performance post-launch, and making necessary adjustments.

Conducting market research helps to understand customer needs and how they change over time,
as well as identify new opportunities. Competitive analysis is used to understand what other
products are available in the market and how they compare to your offering.

Cross-functional coordination is essential to ensure that all teams involved in developing and
launching a product work together efficiently. Lastly, communication with stakeholders is key to
keeping them updated on progress, seeking feedback and getting buy-in for decisions made.

➢ DESIGN PRODUCT MANAGER

Design product managers are responsible for their product line’s overall vision and strategy.
They work with cross-functional teams to ensure that products are designed and developed to

33
meet the needs of customers and the business. In addition, they are responsible for managing the
product lifecycle from concept through launch and post-launch support.

Design product managers typically have a bachelor’s degree in industrial design, engineering, or
a related field. Many also have experience working in product development or management
roles. They are typically skilled in project management, product development process, and team
leadership.

Design product managers often focus more on their products’ aesthetics and user experience than
other product managers. As such, they may also be responsible for overseeing the work of
industrial designers, user experience designers, and other design team members.

➢ GROWTH PRODUCT MANAGER

As a growth product manager, their role is to increase the adoption and usage of your product.
They will need to wear many hats and be comfortable with ambiguity and change. They must be
able to think strategically while also being hands-on and rolling up their sleeves when needed.

The responsibilities will include working with cross-functional teams to define, design, and ship
new features that drive growth. They also manage experiments, A/B tests, and other growth
initiatives. They need to understand user behaviour and analytics to make data-driven decisions
deeply.

Other responsibilities may include conducting user research, managing beta programs, and
working with marketing on launch plans. They should be comfortable working in a fast-paced
environment and be able to juggle multiple projects at once.

A growth product manager typically has a bachelor’s degree in fields such as business,
marketing, or economics. They should also have experience working in product management or a
related role. In addition, they should have strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

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PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
The Product Life Cycle (PLC) defines the stages that a product moves through in the market
place as it enters, becomes established, and exits the marketplace. In other words, the product life
cycle describes the stages that a product is likely to experience. It is a useful tool for managers to
help them analyze and develop strategies for their products as they enter and exit each stage.

Stages in the Product Life Cycle

The four stages in the product life cycle are:

➢ Introduction
➢ Growth
➢ Maturity
➢ Decline

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 1. Introduction Stage
When a product first launches, sales will typically be low and grow slowly. In this stage,
company profit is small (if any) as the product is new and untested. The introduction stage
requires significant marketing efforts, as customers may be unwilling or unlikely to test the
product. There are no benefits from economies of scale, as production capacity is not maximized.

The underlying goal in the introduction stage is to gain widespread product recognition and
stimulate trials of the product by consumers. Marketing efforts should be focused on the
customer base of innovators – those most likely to buy a new product. There are two price-
setting strategies in the introduction stage:

Price skimming: Charging an initially high price and gradually reducing (“skimming”) the price
as the market grows.

Price penetration: Establishing a low price to quickly enter the marketplace and capture market
share, before increasing prices relative to market growth.

2. Growth Stage
If the product continues to thrive and meet market needs, the product will enter the growth stage.
In the growth stage, sales revenue usually grows exponentially from the take-off point.
Economies of scale are realized as sales revenues increase faster than costs and production
reaches capacity.

Competition in the growth stage is often fierce, as competitors introduce similar products. In the
growth stage, the market grows, competition intensifies, sales rise, and the number of customers
increases. Price undercutting in the growth stage tends to be rare, as companies in this stage can
increase their sales by attracting new customers to their product offerings.

3. Maturity Stage
Eventually, the market grows to capacity, and sales growth of the product declines. In this stage,
price undercutting and increased promotional efforts are common as companies try to capture
customers from competitors. Due to fierce competition, weaker competitors will eventually exit
the marketplace – the shake-out. The strongest players in the market remain to saturate and
dominate the stable market.

