The product management jobs in marketing may involve physical products, such as consumer goods, or intangible products, such as consumer services. These product management jobs may require a general marketing degree, or they may require specialized business degrees.
Manufacturing Department
A product manager at a manufacturing facility may handle regional, national or global distribution channels, systems, clients and warehouses. Their assigned products may include everything from water flow meters to network switches to paper towels. They may handle raw materials that are used in the restaurant, agriculture, production, pharmaceutical, electronics and chemical industries. These manufacturers will deal with the product’s entire life cycle, which includes the stages of product development, introduction, optimization and planned obsolescence. They may provide advice to sales and customer service staff regarding marketing product questions. For example, they may teach staff how to sell, explain competitive positioning and introduce new value propositions.
Engineering Department
Some product managers work in engineering departments to conduct quality, market and client research. For example, they may assess market needs in order to identify new opportunities for product lines, modifications and specifications. This could involve market analyses that assess market trends, information, shares and competition. Based on the data they gather, they may develop proposed specifications for new product development processes. Their resulting feasibility analyses may be presented to engineering design groups who will conceptualize and create product samples. These product managers may lead competitive intelligence gathering processes that result in the collection and synthesis of valuable data.
Insurance Department
Product managers who work within the insurance industry will work as members of interdisciplinary product marketing teams. They will be responsible for market awareness, field readiness, content creation and product development. For example, they may create new value propositions, differentiated messages and collateral targets for new or existing insurance products. These product managers will need to fully understand sales enablement, demand creation, sales techniques and innovative marketing programs. They may work with corporate product management to streamline and align sales, marketing and customer service efforts. These product managers may work with product positioning, market intelligence and cross-functional teams.
Software Development Department
Product managers who handle software may deal with Windows applications, mobile gaming apps or network programs. A product manager who handles marketing strategies and campaigns for mobile apps will collaborate with product research teams who gather insights and intelligence into the needs, attributes and feedback of existing users. They may help identify product gaps, user problems and competitor vulnerabilities that could create financial opportunities. These product managers will authorize research projects that will inform and influence future software development. They should know how to define, expand and execute new product launches and marketing campaigns with cross-functional partners.
Related Resource: What is a Brand Manager in Marketing?
Product management jobs in marketing usually require a marketing degree because there are very few product management majors offered by colleges and universities. However, business degrees come with a variety of specializations, such as product engineering, sales management, business development, operations administration and marketing communications.
