Product Management
process of conceiving, planning, developing, testing, launching, delivery and withdrawing products in the market.

PMF – Product Management Framework
Product lifecycle (Product Development + Commercialization) stages plus their phases and gates.

PMF Benefits (5)

1. define common language
2. provides standards for launching a products in each phase
3. allows product teams to develop and communicate mutual product plan commitments
4. empowers product team to execute based upon agreed upon objectives and schedules
5. facilitates continuous improvements to products and processes.

Prodbok (body of knowledge)
strategies, methodologies, concepts, terms and activities that make up the product mgmt. and marketing domains as defined by AIPMM. Applies to any product or portfolio, across industries, throughout each phase of the product lifecycle.

X-Axis PLC Stages (6)

1. New product dev/acquisition
2. introduction
3. growth/maturity/decline
4. withdrawal
5. commercialization
6. manufacturing operations

X-Axis phases of PLC (7)
*go/no-go gates between each phases

1. conceive
2. plan
3. develop
4. qualify (test)
5. launch
6. delivery
7. retire

Phases
prescribed, concurrent activities in PLC
cross-functional
gate precedes each phase
successive phases require more resource commitment

Gates
decision points (go, no go, Hold, Recycle)
QC checkpoints
Investment control checkpoints

*Facilitate screening – evaluating new product ideas to reduce them into a smaller set.

Y-Axis Key players on a product team (8)

1. Product Manager
2. Product Mktg. Manager
3. Project Manager
4. Business Analyst
5. Dev Manager
6. QA MAnager
7. Customer Support Mgr.
8. Sales Manager

X/Y
X=time
Y=your focus
XY cell = details of your focus at that time

Y-Axis Knowledge Areas (5)

1. Business
2. Market
3. Customer
4. Product
5. Organization

Product Life Cycle – PLC
Manages stages that products go through from development to withdrawal from market. Helps you take the right action at the right time. Integrates people, data, processes and business system
New Product Development + Commercialization

Product Life Cycle Characteristics

1. Determines if each product has a different life cycle
2. Determines revenue earned
3. Contributes to strategic marketing plan

Product Life Cycle Benefits

1. helps forecast and manage cash flow
2. helps identify when a product needs support, redesign, reinvigorated, or withdrawn.
3. helps in new product development and planning

Product Portfolio
range of products a company has in development or available for marketplace at one time

Business Portfolio
collection of businesses and products that make up a company.

Portfolio Analysis
tool which helps mgmt. identify and evaluate the various businesses which make up the company

Strategic Business Unit
unit of the company that has a separate mission and objectives and that can be planned independently from other company businesses

New Product Development (NPD) – 1st half of PMF
complete process of bringing a new product to market. Includes first 4 steps – conceive, plan, develop, qualify. For:

1. new product in new markets
2. new product in existing markets not previously targeted
3. enhance current product in existing product line.

*2 parallel paths = idea generation, product design, and detail engineering + market research and analysis

NPD New Product Development Steps (4) – 1st half of PMF

1. conceive
2. plan
3. develop
4. qualify

Key Deliverables in conceive and plan phase (7)

1. Strategic Plan
2. Competitive analysis
3. Market Trends
4. Mktg requirements doc
5. Business Case
6. Product Requirements doc
7. Product roadmap

Key deliverables in Develop and test phase (5)

1. Marketing strategy
2. Beta program
3. Launch plan
4. Marketing plan
5. Product Retirement plan

Acquisition
act or process by which ownership is achieved by:

1. acquiring brand/product
2. purchase entire company

3 ways to get new product

1. develop
2. acquire
3. license

Commercialization – 2nd half stage of PMF
process of introducing a new product into the market

Commercialization phases (3) – 2nd half stage of PMF

1. launch
2. deliver
3. retire

Commercialization Steps w/in PLC (5)

1. launch/production
2. Growth, Maturity/saturation, decline
3. withdrawal
4. commercialization
5. manufacturing operations

Launch – phase 1 of commercialization
process of introducing a new product to market.. Gain awareness
analysis = increase familiarity, expand market share

stages of launch (4)

