Role of Product Management In Business Strategy & Profit Planning
The benefits of rigorous strategy program are enormous and once it is planned properly it can be of great success. The strategically developed plan will also include the budgeting part too. Many organizations fail to recognize that strategy is a process not an event, and that an effective strategy program is motivating and galvanizing for employees, not distracting.
Six Suggestions for Creating a Strategy Program
The management team should be involved in defining and approving this process, with the CEO acting as the project sponsor to ensure timely and positive cooperation.
Communicate the nature of the strategy program and process to the broader organization and provide a rough time-line for the project’s major milestones.
If the organization has a board of directors with an active strategy committee, the CEO should ensure proper communication of board suggestions or directives.
Many processes fail at this critical juncture, because the strategy team believes that their work is complete once the strategy is approved by management or the board.
A strategy execution team comprised of the managers from all functional groups should assume responsibility for translating high-level objectives into departmental or team tasks. The CEO or COO should chair this team, conducting regular update sessions and monitoring actions, milestone completion and results. Care should be taken to keep the execution team focused on operational issues around strategy implementation.
An effective strategy program includes a commitment to monitoring results, gauging market acceptance and reporting on competitor reactions. Beware the tendency to treat the strategy as an unalterable contract, and encourage teams to challenge the original premises as conditions change. The best strategy programs accept that they will need to constantly adapt to changing conditions. Product management is an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning or forecasting or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle. Product management (inbound focused) and product marketing (outbound focused) are different yet complementary efforts with the objective of maximizing sales revenues, market share, and profit margins
At least in the high-tech world, where change is rapid and unpredictable, the product strategy needs to be fluid, adaptable, and yet steady in following these principles:
Understand the market area.
Define customers you want to focus on.
Research target customer needs, wants and unstated desires.
Examine competition.
Choose a differentiated value proposition.
Build the solution or product strategy roadmap.
The role of product management spans many activities from strategic to tactical and varies based on the organizational structure of the company. Product management can be a function separate on its own and a member of marketing or engineering.
Product planning includes: [/b][/b]
Identifying new product candidates
Gathering market requirements
Defining product requirements
Determine business-case and feasibility
Scoping and defining new products at high level
Evangelizing new products within the company
Building product roadmaps, particularly Technology roadmaps
Working to a critical path and ensuring all products are produced on schedule
Ensuring products are within optimal price margins and up to specifications
Product Life Cycle considerations
Product differentiation
Detailed Product planning
Product Line Pricing
Same product with different features the price is kept on the bases of the cost difference between the products in product line and customer evaluation of features and competitor prices. For example Sony offering different television with different features at different prices.
Optional Product Pricing
It’s the pricing of the main product with the accessories or optional product for example car with power window CD changer and car without power window and CD changer.
Captive Product Pricing
Pricing of the product which must be used with the main product for example films must be use with VCR, CD must be use with CD player etc.
Product Bundle Pricing
Making the bundle of different product and price the bundle at a reduce price. It is basically for selling the slow moving items.
Your product should not only fill a void, but should also be unique. The less competition you have, the better. If you enter a market in which you're competing against hundreds of other products similar to yours, your chance of success will be minimal. Develop a high-quality product that fills a void and provides people with exactly what they want.
Another consideration of great importance is your product's delivery method. The best form of product delivery on the Internet is automated. Internet users want the product they order as soon as their purchase is complete. This can be accomplished in a number of ways depending upon the type of product. For example, if your product is software or information, it can reside on your server and be instantly downloaded via a link. If your product is a private site, you can provide instant access as soon as your customer's payment has been processed.
The benefits of rigorous strategy program are enormous and once it is planned properly it can be of great success. The strategically developed plan will also include the budgeting part too. Many organizations fail to recognize that strategy is a process not an event, and that an effective strategy program is motivating and galvanizing for employees, not distracting.
Six Suggestions for Creating a Strategy Program
The management team should be involved in defining and approving this process, with the CEO acting as the project sponsor to ensure timely and positive cooperation.
Communicate the nature of the strategy program and process to the broader organization and provide a rough time-line for the project’s major milestones.
If the organization has a board of directors with an active strategy committee, the CEO should ensure proper communication of board suggestions or directives.
Many processes fail at this critical juncture, because the strategy team believes that their work is complete once the strategy is approved by management or the board.
A strategy execution team comprised of the managers from all functional groups should assume responsibility for translating high-level objectives into departmental or team tasks. The CEO or COO should chair this team, conducting regular update sessions and monitoring actions, milestone completion and results. Care should be taken to keep the execution team focused on operational issues around strategy implementation.
An effective strategy program includes a commitment to monitoring results, gauging market acceptance and reporting on competitor reactions. Beware the tendency to treat the strategy as an unalterable contract, and encourage teams to challenge the original premises as conditions change. The best strategy programs accept that they will need to constantly adapt to changing conditions. Product management is an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning or forecasting or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle. Product management (inbound focused) and product marketing (outbound focused) are different yet complementary efforts with the objective of maximizing sales revenues, market share, and profit margins
At least in the high-tech world, where change is rapid and unpredictable, the product strategy needs to be fluid, adaptable, and yet steady in following these principles:
Understand the market area.
Define customers you want to focus on.
Research target customer needs, wants and unstated desires.
Examine competition.
Choose a differentiated value proposition.
Build the solution or product strategy roadmap.
The role of product management spans many activities from strategic to tactical and varies based on the organizational structure of the company. Product management can be a function separate on its own and a member of marketing or engineering.
Product planning includes: [/b][/b]
Identifying new product candidates
Gathering market requirements
Defining product requirements
Determine business-case and feasibility
Scoping and defining new products at high level
Evangelizing new products within the company
Building product roadmaps, particularly Technology roadmaps
Working to a critical path and ensuring all products are produced on schedule
Ensuring products are within optimal price margins and up to specifications
Product Life Cycle considerations
Product differentiation
Detailed Product planning
Product Line Pricing
Same product with different features the price is kept on the bases of the cost difference between the products in product line and customer evaluation of features and competitor prices. For example Sony offering different television with different features at different prices.
Optional Product Pricing
It’s the pricing of the main product with the accessories or optional product for example car with power window CD changer and car without power window and CD changer.
Captive Product Pricing
Pricing of the product which must be used with the main product for example films must be use with VCR, CD must be use with CD player etc.
Product Bundle Pricing
Making the bundle of different product and price the bundle at a reduce price. It is basically for selling the slow moving items.
Your product should not only fill a void, but should also be unique. The less competition you have, the better. If you enter a market in which you're competing against hundreds of other products similar to yours, your chance of success will be minimal. Develop a high-quality product that fills a void and provides people with exactly what they want.
Another consideration of great importance is your product's delivery method. The best form of product delivery on the Internet is automated. Internet users want the product they order as soon as their purchase is complete. This can be accomplished in a number of ways depending upon the type of product. For example, if your product is software or information, it can reside on your server and be instantly downloaded via a link. If your product is a private site, you can provide instant access as soon as your customer's payment has been processed.