Monday, January 15, 2018

Essentials Of Strategic Product Management

By Karen Reed


In a globalized market, there are many products vying for market share. In this fight to the finish, where only the fittest survives, managing products is a way that companies must employ to be a part of the playing field. Product management is a process that allows organizations to successfully plan, forecast, produce and market their products. It is not only used at the inception of products but can be used to improve the article, time and time again.

A strategy for continuous and daily thinking and execution is integral to the development of competitive products and tapping into the identified market opportunities. A manager takes into consideration the market and competitive conditions supported by robust research and lay out a vision that meets the value and need expectation of the customer.

Essentially the manager is overall in charge of all aspects of a particular article or substance in respect to strategy, rollout plan, value management and value chain and feature definition. In addition, responsibility may extend to marketing strategy, forecasting and financial aspects among other strategic and tactical undertakings. For effective planning, forecasting, production, and marketing of products there is need for efficient cross-functional leadership coordination among the various working units of a company or institution. A positioning statement to all units will be a step towards achieving buy-in and resource support for full development.

The input of the customer is critical towards understanding the customer's business challenges. This will be helpful in enhancing the quality and value of an article or substance, either by enhancing an already existing article or scrapping it altogether. Additionally, this affords managers an opportunity to critically investigate market opportunities in order to develop attractive, strong and competitive products that solve the problems of the customer. This can be done using tools for information collection on enhancement ideas and letting stakeholders have their say for consideration by the manager.

Innovation and enterprise are two qualities a manager must possess. These help when dealing with particularly difficult products. In such situations, an effective manager should be innovative and not restrictive in his search for a viable solution.

The forecasting stage of the process entails putting measures in place to forestall any unforeseen events. A good forecast or prediction is an indication of how good and experienced a manager is at his job.

With a clear goal in sight, a manager is better equipped to manage and drive a product towards that goal. He does this by carrying out in-depth product and market researches and based on his findings, allocates adequate resources to areas that will help achieve these goals.

In conclusion, it is worth noting, that effective management delivers superior products with unique benefits and value orientation through seamless cross-functional coordination of activities. These are often, production and commercial units with different levels of effort/expertise. This coordination is integral in getting a product to the market, manage it while there, for profitability and sustainability.




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