1. internal communication
2. pre-launch activities (distribution and ensures distribution partners have resources and knowledge)
3. external communications (PR, advertising)
4. pricing strategies

strategies of launch/introduction (commercialization) (5)

1. competition = none
2. product = one
3. price = skimming or penetration
4. promotion = inform, educate
5. place = limited

Growth – phase 2 of commercialization
2nd stage of PLC during which sales are increasing at an increasing rate, profits are increasing, and competitors enter the market
analysis = focus on marketing product improvement and product diversification

strategies of growth (commercialization) (5)

1. competition = growing
2. product = more versions
3. price = gain share, deal
4. promotion = stress competition
5. place = more outlets

Maturity – phase 3 of commercialization
primary goal is to maintain market share and extend the product life cycle. Most profitable stage.
analysis = defense of market share and product modifications necessary

strategies of maturity (commercialization) (5)

1. competition = many
2. product = full product line
3. price = defend share, profit
4. promotion = reminder oriented differences
5. place = maximum outlets

Decline – phase 4 of commercialization
product peaks and begins a downward slide in sales. Not economically feasible to continue developing the product.
analysis = cost control, ensure productivity

Strategies of declines (commercialization) (5)

1. competition = reduced
2. product = best sellers
3. price = stay profitable
4. promotion = minimal
5. place = fewer outlets

Special Lifecycles (commercialization) (3)

1. styles = distinct mode of expression, popularity will vary over time
2. fads = gain rapid acceptance, peak early, decline quickly. limited market, Novel products which don’t address basic needs
3. fashion = currently accepted or popular style, gains acceptance, peaks, then declines, cyclical in generations

PdM roles are impacted by an organizations (2)

1. Growth Stage
2. Structure

PdM role at each stage of Organization Growth
Company growth stage alters product mgmts. focus

startup PdM = CEO
small PdM= reports to CEO
medium PdM = reports to VP
large PdM = reports to Director

Organization Structure Types (3)

1. Product-focused
2. Market-focused
3. Functional Process Focused

Product-Focused Structure
companies define themselves by their products

PdM responsible for overall health or product. Product Advocate
Difference between product mgmt. and brand .mgmt. is clear.

Cons = short-term, product cannibalization, resource priorities are product dev, fundamental questions ignored

Market-focused structure
Marketing segment defines authority

Marketing & Operations over market A, market B, and market C

Strong customer focus
better knowledge of entire product line

cons = doesn’t give PdM full responsibility for products

Functionally-focused organizations
strategy through discussion and coordination

Marketing + sales + operations work together

simple administratively
strong functional training
EO and VPs make important strategy decisions

cons: limited responsibility for specific products, conflicts with strategies can only be resolved through discussion, narrow manager scope limits development

definition product manager
PdM investigates, select, and drive the development of products for an organization, performing the activities of product mgmt

Directs internal value creation activities

Leads: conceive, plan, develop, qualify

definition product mktg manager
PmM acts as the voice of the customer to the rest of the product team and company

Evaluates customers’ perception of value

Product Management Critical Skills
presentation
personal
analytical
technical
interpersonal
leadership

Key Activities of Product Mgmt
Market trends
business models
business cases
P&L analysis
Oppty analysis
Business Intell
Competitive Intell
Product Positioning
Product Reqs
Functional Specs
Product Roadmaps
Prod Dev Monitoring
Beta Programs
launch plans
end of life plans

Key Activities of Product Marketing
Market needs
market reqs
business intel
competitive analysis
product branding
pricing
promotion
channel partner plan
sales tools
customer testimonials
success stories
white papers
reviewer guides
product demos
case studies

Key Activities of Marketing
corporate branding
corporate marketing plan
website content
company collateral
PR
brand awareness
customer surveys and feedback
increase web traffic
marketing campaign
advertising
sales presentation templates

Conceive Phase activities/deliverables (9)

1. analyze market trends
2. develop business models (how much)
3. develop business case (why)
4. Perform P&L
5. Perform oppty analysis
6. Define Business Plan (who, what, How, where, when)
7. Define market requirements
8. Define roadmap
9. build core team

