Product manager tasks

As a product market expert, the PM knows the relevant product market like the back of his hand. This role is his raison d’être. Only a genuine understanding of the market serves as the basis for all subsequent narrow decisions.

• Continuous market observation
• Market research
• Desk research
• Customer visits
• Product usage observations
• Customer interviews
• Customer surveys
• Competition analyses
• Participation in trade fairs & congresses
• Surveys of sales people
• Sales surveys

As a strategist, the PM evaluates market opportunities and shows whether and how these can be utilised profitably for the company. The main instrument here is the product business plan. Planning also includes continuous control. This means that the PM retains overall responsibility as a life cycle manager even after the market launch.

• Interpretation of the market analysis
• Defining goals and strategies
• Reflecting with stakeholders
• Organising strategy meetings
• Creating a product business plan
• Presentation to the product committee
• Obtaining approvals & resources
• Monitoring the implementation
• Adaptation of the strategy
• Manage product life cycle

As a requirements manager, the PM translates the customer’s problem into specific product and service requirements in the ‘upstream process’. Working out the customer benefit is of particular importance here. In this role, the PM determines ‘what is done’ and the specialist department ‘how it is done’. In the innovation process, the main interface is R&D.

• Collecting ideas and requirements
• Consolidate the requirements
• Evaluate & prioritise requirements
• Working out the customer benefit
• Create specifications
• Negotiate requirements with R&D
• Define target costs and sales volumes
• Track realisation of requirements
• Evaluate prototypes
• Carrying out market tests
• Product master data documentation
• Issue market release

As an interface manager, the PM coordinates all specialist departments in order to implement the strategies and measures defined in the product business plan. As the PM generally has no line management authority, he must lead laterally. This requires a high level of communication skills and social competence.

• Organising kick-off meetings
• Moderating meetings
• Negotiating
• Identify and manage stakeholders
• Obtaining commitment and buy-in
• Communicating interim results
• Track implementation measures
• Coordinate activities
• Adjust time and project plans
• Identify critical issues
• Escalate critical issues
• Resolve (resource) conflicts

Now the product is properly marketed to the market in the ‘downstream process’. Marketing communication and sales are the main interfaces here. Central elements in this role are the product launch and marketing campaigns. The PM is in the sales role vis-à-vis their own sales team! Enthusiasm, good presentation skills and the formulation of good benefit arguments are important success factors.

• Planning and preparation of product launch
• Realisation and project management of product launch
• Creation of product presentations
• Selling the product to sales
• Realisation of product presentation
• Realisation of sales training courses
• Roadshows and customer visits
• Selective sales support
• Obtaining feedback from the distribution channel
• Adaptation / sharpening of sales arguments
• Identify and activate multipliers in the channel

If the product manager is responsible for not just one product, but an entire portfolio of products, their role as strategist expands to that of portfolio manager. The aim here is to further develop the existing portfolio towards a successful target portfolio through the targeted management of phase-in and phase-out.