INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCT

MANAGEMENT
 Product
• The American Marketing Association (AMA)
defines a product as “A bundle of attributes
(features, functions, benefits, and uses) capable of
exchange or use; usually a mix of tangible and
intangible forms.
• A product may be an idea, a physical entity (a
good), or a service, or any combination of the three.
It exists for the purpose of exchange in the
satisfaction of individual and organizational
objectives."

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 Product Classification
Based on Nature
1. Goods Based on Social
2. Services Benefits
3. Ideas Based on Consumer Intentions • Pleasing Products
4. Experiences • Consumer Products
• Deficient Products
5. Events • Industrial Products
• Salutary Products
6. Persons • Desirable Products
7. Places
8. Properties
9. Organizations
10. Information

3
 Product Management
• Product management is the process of conceiving, planning, developing ,testing ,
launching, delivering and withdrawing products from the market.

• It is an organizational function within a company dealing with the thoughtful and

proactive management of product or a group of the products throughout all the
stages of the product life cycle
- Association of international product and marketing manager.
Source:
Greg Geracie , (2013) “The Guide to the Product Management and Marketing
Body of Knowledge”

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 The Product Management Process
The product management process can be defined as consisting of
• generating
• analyzing
• organizing
• planning
• implementation and control
of firms existing and new product efforts so as to satisfy the needs and wants of the chosen
customer segments while fulfilling organizational objectives
-----Yoram Wind

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Brand Management Process

• Strategic brand management process is defined as involving four main

steps:

1. Identifying and establishing brand positioning and values

2. Planning and implementing brand marketing programs
3. Measuring and interpreting brand performance
4. Growing and sustaining brand equity.

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 Product manager

• The planning activities related to the management of product(s) or

product line.
• Analyzing the market & turning this information into marketing objectives &
strategies for the product.

• Obtaining organizational support for the marketing plan.

• Involve coordinating with other areas of the firm.
• Involve in internal marketing of the product – obtain assistance & support of
more senior managers in the firm.

• Analyzing potential partner relationship for the product.

A Product manager’s potential interactions
Roles of Product manager

• Setting the strategy and vision of the product to align with business and user goals
• Building a product roadmap
• Work with engineers, designers, and stakeholders
• Requirements evaluation
• Stakeholder management

• https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-bob-iger-unified-disneys-new-magic-kingdom-11582919131
 Product vs General Marketing Management

Product Management General Marketing

Mgmt
Scope of responsibility Narrow: Single product or Broad: Portfolio of
product line products
Nature of decision making Mainly tactical Mainly strategic
Time horizon Short-run(annual or Long-run
shorter)
 PESTLE ANALYSIS
• Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal
Analysis
•  “A company’s marketing environment consists of the actors and forces
outside of marketing that affect marketing management ability to build and
maintain successful relationships with target customers.”
• Some of these factors are beyond the control of an organization and have
impact on the overall industry, so a company needs to mould itself
accordingly.

• https://www.nytimes.com/article/russia-invasion-companies.html

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 Economic Social
PESTLE
Technological
Political
Environmental regulations Economic Growth Income distribution Govt. Research spending
and protection

Tax policies Interest rates & monetary Demographics, population Industry focus on technological
policies growth rates,Age distribution effort

Internal trade regulations Govt. Spending Labor/ social mobility New inventions and
and restrictions development

Contract enforcement law Unemployment policy Life style changes Rate of technology transfer
Consumer protection

Work/career & leisure Life cycle and speed of

Employment laws Taxation attitudes, Entreprenuerial technological obsolescene
skills

Govt. Organization/attitude Exchange Rates Education Energy use and costs

Competition regulation Inflation rates Fashion, hypes (Changes in) Information

technology
Political Stability Stage of business cycle Health consciousness & (Changes in) Internet
welfare, feelings on safety
Safety regulations Consumer Confidence Living conditions (Changes in) mobile technology
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PESTLE

•   Legal Factors:
Every company has to adhere with the legal and regulatory framework
that exists in the market. Companies need to adhere to the laws and
regulations that exist in their markets, irrespective of how restrictive
they may be.
• Environmental Factors:
These are the ecological factors that impact an organization.  The
levels of pollution, deforestation, frequency of weather changes, etc.
are some of the ecological factors which need to be addressed
 SWOT
• Strengths
What do you do well?
What unique resources can you draw on?
What do others see as your strengths?
• Weaknesses
What could you improve?
Where do you have fewer resources than others?
What are others likely to see as weaknesses?

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Cont..

• Opportunities
What opportunities are open to you?
What trends could you take advantage of?
How can you turn your strengths into opportunities?
• Threats
What threats could harm you?
What is your competition doing?
What threats do your weaknesses expose to you?

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MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS

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 1. PRODUCT-FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS
• Used where different products use the same channel distribution.

• Product Manager acts as a “mini-CEO” by taking responsibility for the

overall health of the brand.

• A well-defined hierarchy within the product management system will

developed. (refer to the hierarchy structure)

• Key roles are assigned to assistant and associate product managers

• Assistant PM - market & share forecasting, budgeting, coordinating with production,
executing promotion, packaging, etc.
• Associate PM – more freedom to develop brand extension.
 1. Marketing organization
product-focused organizations
General foods corporation: desserts division organizational chart
 PRODUCT-FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS
• Advantages:
• Locus of responsibility is clear.
• PM’s training and experience - develop the ability to work with other areas in
organization.
• Advocate for the product.
• Fast response to customer request.