Plan Phase activities/deliverables (6)

1. collect business intel
2. collect competitive intel
3. develop product positioning
4. define product requirements
5. refine roadmap
6. refine business plan

Develop Phase activities/deliverables (5)

1. Manage core team
2. Manage cross-functional plans
3. Review functional specs
4. Monitor product dev
5. Develop Beta plan

Qualify Phase activities/deliverables (5)

1. Conduct testing to confirm product meets stated specs
2. Update Product Roadmaps
3. Refine/implement beta programs
4. complete all required FRS criteria
5. develop launch plan

Launch phase activities/deliverables (3)

1. refine/implement launch plan
2. launch product
3. evaluate product supply and demand

Deliver phase activities/deliverables (3)

1. maintain steady state operation by monitoring sales, service, support, development and production activities
2. evaluate results periodically against plans and orchestrate change as necessary
3. decide when it is time to retire the product and begin retirement planning

Retire Phase activities/deliverables (4)

1. refine/execute phase down plans
2. refine/execute end of life plan
3. implement replacement plan
4. continue monitoring customer needs

Product definition
a good or service offered by an organization which affords a bundle of benefits both objective (physical) and subjective (image) to a user

core = customer belief
actual product = product appearance (design, packaging, quality, brand, functionality)
extended product = product related services (payment terms, delivery, assembly/installation, maintenance/care, guarantee/warranty, customer support, on-site services, education/training)

*all increase and create additional usage of product by making it easier to buy and use.

Types of Products (6)

1. consumer – for personal consumption
2. convenience – purchased frequently, used immediately
3. shopping – bought less frequently, comparison shop, higher price, fewer places to buy
4. specialty – special purchase effort, high price, brand identification, unique characteristics
5. unsought – new innovations, products consumers don’t want to think about (casket), require much advertising and personal selling (life ins)
6. industrial – for further processing or for use in conducting business (materials, parts, supplies, services)

+other market offerings include organizations, persons, places, ideas (campaigns)

Product Mix definition
number of individual products produced or sold by an organization or by a strategic business unit within the organization

*width/breadth is number of different product categories for which the company has an offering
(BMW owns autos, motorcycles, rolls royce, mini coope)
*depth is the number of product lines in each category (autos = 1 series, 3 series, 5 series)
*length is number of products offered in each product line (all series have coupe, sedan, convertible)

Product Mix Decisions
width – the number of different product categories for which the company has an offering (BMW owns autos, motorcycles, rolls royce, mini cooper)

depth – the number of product lines in each category (BMW autos = 1 series, 3 series, 5 series)

length – the number of products offered in each product line (all car series have coupe, sedan, convertible)

consistency – how closely related the various lines are

Product Line definition
a group of closely related products with similar attributes or target market

*stretch is expanding product line so that each line has a unique position in market
*fill is adding variety in each product line to meet unique interests of customers.

Ex: BMW has 1 series, 3 series, 5 series (stretch)
within each has coupe, convertible, sedan (fill)

Product Line Extension definition
use of an established products brand name for a new item in the same product category

ex. Hidden Valley Ranch in bottles, in packets, in individual serving cups

*extensions have shorter life expectancy than original product

Service definition
a product that is not embodied in a physical good and typically effects change in another product, person or institution. Doesn’t result in ownership of a physical product

Characteristics of a service (4)

1. intangible – can’t be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or smelled before purchase
2. variability – quality depends on who, when where and how it’s delivered
3. inseparability – can’t be separated from provider
4. perishability – can’t be stored for later sale or use

Marketing tasks of a service (3)

1. Manage differentiation
2. Manage service quality
3. Manage service productivity

To Manage Service Characteristics

1. To increase tangibility = physical proof
2. To reduce variability = people and process
3. to address inseparability = people and process
4. to track perishability = promotion and success

Globalization definition
creation of internal strategies by organizations for overseas expansion and operation on a worldwide level

Decisions if entering a global market:

1. which products/services
2. how much to standardize or adapt
3. address packaging changes
4. address service offering changes

Product Decisions (5)

1. attributes
2. packaging
3. labeling
4. branding
5. support services

Product Attributes (3)

1. quality – reliability and durability
2. features – new, copy of competitors
3. style/design – affects how a product looks, feels and functions

Planned obsolescence (part of product attribute quality)
a company decreases the quality of the product so it will wear out physically within a reasonably short period of time.

