Product manager: features of the profession and responsibilities

Product manager is a fairly new and very promising profession that is popular among young people. Specialists working in the field of business, technology, logistics and PR are of particular interest in it.

Translated from English, the word combination product manager means "product manager". Thus, a product manager is a person who promotes any product on the market, from material values ​​to IT technologies... Such a specialist is responsible not only for creating something new, but also monitors market trends, analyzes changes occurring in it, determines pricing, plans to promote a product, and also forms a number of requirements for it.

In other words, the role of a person in this profession directly depends on what the company does and what is the nature of the product it produces. So, the work of a product manager of a shoe factory will be fundamentally different from that of a specialist in the field of high technologies, however, the ultimate goal of their work is the promotion and promotion of a service, product or IT development without direct sales, since other specialists are engaged in this. but some companies, in their desire to save money, charge their product managers not only to promote the product, but also to display it - merchandising.

This is fundamentally wrong, since the field of professional activity of these unique specialists lies in a slightly different plane and requires much greater intellectual, analytical and economic skills, knowledge and skills than putting things in order on store shelves. An experienced product manager is fluent in such professions as economist, technologist, PR manager, designer, analyst, marketer and even logistician., and is considered one of the most important and irreplaceable specialists in any enterprise.

Considering the profession of a product manager, one cannot fail to mention its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of this specialty include decent wages and high demand in the labor market., the fascination of the product management process, the possibility of career and professional growth, the "elite" of the profession and impressive bonuses in the event of the success of a product or service on the market.

Among the minuses, one can note the need to interact with a very large circle of people., which requires a manager to be highly stress-resistant and sociable, work in a highly competitive environment, management pressure, irregular working hours and frequent stressful situations that inevitably arise when communicating with people.

The profession of a product manager is becoming more and more in demand in the labor market, which is associated with the development of production, the expansion of existing enterprises and the rapidly growing competition. Not a single serious company today can do without a competent specialist in the field of product management, therefore, highly appreciates his work.

Professionals in the field of information technology promotion are in special demand, which is associated with the expansion of this sector and the emergence of new, fairly strong players in this field. However, it is quite difficult to do without a manager in the manufacturing industry, which is why such specialists will never be left without work.

The first specialized education in the specialty "Product manager" is currently absent, and most of the professionals have a diploma in the areas of "Economics", "Marketing" and "Management".

An example of professional training for product managers is a retraining program called Product Management of a Technological Product, which is offered by the Higher School of Economics. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in one of the economic or marketing specialties and be ready to pay a considerable sum for advanced training.

In addition to HSE, you can get a product manager specialty at numerous specialized courses that are held at business schools, and you can also independently familiarize yourself with thematic manuals and educational literature widely presented on the Internet.

Upon completion of the training, the student masters the ability to work out the concept of the final product, develop a model for its financing and the ability to choose a metric and analysis. Besides, the courses will definitely teach you how to conduct high-quality testing of customer development, develop a product roadmap and run your own professional blog.

Among the key product management skills acquired in the learning process, one can note the ability to build an adequate picture of the world and the situation in the markets, building a teamwork process, mastering the basics of statistical accounting and the ability to look at the product of your company through the eyes of the consumer.

A certified product manager knows how to develop a product concept and strategy, monitor the work of competitors and analyze their successes and failures, plan the development and promotion of your product on the market in relation to similar products from other manufacturers, and also effectively interact with people involved in the process of promoting a product, service or IT technology - developers, production workers, salespeople and marketers. An important skill is the ability to work on a computer and knowledge of various versions of the 1C program.

Despite the fact that the profession of a product manager is interesting and highly paid, not everyone can become a competent specialist in this area. A potential applicant for this position must have a number of valuable qualities necessary for fruitful and effective work. A person should easily converge with people, have excellent organizational skills, be a good speaker and be distinguished by creative thinking. Important points are the presence of an analytical mindset, friendship with arithmetic, initiative, stress resistance, high responsibility and fluency in English.

The product manager must have strong leadership qualities, be flexible, but at the same time persistent, be able to unite people in a team and inspire them to productive work, hear other people's opinions, find tools for solving emerging problems and convey their point of view to others in an understandable concise form. In addition, he must be able to adapt to the existing circumstances, be ready for business trips and irregular working hours.

The work of a product manager presupposes a number of professional duties, on the conscientious fulfillment of which the final result of the entire production cycle for the manufacture and promotion of a material or intellectual product depends. These include:

• designing a strategy for creating a product or service;
• drawing up a roadmap taking into account the characteristics of the product and market conditions;
• a thorough analysis of the state of affairs of competitors and the industry as a whole;
• drawing up long-term and short-term plans for the release of products and control of its quality at each stage of production;
• planning of key performance indicators - KPIs and preparation of product presentations;
• motivated pricing taking into account the cost of a similar product manufactured by competitors;
• in-depth analysis of consumer demand and study of the opinion of buyers about this product;
• negotiations with customers and control over the implementation of the offered goods and services;
• quick introduction of changes in the production cycle in case of identification of product deficiencies;
• development and implementation of a concept to increase sales and popularize a product, as well as development of a system of benefits and discounts;
• interaction with all participants in the production and sale of products, as well as certification of the product in government agencies;
• making proposals to the company's management for creating new products, expanding the existing range and forecasting sales;
• publications about this product in your own blog with answers to consumer questions;
• active attendance of marketing seminars, exhibitions and conferences related to logistics and management.

When applying for a product manager position in a company, it is recommended to follow a certain algorithm and structure your activities as much as possible. This is necessary so that not a single cycle of the product's life falls out of the specialist's field of vision, and adjustments to this or that stage of its promotion are made on time. It should be remembered that the product manager's responsibility for the product begins at an early stage of its conceptual development. The task of a specialist at this stage is to monitor market trends and make proposals to improve the uniqueness of a product against the background of competitors' products.

Further, the product manager closely monitors the production and, if necessary, makes adjustments. After the product is ready, the specialist starts the most difficult and responsible job - marketing. He connects designers, marketers and PR managers to the work, coordinates their work and presents products to investors. After the product is released to the market, the manager closely monitors the change in its position in relation to similar products, assessing the effectiveness of the work of marketers.

If a product manager does his job responsibly and does it quite professionally, then over time he may be offered the promotion of a more expensive product or become a participant in a large-scale project. The salary of young specialists varies from 30 to 70 thousand rubles, depending on the region and the nature of the promoted products, while an employee with 3 years of experience earns about 120 thousand. More experienced employees are highly valued by the management and have a monthly income of about 250 thousand rubles.