Product Management Lecture 1

Introduction to
Product Management
Objectives of this session
Understand the importance of Brands & identify

differences b/w pharma marketing vs. consumer
marketing
Understand the range of roles & responsibilities

of a product manager
Identify the major challenges for product

managers & develop strategies for dealing with
them
Objectives of this session
Identify skills and characteristics of successful

product manager
Understand the importance of working with sales

& other department
What is a brand?
“Part Art, part Science, “brand” is the
difference between a bottle of soda and a
bottle of Coke….
….the intangible impact of a person’s

subjective experience with the product –
….the personal memories and cultural

associations which orbit it”
4
How a brand is developed EXTERNAL/
OTHER FACTORS
EX Word of mouth
OF P E Journalism etc
US PR RIE
E OD NC
UC E
T
IN
COMPANY INPUT
Products/architecture
Communication
Identity
Availability
Pricing & promotion
etc
5
The case for brands
– For the Customer:
Simplifies decision
Saves time
Reduces risk
– For the Company:

In growth encourages trial and adoption
In maturity defends share and margin
In decline extends value of ‘tail’
6 Brands deliver value to the customer and value to the company
Brands – Typically an FMCG stronghold!
FMCGs have taken the lead in the race of
building great brands
Why?
Direct contact with the consumers – first hand

experiences. Able to build strong
relationships with customers because of the
personal nature of the brands
Why brands are important in the
Pharma Industry
– Change in competitive environment owing to radical shift in the
discovery process
– New products rapidly face direct competition from equivalent

molecules
– Technical differentiation will be increasingly short-lived
– Need to create brand values as a sustainable source of

differentiation
Building strong brands creates and sustains competitive advantage
8
Pharmaceutical Marketing vs.
Consumer Marketing
A long product development time
A strong relationship between production and

Research & Development and marketing/sales
Consumer Marketing
High R&D cost
A medicine may take more than 12 years and

hundreds of millions of pounds to develop.
Only 1out of 10 molecules can make it to the

market
Short patent life with only a few years left when

marketing starts.
Consumer Marketing
A heavy emphasis on quality assurance and
control within the manufacturing process
A high level of regulation/monitoring by

outside agencies
– Ministry of Health
– Physicians
– Patients
– Media
Consumer Marketing
Users and Decision makers are different
Mode of communication
– DTC advertising
Peoples health at stake

Job Description
Even within a specific organization type, product
manager’s job varies among industries & among
products
Many of the preceding description of the product

manager’s job was general.
Are you the ONE?
Major Activities
Collecting & Analyzing background market &
product category data
Utilizing the background analysis for marketing

strategy development
Implementing the marketing strategy through

marketing mix & related decisions
Role of a Product Manager
To manage the product in all stages of PLC
To develop a Marketing plan that details the

strategy for successful product management,
including pre-launch, launch and post-launch
activities.
To develop communication strategies &

promotional plan
To accurately forecast sales, & ensure

availability of stocks
To launch new products, line extensions etc
To evaluate strategy implementation & message

delivery
To initiate Market development & public awareness

campaigns to support the brand
To analyze market & competition
To Liaise with sales, finance, regulatory, medical

and production
To conduct market research in order to gain a good

knowledge of disease areas, doctors’ prescribing
habits and types of patients.
To maintain close contact with the market, monitor

product performance and react quickly to changing
needs
The product manager job is
becoming increasingly complex
Changes in the Information technology
Increased diffusion & improvement in the

internet
Changing customer needs & wants
Increasing competition
Challenges faced by a Product
Manager
Assessment of the market potential
Competitor analysis
Forecasting & budgeting
Co-ordination among other functions
Selling
Working within ethical boundaries

Critical Skills of a Product Manager
Negotiations
Teamwork
Communication
Analytical ability
Critical Skills of a Product Manager
Execution & Implementation
Problem Solving
Entrepreneurship
Multitasking
Negotiation skills
Product managers often find themselves
managing teams of functional partners who are
essentially important in achieving goals but they
hold no direct authority
Requires persuasion or influence management

to create win-win situation
Teamwork
Ability to work in and lead teams of individuals

from all parts of an organization
When managing a group of brands, a product

manager must foster harmony among peers or
assistant product managers
Communication skills
Both internally & externally
Verbal & Written
Communicating benefits of the products through

advertising & promotion
Analytical skills
Requires great deal of quantitative & qualitative
analysis, interpretation & taking corrective
actions
Analyze market, sales trends, competitor’s

activities
Execution & Implementation
30% planning & 70% execution is key to

success
Monitoring implementation of strategies

Problem-solving
Good at fire fighting
Keep things moving in the right direction

Entrepreneurship
Demonstrate entrepreneurship
– Leadership
– Decision making
– Focus on ROI & Profitability
Multitasking
Able to work simultaneously on