Product Packaging
designing or producing the container or wrapper for a product

1st level – primary packaging
2nd level – holds multiples of the product
distribution/tertiary packaging – transports customer packaging through supply chain. Holds multiple customer packaging. meant to protect customer packaging.

Product Labeling
printed info appearing on or with the package that identify brand/product, promotes product

Product Branding
creating, maintaining, protecting and enhancing products and services

brand is a name, symbol, etc that identifies the maker or seller of a product or service

Product Support Services
provides end-user with information regarding a product and help if a product malfunctions. Via inserts, online help, manuals, on-demand like phone or physical location/on-site

key decisions:

1. SLA guarantee
2. Remote diagnostics/repair
3. Pricing

*value brand can offer less services because customer pays and expects less

Strategic Planning definition
the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization’s goals and capabilities and its changing marketing opportunities

Strategic planning elements (4)

1. defining clear company mission
2. setting supporting objectives
3. designing a sound business portfolio
4. coordinating functional strategies

Mission statement definition (strategic planning element)
statement of the organization’s purpose, describes company’s function, markets, and competitive advantages. A short written statement of your business goals and philosophies

*not product oriented, completely market oriented

Setting Supporting objectives definition (strategic planning element)
supports the mission statement. Should be measurable and concrete. Strategy and tactics will be developed to achieve these objectives.

Business portfolio definition (strategic planning element)
the collection of businesses and products that make up the company

Portfolio analysis definition
a tool by which mgmt identifies and evaluates the various businesses making up the company

BCG Growth-share matrix definition
To analyze portfolio

a portfolio-planning method that evaluates a company’s strategic business units in terms of their market growth rate projections and anticipated market share

*cons =
too simple
market share/growth rates may not be only determinants
only considers relationship to the market leader

BCG Growth-share matrix strategies (4)

1. Hold – cash cow provides steady cash flow, high market share, low market growth rate
2. Build – question marks which require investments, low market share, high market growth rate
3. Harvest – generate short term cash from weak products
4. Divest – get rid of product to allow resources to be used elsewhere

Strategic business unit definition
a unit of the company that has a separate mission and objectives and that can be planned independently from other company business.

Ansoff Product-Market Expansion Grid
*To identify expansion

identifies company growth opportunities through:

1. penetration
2. market development
3. product development
4. diversification

explores existing markets and new markets vs existing products and new products

Porter’s Model for Competitive Intelligence
compares the competitive advantage against the competitive scope. Concentrates on cost leadership, differentiation, cost focus and differentiation focus.

Ansoff Product Market Expansion Grid details
Market Penetration = existing products in existing markets

Market Development = existing products in new markets

Product Development = new products in existing markets

Diversification = new products in new markets *riskiest

Porter’s Model for Competitive Intelligence Competitive Forces (5)
*For competitive intell

1. bargaining power of customers
2. bargaining power of suppliers
3. Threat of new entrants
4. threat of substitute products
5. level of competition in industry

Kotler Model for Competitive Advantage/Market Strategies
analyze and promote products based on performance models including:

1. market leader – should adopt a defense strategy
2. market challenger – gain market share, become the leader
3. market follower – counterfeiter, cloner, imitator, adapter
4. market nicher –

GE McKinsey Matrix for Portfolio Analysis
*for Portfolio analysis

alternative to BCG
analyzes business position vs industry attractiveness

pros: most measurement
cons: no guidance on what strategy to follow could be subjective

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) definition
Strategy and Vision

Financial – what we want to work in the financial sector
Customer – How does the customer rate our performance
Business Processes – How well do we satisfy the needs of our customers?
Learning & Growth – How can we remain flexible and could be improved

SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats/Risks

internal = strengths & weaknesses
externa = opportunities & threats

strengths
-advantages
-experience, knowledge
-unique characteristics
-resources
-geographical advantage, location
-competence, capabilities
-quality, reputation

