Introduction to Product Management & Marketing Planning Session 1By: - Neeraj Gupta

Product Concept

It is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or a need.-Marketing

Products are purchased as raw materials and sold as finished goods. – Manufacturing

Anything that is produced, whether as a result generation, growth, labor, or thought, or by the operation of involuntary causes, of seasons, or of farms, of manufacturers, or of brain.

COMPONENTS OF THE MARKET OFFERING

The customer will judge the offering by three basic elements : product features and quality, services mix and quality, and price appropriateness.

Attractiveness of the market offering

Value based pricing

Product features and quality

Services mix and quality

Product

Product: Five Levels of Meaning

1.5

The core benefit level is the fundamental need or want that consumers satisfy by consuming the product or service.

The generic product level is a basic version of the product containing only those attributes or characteristics absolutely necessary for its functioning but with no distinguishing features. This is basically a stripped-down, no-frills version of the product that adequately performs the product function.

The expected product level is a set of attributes or characteristics that buyers normally expect and agree to when they purchase a product.

The augmented product level includes additional product attributes, benefits, or related services that distinguish the product from competitors.

The potential product level includes all the augmentations and transformations that a product might ultimately undergo in the future.

ClassificationClassification

Durable Non Durable

Service

Product Related Concepts Product Development: -Product development is the

process of designing, building, operating, and maintaining a good or service. Product development adds things like pricing, marketing, and customer support to the technology to create a complete product.

New Product: -A new product can be defined as a product that is new to the market. ---5 categories

New- to-the-world – e.g. new inventions New category –products or services that are new to a firm Additions to product lines -- add products or services that are

new to a firm Product Improvements – dettol soap Repositioning target products to new markets for new uses.

Product Related Concepts Product Life Cycle: -Products need managing throughout

their working lives. This requires deciding:

– What products should be created.

– The best time to launch them and introduce them tothe public.

– How to capitalise on a product’s strengths and ironout any weaknesses.

– When an older product is past its prime and needsmodification or withdrawal from the market

Stages in PLC

Life Cycle Concepts on Which a Product Planning Team Works

Initiation Phase:- Product management, Engineering, or Operations submits a request for a new product or service or modification to a existing product or service.

Feasibility Phase: -Here idea is explored in more depth to determine the feasibility of requested product or service within scope of Business needs.

Design and Plan Phase: -Cross functional team documents all detail pertaining to development of product or service based on their own assessments. Using this a design and plan checklist is presented to governing committee for final approval before moving into the development phase. Blue print is created.

Life Cycle Concepts on Which a Product Planning Team Works

Development Phase: -Actual engineering of product or service is completed. Then preparatory work for testing and introduction phases is taken care of side by side.

Testing Phase: -It is spent certifying the hardware and software changes involved in the product or service. Readiness tests in lab are conducted. Then after this field trials are undertaken. The a go decision at the testing phase decision gate authorises the launch of product or service

Product launch Phase: -Deployment of product or service in the market.

Operation Phase: -Typically the longest of phases since development of product phase. It requires an organization that can manage the product, track problems and bugs, and respond to customer issues regarding the product in a timely and cost effective manner.

Life Cycle Concepts on Which a Product Planning Team Works

Decommissioning Phase: -It occurs at the end of Product life cycle. If a product is successful then it is continued otherwise it is taken out of market in such a way that company’s assets are managed properly.

Product Upgrade: -After using the product it can be upgraded to a new product that meets their needs or is deprovisioned. Upgrade is desirable.

Deprovisioning: -Planned departure of customers by the company who have stopped making further purchases of their products as otherwise they can prove to be unsuccessful.

Life Cycle Concepts on Which a Product Planning Team Works

What is Product Mix ?What is Product Mix ?

Product ItemProduct Item

Product LineProduct Line

Product MixProduct Mix

A specific version of a product that can be designated as a

distinct offering among an organization’s products.