– different products,
– different projects,
– liaison with different departments,
– developing various promotional campaigns
– Managing multiple activities
Changes affecting Product Management
The Web
The data explosion
The increased emphasis on “brands”
Changes in the balance of market power
Increased importance of customer retention
Increased global competition

The Web
www in mid 90’s
New channel of distribution, a new

communication medium, and creating a
community around a brand
Company & products profiles
Public awareness campaigns

– Depression website
– Pakistan Parkinson Society
The Data Explosion
Effective product management require
sophisticated information management
Product sold are tracked more effectively by the

manufacturer as well as the retailers
Enhanced IT means quicker & accurate

transmission of sales data
The Data Explosion
What are the sources of market, sales &
competitors information in the pharmaceuticals
industry
– Company’s own sales data
– IMS
– Sales force
– Market research
Brand Equity
The “Value” of the Brand name
Examples of strong brand equity

– Coke
– Mercedes
– IBM
– Sony
Examples of strong brand equity in the

pharmaceutical industry
Changes in the balance of market
power
Balance of power has shifted from manufacturing
to marketing/sales
Companies used to market/sell what they were

manufacturing BUT now they are manufacturing
what they can market/sell
Increased importance of customer
retention
Focusing more on the retention of existing
customers than developing new
More focus on understanding customers needs

& finding ways to satisfy them
Customer retention programs

Increased competition
Competition has increased both globally &
locally
No. of Pharma companies

– In 90’s & now
Competing for Dr’s time in the clinic

Working with other departments
Co-operation with other parts of the organization
is critical (e.g.)
– Internally (Sales, Production)
– Externally (distributors & suppliers)

A Product Manager’s potential
interactions
Working with the sales force
Why working closely with the sales force in
pharmaceutical industry is very important
for product managers?
Role of the sales force
Most of product’s A&P budget and other
resources are utilized through the sales
force
Limited promotional activities that do not

involve sales force
Role of the sales force
Achieves top line sales targets for your brands
Understand the needs of the customer
Provides feedback on the customers as well as

the competitors activities
Implement strategies in the market

A Product Manager’s potential
interactions
Influence on P&L Statement

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Introduction to

Understand the importance of Brands & identify

Understand the range of roles & responsibilities

Identify the major challenges for product

Identify skills and characteristics of successful

Understand the importance of working with sales

….the intangible impact of a person’s

….the personal memories and cultural

– For the Company:

Direct contact with the consumers – first hand

– New products rapidly face direct competition from equivalent

– Technical differentiation will be increasingly short-lived

– Need to create brand values as a sustainable source of

A strong relationship between production and

A medicine may take more than 12 years and

Only 1out of 10 molecules can make it to the

Short patent life with only a few years left when

A high level of regulation/monitoring by

Peoples health at stake

Many of the preceding description of the product

Utilizing the background analysis for marketing

Implementing the marketing strategy through

To develop a Marketing plan that details the

To develop communication strategies &

To accurately forecast sales, & ensure

To evaluate strategy implementation & message

To initiate Market development & public awareness

To analyze market & competition

To Liaise with sales, finance, regulatory, medical

To conduct market research in order to gain a good

To maintain close contact with the market, monitor

Changes in the Information technology

Increased diffusion & improvement in the

Changing customer needs & wants

Forecasting & budgeting

Co-ordination among other functions

Working within ethical boundaries

Execution & Implementation

Requires persuasion or influence management

Ability to work in and lead teams of individuals

When managing a group of brands, a product

Both internally & externally

Verbal & Written

Communicating benefits of the products through

Analyze market, sales trends, competitor’s

30% planning & 70% execution is key to

Monitoring implementation of strategies

Keep things moving in the right direction

Able to work simultaneously on

The data explosion

The increased emphasis on “brands”

Changes in the balance of market power

Increased importance of customer retention

Increased global competition

New channel of distribution, a new

Company & products profiles

Public awareness campaigns

Product sold are tracked more effectively by the

Enhanced IT means quicker & accurate

Examples of strong brand equity