Weaknesses
-disadvantages
-gap in experience, knowledge
-financial aspects
-reliability & trust
-loss of key staff
-geographical factors

Opportunities
-strategic alliances, partnerships
-product development
-import, export
-innovation and technology development

Risks
-Loss of alliances and partners
-price inflation/deflation
-strong competition
-competitors new products and innovation

PEST Analysis
Macroenvironment – good for new markets to understand opptys and threats

Political
Economic
Social
Technological

Political
-ecological/environmental issues
-current/future legislation home and abroad
-regulatory bodies and processes
-government policies, terms and change
-trade policies
-funding, grants and initiatives
-lobbying home and abroad
-wars and conflicts

Economic
-Economic situation, home and abroad
-economic trends; home and abroad
-general & product specific taxation issues
-market routes, trade and distribution trends
-interest and exchange rates

Social
-lifestyle, consumer trends
-demographics
-consumer attitudes and opinions
-media views
-law changes affecting social factors
-brand, company, technology image
-buying access and trends
-ethnic/religious factors
-ethical issues

Technological
-competing, associate and replacement technology development
-research funding
-technology legislation
-innovation potential
-technology access, licensing, patents
-intellectual property issues

McKinsey Seven-S Framework
Improve performance of company

helps examine effects of future changes in company

helps align depts. during merger or acquisition

McKinsey Seven-S Framework factors (7)
Hard factors

1. strategy – how to shape vision and strategy of the company
2. structure – right org chart, right roles and responsibilities identified
3. systems – systems and processes in place to support change or strategy

Soft factors

4. skills – right core competencies to achieve change or strategy put in place. May mean additional training or new resources to help support required skills or competencies needed.
5. staff – right staff
6. style – rules and standards observed by staff
7. Shared values

Business Model definition
A framework that describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value.
Part of the business strategy

Business Model Reasons (5)

1. used to describe and classify businesses
2. used to explore opportunities
3. a recipe for creative managers to create new products
4. used for public reporting purposes
5. allows managers to focus on value creation

Business Model Canvas (9)

1. customer segment – different customers aim to serve
2. value proposition – proposed value for customers
3. channel – distribution channels
4. customer relationships – type of relationship
5. key activities – most important activities to make model work
6. key resources – key assets to make model work
7. key partners – network of suppliers and partners
8. cost structure – cost to implement business model
9. revenue streams – cash company generates for each segment.

Business Case Definition
Support planning and decision making
-whether to buy
-which product to bring to market
-which projects to fund
-which vendor to choose
-when to implement a project

Captures reasoning for creating/enhancing

Reasons for a business case (7)
Formal business cases are evaluated to ensure:

1. investment has value and importance
2. project will be properly managed
3. organization has the capability to deliver the benefits
4. dedicated resources are working on the highest value opportunities
5. projects with interdependencies are started in the optimum sequence
6. answers the question “what happens if we take this course of action?”
7. Answers the question “should we invest in this market?”

Business Case Activity (9)

1. Assess market
2. Identify customers
3. Define value
4. position product
5. analyze business
6. identify impact
7. estimate P&L
8. recommend
9. Obtain approval

Things you need to create Business Case (4)

1. market or product requirements document
2. business intelligence report
3. competitive analysis or market report
4. product roadmap

Business Case Canvas (6)

1. Product
2. Financial Analysis
3. Customer
4. Market
5. Business
6. Organization

Roadmap
a plan that applies to a specific product that matches your company’s short-term and long-term goals with specific options to help meet them.

a detailed set of time-based milestones that aligns your business and product strategy with unmet customer needs and market opptys to guide the work you and your development team actually do.

visual representation of a series of product development activities that plans and shapes the product vision

*use code names for projects
*create as PDF uneditable files

Why do we create a roadmap
Sales-driven
reassure customers (tactical)

Market-driven
reassure press/analysts of company’s directions (strategic)

guide engineering efforts
secure funding

Types of Roadmaps
Market & Strategy – which markets you are going to be entering and define strategy to enter them.

