Product manager

Description

Product development managers are responsible for managing the lifecycle of a product. They research and develop new products in addition to managing existing ones through market research and strategic planning. Product managers perform marketing and planning activities to increase profits.

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to product manager:

product marketing manager
research and development manager
product design engineer
product development manager
product developer
sports product engineer

Minimum qualifications

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as product manager. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

  • the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
  • the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
  • the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Product manager is a Skill level 4 occupation.

Product manager career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to product manager.

product development manager
banking products manager
research and development manager
category manager
promotion manager

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of product manager. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of product manager with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of product manager.

Product life-cycle: The management of the life-cycle of a product from the development stages to the market entry and market removal.
Socio-economic trends in your sector: Situation and evolution of a sector from a socio-economic perspective. Economic parameters such as the value contribution to the GDP of this sector, public and private investment, open calls and funding opportunities, audience trends, and household consumption related to your sector. Monitor of social perception and political focus: social perception of the sector and its stakeholders as a whole, academic and professional acknowledgement of this sector’s professionals, qualification frameworks, audience evolution and trends, government authorities related to this sector, promotional measures, rulings and public investment.
Market research: The processes, techniques, and purposes comprised in the first step for developing marketing strategies such as the collection of information about customers and the definition of segments and targets.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of product manager.

Combine business technology with user experience: Analyse and exploit the points where technology, user experience, and business meet in order to create and develop new products.
Persuade clients with alternatives: Describe, detail, and compare possible alternatives that clients could take about products and services to persuade them to take a decision that benefits both the company and the client.
Define technology strategy: Create an overall plan of objectives, practices, principles and tactics related to the use of technologies within an organisation and describe the means to reach the objectives.
Analyse market financial trends: Monitor and forecast the tendencies of a financial market to move in a particular direction over time.
Plan product management: Manage the scheduling of procedures which aim to maximise sales objectives, such as forecasting market trends, product placement, and sales planning.
Develop communication strategies: Manage or contribute to the conception and implementation of an organisation’s internal and external communications plans and presentation, including its online presence.
Draw conclusions from market research results: Analyse, draw conclusions and present major observations from the results of market research. Suggest on potential markets, prices, target groups, or investments.
Manage the customer experience: Monitor, create and oversee customer experience and perception of brand and service. Ensure pleasant customer experience, treat customers in a cordial and courteous manner.
Oversee quality control: Monitor and assure the quality of the provided goods or services by overseeing that all the factors of the production meet quality requirements. Supervise product inspection and testing.
Analyse economic trends: Analyse developments in national or international trade, business relations, banking, and developments in public finance and how these factors interact with one another in a given economic context.
Develop new products: Develop and generate new products and product ideas based on market research on trends and niches.
Develop promotional tools: Generate promotional material and collaborate in the production of promotional text, videos, photos, etc. Keep previous promotional material organised.
Analyse consumer buying trends: Analyse buying habits or currently prevalent customer behaviour.
Design customer experiences: Create customer experiences to maximise client’s satisfaction and profitability.
Manage product testing: Oversee the testing procedures to ensure that the end-product complies with the quality and safety requirements.
Identify market niches: Analyse the composition of the markets, segment these into groups, and highlight the opportunities that each one of these niches represent in terms of new products.
Execute marketing plan: Carry out all the activities involved in achieving specific marketing objectives within a given timeframe.
Develop business plans: Plan, write and collaborate in the implement business plans. Include and foresee in the business plan the market strategy, the competitive analysis of the company, the design and the development of the plan, the operations and the management aspects and the financial forecast of the business plan.
Develop product design: Convert market requirements into product design and development.
Prepare market research reports: Report on the outcomes of the market research, main observations and outcomes, and notes helpful for analysing the information.