A specific version of a product that can be designated as a

distinct offering among an organization’s products.

A group of closely-related product items.

A group of closely-related product items.

All products that an organization sells.

All products that an organization sells.

Product Line Decisions: Product Product Line Decisions: Product MixMix

WidthWidth• Product mix: set

of all product lines# product lines# product lines (3)

Adapted from Kotler, McDougall and Picard, p.360

Detergent ShampooSoap– Width: # of product lines

– Length: # of products in lines

– Depth: # of versions of each product carried

– Consistency: how closely related the product lines are

A B C

Product Management

Product management: -is an organizational lifecycle function within a company dealing with the planning or marketing of

a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle. Product management and product marketing:

-complementary efforts with the objective of maximizing sales

revenues, market share, and profit margins. Product Management starts with type of company one works for: -

Technology-driven Company driven Sales-driven Market-driven

Role of a Product Manager

Serving as the voice of customer. Indirect management and cooperation with other members of

various groups . It has four main tasks: -

Developing the market requirements document. Managing the product features list. Coordinating activities of different functional groups. Participating in and/or running the launch and post-lunch marketing

activities for a product. Goal of Product Management: - Ensure market driven whole product offering, Establish competeitive and profitable pricing models. Ensure the existence and support of product distribution Create effective marketing promotions that generate revenue.

Aspects of Product Management Product Management:- has a variety of functions and

roles. P&L responsibility is used as a key metric for evaluating product managers performance. PRODUCT PLANNING: -is ongoing process of identifying and articulating

market requirements that define a product’s feature sets. Defining new products: -ideas for new products can be obtained from

SWOT or brainstorming.

Gathering Market Requirements: -by analyzing market and consumer trends, competitors, focus groups, corporate spies, trade shows, or ethnographic discovery methods.

Building Product Roadmaps, particularly technology roadmaps: - used as a tool to predict future path a particular product’s in its lifecycle.

Product Life Cycle Considerations: -designing and selling is just a part of story. Every product has to go through a series of steps between the time it is first concieved and the time the manufactured product is retired or discarded.

Product Differentiation

Product Marketing

Product Marketing: - is based on identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs effectively and profitably. It encompasses market research, pricing, promotion, distribution, customer care, your brand image and much more.

Product Positioning and outbound messaging

Promoting the product externally with press, customers, and partners, packaging, trade shows, exhibitions, promotional videos etc.

Monitoring the Competition:- Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

Product Management: Scope Product managers are advocates for the customer's needs and

desires. A product manager's responsibilities include the following:

Defining and planning product lines and product enhancements

Managing product contracts and saleso Setting strategic direction based on customer needs and business goals

Interpreting strategic goals into operational tasks Making proposals to senior management regarding implications of proposed plan

Serving as a representative to internal and external clients. Taking the leading establishing tactical plans and objectives

Developing and implementing administrative and operational matters ensuring achievement of objectives

Evaluating risks and trade-offs Proposing contingency plans Analyzing business processes and creating applications to improve or support those

processes

Branding Working with graphic designers to create look and feel Defining navigational flow and user experience Defining feature sets and scooping releases.

Marketing Organization organization that markets one or more systems,

applications, and/or components produced by a development organization to potential customer organizations.

Responsibilities: -

Market applications to the customer organization(s).

Provide change requests based on customer feedback to the development organization.

Act as a source of requirements during the performance of the requirements identification task

Marketing Organization

Characteristics of Good Marketing Organization: -

flexible to allow the managers to use any type of marketing structure.

It must give possible future growth and acceptable philosophy to the whole concern.

Personnel in marketing department must be willing to take various job assignments.

Connected with the problem of flexibility is the growth potential. So, the provisions are required for the growth of new products and segments in concern in future.

There should be a central philosophy or tradition prevailing in the concern that should be intimated to all. In this way while policies and programmes change, the central philosophy remains guide to the future action.