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The biggest challenge in the maturity stage is trying to maintain profitability and prevent sales
from declining. Retaining customer brand royalty is key in the maturity stage. In addition, to re-
innovate itself, companies typically employ strategies such as market development, product
development, or marketing innovation to ensure that the product remains successful and stays in
the maturity stage.

4. Decline Stage
In the decline stage, sales of the product start to fall and profitability decreases. This is primarily
due to the market entry of other innovative or substitute products that satisfy customer needs
better than the current product. There are several strategies that can be employed in the decline
stage, for example:

Reduce marketing efforts and attempt to maximize the life of the product for as long as possible
(called milking or harvesting).

Slowly reducing distribution channels and pulling the product from underperforming geographic
areas. Such a strategy allows the company to pull the product out and attempt to introduce a
replacement product.

Selling the product to a niche operator or subcontractor. This allows the company to dispose of a
low-profit product while retaining loyal customers.

DECLINE INTRODUCTION

MATURITY GROWTH

37
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Definition:- The day-to-day tasks include a wide variety of strategic and tactical duties.
Most product managers or product owners do not take on all these responsibilities. At least some
of them are owned by other teams or departments in most companies.

But most product professionals spend the majority of their time focused on the following:

Conducting Research: Researching to gain expertise about the company’s market, user
personas, and competitors.

Developing Strategy: Shaping the industry knowledge they’ve learned into a high-level strategic
plan for their product—including goals and objectives, a broad-strokes overview of the product
itself, and maybe a rough timeline.

Communicating Plans: Developing a working strategic plan using a product roadmap and
presenting it to key stakeholders across their organization: executives, investors, development
teams, etc. Ongoing communication across their cross-functional teams throughout the
development process and beyond.

Coordinating Development: Assuming they have received a green light to move forward with
their product’s strategic plan, coordinate with the relevant team’s product marketing,
development, etc.—to begin executing the plan.

Acting on Feedback and Data Analysis: Finally, after building, testing, and introducing the
product to the marketplace, learning via data analysis and soliciting direct feedback from users,
what works, what doesn’t, and what to add. Working with the relevant teams to incorporate this
feedback into future product iterations.

Process:- There is no single “right” way to manage a product. Processes will evolve and adapt
to the organization, the product lifecycle stage, and product team members’ and executives’
personal preferences.

38
But the discipline has developed some consensus regarding best practices. So while rigid
adherence isn’t required and there isn’t the same level of zealotry as one might find when
discussing Agile, the basic tenets are widely accepted.

• Defining the problem

It all begins with identifying a high-value customer pain point. After that, people or organizations
are trying to do something, and they can’t. Or, if they can, it’s expensive or time-consuming or
resource-intensive or inefficient, or just unpleasant.

Whether it’s moving a person or thing from Point A to Point B, finding the perfect gift, reaching
the right audience, keeping people entertained, or some other objective, what’s currently
available isn’t quite cutting it. People want something better or something they don’t have at all.

Product management turns these abstract complaints, wants, and wishes into a problem statement
looking for a solution. Solving that problem and easing that pain is the spark and motivation for
everything that comes next. Without a clearly articulated goal that directly impacts that pain
point, there’s not much hope that the product will gain traction or staying power.

• Quantifying the opportunity

There are many problems and pain points, but not all are worth solving. This is when product
managers swap their customer-centric hats for a business one.

To justify investment in building a new product or solution, product management must answer
the following questions and be able to build a business case based on the answers they find:

What is the total addressable market?

Is the problem or pain severe enough that people will consider alternative solutions?

Are they willing to pay for an alternative solution (or is there another way to monetize the
solution)?

Once product management has evaluated the potential market, they can then try to address it if
there’s a significant enough opportunity.

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 • Researching potential solutions
With a target in mind, product management can now thoroughly investigate how they might
solve customer problems and pain points. They should cast a large net of possible solutions and
not rule anything out too quickly. For example, suppose the organization already has some
proprietary technology or IP or a particular area of expertise to give the company an advantage.
In that case, those potential solutions will likely leverage that somehow.