• Disadvantages:
• Focus on one product.
• Too myopic – focus on ST sales & market share goals (increase in sales
promotion).
• Inefficient use of marketing funds – family brand such as “Kraft”.
 1. PRODUCT-FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS
Lead to the “death of the product manager system” and widespread
burnout among them.

This burnout are:

•focus on short term - stifles innovation
•an explosion of marketing data leading into information overloads,
•corporate downsizing; and
•more responsibility and pressure with less autonomy.
 2. MARKET-FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS

• Defines marketing authority by market segment(s).

• Useful when there are differences in buyer behavior – different marketing

strategies and tactics are used.

• Example – banks define their segment into corporate vs consumer

business (customer size).
 2. Marketing organization
market-focused organizations
REGIONAL BELL OPERATING COMPANY
 MARKET-FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS

• Advantages:
• Focus on customer – modification/elimination of a product.
• Resource & knowledge sharing – easier to get the PM to pull together.
• Work well for ‘system’ or bundle sale – different segment with different strategy
or tactic.

• Disadvantages:
• Potential conflict within the product management structure – different internal
system to serve different segments.
• Less sharing of resources across division.
 3. Marketing organization
functionally-focused organizations
Marketing Organization:
Toy Manufacturer
Vice president,
marketing

Marketing
support

Advertising and public

relations

Publications

Consumer
administration

Merchandising
 3. FUNCTIONALLY-FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS
• Align the company by marketing functions.

• No single person is responsible for the day-to-day health of a product.

• CEO and VP make marketing strategy decisions.

• Strategies are implemented through discussion and coordination

among the functional areas.

• Works well when the company is producing only two products.

FUNCTIONALLY-FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS
• Advantages:
• Administration wise -- simple – the groups are designed to be parallel to normal
marketing activities.
• Specialization.
• Well-coordinated.

• Disadvantages:
• Who is ultimately responsible for the product?
• Substantial time in solving problems.
• Focused only on functional development.
 Critical skills of Product Manager
• Negotiation
• Product manager must be persuasive & able to influence the management.
• Teamwork
• Product manager must synthesize information from a variety departments.
• Communication skills
• Product manager communicates the product/brand to internal & external parties.
• Analytical ability
• Product manager needs to analyze & interpret all the figures such as sales
targets, share vs competition
Why product management
Relationship amongst competition ,marketing and product
management
1. Identify the market of opportunity
2. PM communicates the market opportunity
3. Quantifies the opportunity
4. Serves multiple roles
5. Empowers the sales efforts
6. Provides low risk repeatable and market driven
7. identify the customer
8. Affects positioning
9. Improves product success
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 Role / Functions of the product management
1. Product flanking
Product flanking refers to the introduction of the different
combinations of the products that different prices to cover as many as
market segments as possible.
Example
Vicks, the cough and cold relieving medicine is now available in
small containers as Cup drops cough syrups and inhalers also they
have offered the whole range of the same product in many prices and
sizes to flank the main brand Vicks VapoRub
https://www.pgcareers.com/about-us

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Cont..
2. Brand extension market
lifebuoy and its extensions like lifebuoy Plus apart
from regular lifebouy.
3.Building product lines
some companies add related new product lines to
give consumers all the product they would like to buy
under same brand name
Example Britannia
http://britannia.co.in/products/biscuits

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 Cont..
4. Innovations in core products
In quest of Potential products innovations in core
product is needed.
5. Long term outlook
Kellogs in India
6. Defining and redefining PLC
7. Monitoring the pulse of customers
Ex- Boat lifestyle
https://www.businessworld.in/article/boAt-
Lifestyle-Addressing-The-Issues-Faced-By-
Millennials/08-03-2019-167965/

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 Kellogs Success

• Kellogg’s initially launched in India with

corn flakes, wheat flakes and basmati rice
flakes, none of which were especially
successful.
• When Kellogg’s launched Frosties (sweet,
sugar-coated flakes) in 1997, even the
company was surprised by their success.

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 Cont..
8. Advertising and Media Coverage
Pantene Ads and Coke Ads
9. New product development
10. Expanding Market by usage
SALES VOL.= NO. OF USERS* USAGE RATE PER
USER
Ex- FEVICOL & M-SEAL
Obeetee- Luxury Carpet Brand
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYNSaSpVcYA
• https://www.livemint.com/industry/retail/luxury-carpets-brand-obeetee-to-expand-retail-footprint-in-metros-
11662301256767.html

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Cont..

• RRVL acquires Insight Cosmetics

• https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/reliance-retail-arm-acquires-control-
of-insight-cosmetics-11662320338667.html

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Roles & Responsibilities of Product Manager
• Preparation of a plan for the product at the annual level
• Implementation of the plan after approval by vice president marketing
and CEO
• Controlling and attainment of the plan in terms of volume and quality
and appraising the VP marketing just in case there is some problem
• Training of the subordinate and helping them in the attainment of
marketing goals. Supervising and monitoring the work of assistants
• Maintaining and protecting the brand equity of the product .

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