Visionary – industry trends mapped against company’s high level vision of the future

Technology – industry technology advances against company’s product plans based on those advances

Technology across Products – which products use which technology

Platform roadmap – software releases, development tools on a platform

Product roadmap – high level plans of getting a product to market. includes internal to help solidify product decisions, resource allocation. External use to convey to customers/analysts where company is headed.

Multiple product line roadmap – rank products against each other.

8 steps for creating a product roadmap

1. decide level of detail
2. create competitive, market and technology trends
3. gather and prioritize requirements (prioritization matrix)
4. Decide on timeline
5. Choose organizing strategy
   a. themes – logical groupings of high scoring items (help resist feature creep)
   b. golden features – based on single feature that is most important priority for release. Effective for short release cycles like Agile
   c. timed releases – uses release dates rather than features to drive schedule. Provides known ship dates.
6. Build internal roadmap
7. Fine tune and get buy-in from stakeholders – compares against competitive technology slide (step 2)
8. Create external roadmap – remove features and details so it can be shown outside the company.

Things you’ll need for roadmap (5)

1. product master plan or business case
2. market or product reqs doc
3. competitive analysis for market report
4. plan of record
5. previous roadmap version

Marketing Mix definition
set of controllable tactical marketing tools – product, price, place and promotion – that an organization blends to produce the response it wants in the target market

1. price
2. place
3. product
4. promotion

extended mix – for service oriented industry only

5. people
6. process
7. physical proof

Managing the Marketing Mix
-managing the mix allows customer satisfaction
-enables meeting marketing objectives
-elements are interdependent
-elements in extended mix apply to services only

Marketing Mix tools (7)

1. price – what is the customer willing to pay
2. place – how or where will customers buy (direct sales, use of distribution channels)
3. product – addresses customer need & delivers benefit
4. promotion – how and where will you present product to target market

extended mix for service oriented industry only

5. people – who delivers the service, plays most important role in service delivery
6. process – ensures consistency of service delivery
7. physical proof – makes service offering feel more tangible and add to perceived value

Product Marketing Mix questions
What does customer want from the product?
What needs does it satisfy?
What features must it include to meet these needs?
Are there any missing features customers expect?
How and where will customers use it?
What is the user experience?
What does it look like?
What is it called?
How is it differentiated versus its competitors?

Place Marketing Mix Questions
Where do buyers look for your products?
How can you access the right distribution channels?
Do you need to use a sales force?
How and where will customers use it?
What do its competitors do?
How are distribution channels or places to buy differentiated versus its competitors?

Price Marketing Mix Questions
What value will it deliver to target customers?
Are there established price points for competing or similar products?
What is the customer willing to pay for this or similar products?
What is the price sensitivity of target customers?
How will its price differentiate it from its competitors?

Promotion Marketing Mix Questions
Where and when can you get across your messaging to your target market?
How will you reach target customers?
When is the best time to promote?
What are external factors that impact the timing of its launch or promotions?
How do competitors promote competing products?

People Marketing Mix Questions
Who delivers the service?
What expertise is needed to deliver and support the service?
How will people strengthen customer relationships?
How will people increase customer retention and loyalty?
How will people differentiate it from competing services?

Process Marketing Mix Questions
How will service be consumed?
How will you provide customer support?
How will you identify unmet customer needs?
How will customer orders be handled?
How will complaints be handled?
How will customer service and support differentiate it from competing services?

Physical Proof Marketing Mix Questions
What tangible goods help communicate and perform the service?
What is the ability and environment required to deliver the service?
What is the customer experience when delivering the service?
How do you communicate exceptional customer satisfaction to prospective customers?
How can physical proof differentiate it from competing services?

Price Definition
the amount of money charged for a good or service. the sum values exchanged for the benefits of having or using the good or service. There is fixed pricing and dynamic pricing.