However, this does not mean that product managers should start drafting requirements and
engaging the product development team. They’ll first want to validate those candidates with the
target market, although it is prudent to bounce some of these ideas off the technical team to
ensure they’re at least feasible. Product management will often develop personas to see whether
there’s actual interest among those cohorts using any of the table’s ideas.

Skipping this step and jumping right into building something can be a fatal flaw or cause severe
delays. While there are no guarantees, getting confirmation from potential customers that the
idea is something they’ll want, use, and pay for is a critical gate in the overall process and
achieving product-market fit.

• Building an MVP

After validating a particular solution’s appeal and viability, it’s now time to engage the product
development team in earnest. First, the bare minimum set of functionality should be defined, and
then the team can build a working version of the product that can be field-tested with actual
users.

Many bells and whistles will intentionally be excluded from the Minimum Viable Product as the
goal is to ensure the core functionality meets the market’s needs. Nice-to-haves can wait for a
later stage in the product lifecycle since there’s little point in expending additional resources on
an unproven product.

MVPs can test how the product works and the overall messaging and positioning of the value
proposition in conjunction with product marketing. The key is finding out whether this nascent
product is something the market wants and if it adequately meets its core requirements.

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 • Creating a feedback loop
While customer feedback is essential throughout a product’s life, there’s no time more critical
than during the MVP introduction. This is where the product management team can learn what
customers think, need, and dislike since they’re reacting to an actual product experience and not
just theoretical ideas tossed out in a conversation.

Product management must make it easy for customers to provide feedback and create frequent
prompts soliciting it. But, just as importantly, they must process, synthesize, and react to this
feedback, turning this input into actionable ideas that make their way into the product roadmap
or backlog.

And, not to be forgotten, product management must also establish a method for closing the loop
with customers so they know their complaints and suggestions were heard and, when applicable,
have been addressed.

• Setting the strategy

Assuming the MVP is well received, it’s time to invest in a product strategy. The team now
knows they’re onto something that can get some traction, so goals and objectives must be
established to improve the product, bring it to market, expand its reach, and align with the
overall company strategy and desired outcomes.

The strategy should be based on reasonable, incremental progress toward achievable goals,
with key performance indicators and other metrics defined to evaluate success. These
measurables should track with the organization’s general objectives and complement what the
company already does well (assuming it’s not a startup still in its infancy).

More than anything else, the strategy is where product management must secure stakeholder
alignment and buy-in. If there’s no solid, shared understanding of this fundamental element of
the product, then the groundwork is already being laid for future conflicts and disagreements.

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 • Driving execution
With a viable product concept, a scalable feedback management system, and a sound strategy,
it’s time to turn ideas into reality. This means prioritizing potential development items and
plotting out the product roadmap.

Product management can utilize various prioritization framework to decide which development
activities will help the product meet its most important goals quickly and efficiently, cueing
things up for near-term work. Of course, everything can’t be first, so basing these decisions on
which items have the greatest impact on critical objectives is key, including representatives from
across the organization. With the initial priorities set, product management can then build out
their product roadmap. This powerful tool enables stakeholders to visualize what’s on the
horizon and why it’s relevant to the strategy, particularly if structured around theme and
outcomes versus specific features and delivery dates.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/product
https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/marketing-management/product-meaning-definition-
concept-types/31455
https://managementweekly.org/product-strategy-in-marketing-mix/
https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2017/10/five-product-levels/
https://www.marketing91.com/product-classification/
https://www.marketingtutor.net/what-is-product-line/
https://www.marketing91.com/product-mix-pricing/, https://marketing-insider.eu/product-mix-
pricing-strategies/
https://www.studocu.com/in/document/apj-abdul-kalam-technological-university/marketing-
management/packaging-labelling-decisions/22928157, https://www.marketing91.com/product-
labelling/
https://www.edureka.co/blog/roles-and-responsibilities-of-a-product-manager/
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/product-life-cycle/

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