Types Of Marketing Organization Function Oriented (increased efficiency & elasticity) Market Oriented (Regional-for large territories) Product Oriented Customer Oriented:- Classes Of customers:-

Distributors Retailers Customers

Combined Type:- such as Functional with territorial Functional with product oriented Market oriented with product

Organizational Structure

Functional Organizations: - products needing high level of specialized knowledge require a functionally organized structure e.g. a light weighted matrix organization with a product manager almost is functional.

Project Organization- product oriented flows: projects and teams. (Persons leave functions and have to devote time to project tasks they have been assigned).

Organizational Structure-another way for classification Product to be developed can be developed by one

person. Development department small structured as functional ones.

Product less complex with high workload. One whole functional department required for development.

Product is most complex. Various disciplines do their own bit for it. Employees cannot work fulltime on one project. Cross-functional team creation in this situation is best alternative. Only problem being those persons in team are working on more than one project at a time.

Product complex with high work. Employee participation full time so project organization best suited.

Role of a Product Manager The key responsibilities of a product manger may

include Managing the entire product line life cycle from strategic

planning to tactical activities Specifying market requirements for current and future

products by conducting market research Driving a solution set across development teams (primarily

Development/Engineering, and Marketing Communications) through market requirements, product contract, and positioning.

Developing and implementing a company-wide go-to-market plan, working with all departments to execute.

Analyzing potential partner relationships for the product.

Marketing Planning/Strategic Planning Any plan to be formalized has to be in written form as a Marketing

Plan. Plan should move from general to specific Output of each stage checked to see the impact it has on all other

stages and is amended Mission-Objectives

Components of a Marketing Plan Marketing plans vary by industry, by size of company and by

stage of growth. The form isn't as important as the process of preparing it. Preparing a marketing plan is a process that makes you think about your business goals and what your marketing strategy will be to achieve those goals.

This is an outline of a typical marketing plan: - Executive Summary: The executive summary introduces

your company and explains the major points of your plan Describes nature of your business States mission and company objectives Describes your team and organization structure Summarize the marketing objectives and strategies of the plan

Components of a Marketing Plan Current Situation: -issues being faced, location,

target market, competitive environment. Competitor and Issue analysis: -

Information about other individuals or companies offering similar products as you.

Listing key business issues that can be challenges Marketing Objectives: -stating of your objectives

along with time frame for achieving them Marketing Strategy: -Plan to achieve your marketing

objectives using 4P’s of marketing mix. Action Plan: -what will be done, when it begins and is

completed, and who will do what

Components of a Marketing Plan Budget: -costs of marketing activities used in

marketing plan Measurements: -Describes numerical targets that will

measure the results of implementing your marketing plan, including time limits for achieving your goals

Supporting Documents: -any document used in other sections to be included in this section as reference

Defining the Competitive set Thorough study of your competitors essential for successful

positioning of yourself. Choosing competitors is a step by step task. Data collection for each step necessary. Bases of competition

Defining Competitors: - First in terms of their primary and secondary importance. List basis of competition and key success factors for industry and

then define competitive characteristics in terms of :- Market Segments Products offered Price/Rates Advertising Programs Distribution channels

Levels Of Market Competition

Product: - Convincing customers that your brand is better

Category: - Convincing customers that your product form is best in a particular category e.g. Cars

Generic: -convince customers that particular category is best to satisfy his needs

Budget: - convince customers that generic benefits are best use of income as compared to Bikes, scooters, jeeps etc.

Factors Determining Competition Price ---Telecom Cost of Production ----because of factors of production Demand in the market Availability of Substitutes---less competitors will enter if more

substitutes Number of existing players in the market

Barriers to entry--- blocks potential entrants entry Patents Limit Pricing-lowering prices so much that new entrants are at loss Cost Advantage due to economies of scale Advertising and Marketing R&D expenditure Presence of Sunk Costs--- unrecoverable costs International trade Restrictions----tarriffs, quotas etc.

Thank You