Internal Factors affecting pricing decisions (4)

1. marketing objectives – survival, profit maximization
2. marketing mix strategy – consistent with other mix variables
3. costs – fixed, variable, total
4. organizational consideration – who makes the decision

External factors affecting pricing decisions (3)

1. types of markets

• pure competition
• monopolistic competition
  -oligopolistic competition
  -pure monopoly

1. competition
2. other environmental factors – consumer perceptions, government/political/legal policies, reaction of distribution channel to price changes

General Pricing Approaches (3)

1. cost-based approach – cost plus pricing
2. value-based approach – consumer perceptions of value
3. competition-based approach – what competitors are charging

Market Segmentation definition
dividing a market into distinct groups with distinct needs, characteristics, or behavior who might require separate products or marketing mixes.

Market segment definition
a group of consumers who respond in a similar way to a given set of marketing efforts

Market targeting definition
the process of evaluating each market’s segment’s attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter.

Market positioning definition
arranging for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive, and desirable place relative to competing products in the minds of target consumers

Positioning strategies

1. by specific product features
2. by benefits, needs or problem solutions
3. for specific usage occasions
4. for a user category
5. Against other product(s).

Positioning Process steps (3)

1. Develop product positioning based on key differentiators
2. validate with customers and channels
3. refine positioning based on research results

Positioning Templates (3)

1. brand positioning
2. category positioning
3. target positioning

Repositioning Strategies (3)

1. change product communication to communicate the new product to same market
2. change target market – deliver same product
3. change both product – attributes and target market

Categories of research (2)

1. Primary – research conducted by/for us (meets an exact research need, personalized, proprietary)
2. Secondary – research conducted by others (industry experts, trade associations, news articles, competitors)

Why conduct research
to guide actions based on reality, not hunch

to focus on customers’ and not organizations needs or beliefs

Categories of data

1. qualitative – the story
   -observation – how is the product used
   -focus groups – how do people interact with the product
   -in depth interviews – beliefs people hold about the product
   -mystery shopping – how is the product presented/sold
2. quantitative – the numbers
   -need statistical confidence
   -sizing markets
   -track changes over time
   -strategic pricing decisions

Why secondary research

1. cost effective
2. faster
3. most effective for overview of market/issue

Qualitative Research Methodologies

1. face to face
2. online
3. telephone
4. online/telephone combo

Qualitative Applications
-new product development
-positioning and branding studies
-concept evaluation
-advertising evaluation
-ideation

Quantitative Applications
-ad recall
-tracking studies
-pricing strategy
-market share
-level of awareness and preference

Steps for Qualitative Research (7)

1. determine objective
2. define recruiting criteria
3. develop discussion guide
4. recruit
5. conduct research
6. analyze results
7. create action steps

Research Pitfalls to avoid
-inexperienced researcher
-using qualitative when quantitative is needed
-insufficient sample size
-objectives not clearly defined
-recruiting the wrong participants
-participants not properly screened
-wording

Value Chain definition
the series of departments which carry out value-creating activities to design, produce, market, deliver, and support a firm’s products.

Value Chain Model Support Activities

1. Firm infrastructure
2. human resource management
3. technology
4. procurement

Five primary activities in Value Chain Model

1. Inbound logistics
2. Operations
3. Outbound logistics
4. Marketing and sales
5. service

Value Delivery network definition
the network made up of the company, suppliers, distributors, and ultimately, customers who “partner” with each other to improve the performance of the entire system.

Value Chain Mgmt vs Supply Chain Mgmt
Value chain is mgmt of the process to optimize design, production, marketing, sales, deliveries and product support to capture and deliver value

Supply chain is mgmt of the facilities, functions, and activities involved in producing and delivering a product or service, from suppliers to customers

Beta test
formal, structured, controlled activity to determine market readiness of a new product or capability. External user acceptance testing. Released to a limited audience. ideally 4-6 weeks long

Steps in a Beta test

1. set goals
2. write beta program plan
3. decide who manages it
4. determine start date
5. determine duration
6. Recruit participants
7. determine response rate (incentivize)
8. determine participation levels
9. select candidates/obtain agreements
10. kick off
11. Maintain ongoing communication
12. respond to participants
13. Communicate internally
14. Administer exist survey
15. Write final report

*Give internal summary including what worked and what didn’t
*thank teammates
*thanks participants

Product Launch Goals

1. how many leads to generate
2. what is the revenue you want to receive?
3. How strongly to set the competitive argument?
4. How much initial awareness to generate?
   How many units to get into customers’ and channels’ hands.