Perform market research: Gather, assess and represent data about target market and customers in order to facilitate strategic development and feasibility studies. Identify market trends.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of product manager. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Production processes: Materials and techniques required in the production and distribution processes.
Web analytics: The characteristics, tools and techniques for measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of web data to get information on the users’ behaviour and to improve the performance of a website.
Pricing strategies: The techniques, theories, and commonly accepted strategies regarding pricing of goods. The relation between pricing strategies and outcomes in the market such as profitability maximisation, deterrence of newcomers, or increase of market share.
Cost management: The process of planning, monitoring and adjusting the expenses and revenues of a business in order to achieve cost efficiency and capability.
Quality standards: The national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.
Market pricing: Price volatility according to market and price elasticity, and the factors which influence pricing trends and changes in the market in the long and short term.
Product comprehension: The offered products, their functionalities, properties and legal and regulatory requirements.
Product data management: The use of software to track all information concerning a product such as technical specifications, drawings, design specifications, and production costs.
Sales strategies: The principles concerning customer behaviour and target markets with the aim of promotion and sales of a product or a service.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of product manager. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Analyse cultural trends: Keep up to date with popular cultural trends such as pop culture, cultural and social slang.
Create prototype of user experience solutions: Design and prepare mock-ups, prototypes and flows in order to test User Experience (UX) solutions or to collect feedback from users, customers, partners or stakeholders.
Manage feedback: Provide feedback to others. Evaluate and respond constructively and professionally to critical communication from colleagues and customers.
Study sales levels of products: Collect and analyse sales levels of products and services in order to use this information for determining the quantities to be produced in the following batches, customer feedback, price trends, and the efficiency of sales methods.
Coordinate events: Lead events by managing budget, logistics, event support, security, emergency plans and follow up.
Schedule production: Schedule the production aiming maximum profitability while still maintaining the company KPIs in cost, quality, service and innovation.
Carry out sales analysis: Examine sales reports to see what goods and services have and have not sold well.
Perform product testing: Test processed workpieces or products for basic faults.
Manage profitability: Review on a regular basis sales and profit performance.
Advise on communication strategies: Provide companies and organisations with consulting services concerning their internal and external communication plans and their representation, including their presence online. Recommend improvements in communication and make sure that important information reaches all employees and that their questions are answered.
Apply strategic thinking: Apply generation and effective application of business insights and possible opportunities, in order to achieve competitive business advantage on a long-term basis.
Track key performance indicators: Identify the quantifiable measures that a company or industry uses to gauge or compare performance in terms of meeting their operational and strategic goals, using preset performance indicators.
Maximise sales revenues: Increase possible sales volumes and avoid losses through cross-selling, upselling or promotion of additional services.
Integrate marketing strategies with the global strategy: Integrate the marketing strategy and its elements such as the market definition, competitors, price strategy, and communication with the general guidelines of the global strategy of the company.
Develop revenue generation strategies: Elaborate methodologies through which a company markets and sells a product or service to generate income.
Manage production systems: Organize, manage, and maintain all aspects of production, including product design, production planning, and production control systems (for example by the use of the computer program WFM).
Manage the handling of promotional materials: Plan and prepare the production of promotional materials with third parties by contacting printing companies, agreeing on logistics and delivery, and making sure that deadlines are met.
Follow production schedule: Follow production schedule taking into account all requirements, times and needs. This schedule outlines what individual commodities must be produced in each time period and encapsulates various concerns like production, staffing, inventory, etc. It is usually linked to manufacturing where the plan indicates when and how much of each product will be demanded. Utilise all the information in the actual implementation of the plan.
Provide improvement strategies: Identify root causes of problems and submit proposals for effective and long-term solutions.
Analyse data about clients: Study data about clients, visitors, customers or guests. Gather, process and analyse data about their characteristics, needs and buying behaviours.
Ensure products meet regulatory requirements: Study, implement, and monitor the integrity and compliance of products with the required regulatory aspects by law. Advise on applying and abiding by regulations on the product and manufacturing regulations.

ISCO group and title

1223 – Research and development managers

 

 


 

 

References
  1. Product manager – ESCO
Last updated on August 8, 2022