3 Types of launches

1. soft launch
2. minimal launch
3. full scale launch

Soft launch definition

1. Soft launch – product may not be fully ready, may be deployed to limited set of customers, capture some revenue and go to VCs for additional funding. Or, company may want to get product into customer’s hands to get quick feedback for iteration. doesn’t cost much – little to no marketing $, the sales cycles is long and you want customers to become aware of it.

Downside = little to no revenue, company may have lost ability to create excitement.

Minimal Launch definition
consider when funding and resources are limited.

good for minor revisions to installed base

Can be effective if using resources wisely, like for a vertical launch.

Full-scale launch definition
maximize awareness, generate as many leads and sales as possible, and let the industry know who your company is and why you matter.

cost mosts money

can be broadly horizontal or targeted to one or more verticles

Gives product greatest chance for success.

Launch Strategy
1.Use full scale launch as starting point and back off if budget, resource or time-constrained.

Ensures you don’t forget to consider all of the options.

Elements of a successful launch (8)

1. Planning
2. Communicationn
3. Timing
4. Effective Marketing Mix
5. Compelling Messaging
6. Budget to Achieve Goals
7. Message reaches target customers
8. Product Readiness

Planning phase (successful product launch)
-summary
-purpose of this plan
-market overview
-key market trends
-target customers and their needs
-product
-ship date/window of oppty
-positioning
-tag line
-features and benefits
-price
-place and channel
-marketing strategy
-marketing tactics/promotion
-launch budget
-marketing mix
-expected ROI
-action plan/deliverable ownership
-rough timeline/schedule
-key decisions remaining

Communication (launch plan)

Timing (launch plan)
have marketing and PR hit shortly after the product becomes available for customers to purchase.

Continue with product marketing and product reviews.

Set estimated ship date and work backwards about 4 months prior to launch.

Avoid announcing too early.

Effective Marketing Mix (launch)
determine mix of marketing components in order to reach your target market in several ways, building awareness and interest, creating a desire to buy the product and then incenting prospects to take action.

biggest mistake = assuming that you need to do only one or two type of marketing.

success = achieve critical mass with marketing mix while providing effective ROI, plus effective selling tools, and a good process for converting leads.

Compelling Messaging (launch)
ensure you have compelling messaging which speaks to your customer pain points and needs.

1. Develop the positioning – determine target group, focus on specific features or benefits, needs it fulfills, or solutions to problems.
2. Write features and benefits
3. determine unique selling proposition

-test message with focus group

Positioning process

1. come up with several potential ideas for how product is differentiated in market.
2. test with customers and channel partners
3. create matrices (map differentiators against competitors)
4. formal positioning statement – sums up most critical points – who your target customer is, what their need is and what features you provide to solve their problems, then SPECIFICALLY calls out why you are better than your competitors.

don’t confuse tag line with positioning statement. Positioning statement meant primarily for company. tag line is succinct version of positioning statement but for wider audience.

Once you have created the positioning, you can determine the rest of the messages.

Then write features and benefits.

Finally, write USP: Unique Selling Position.

USP: Unique Selling Proposition definition
One sentence summary of why the customer should not even consider purchasing anyone else’s product. Memorable and repeatable and should support positioning and tag line.

Budget (launch)
ensure amount spent allows you to meet the goals you have set out for the launch.

Look at financial rules of similar companies to get an idea of what they spend on marketing (5-25% of expected revenues)

Message Reaches Target Customers (launch)
Use right marketing mix to reach your target market.

Check your assumptions using ROI spreadsheet

Product Readiness (launch)
ensure all aspects of the product are ready – sales, manufacturing, operations, channels, customer support, product quality and associated necessary components.

track each component in your weekly launch team meeting.

Review Programs after launch
Top 10 things you can do to make it much easier for them to be more prone to give you a great review.

1. Put a dedicated sr. product manager on the job
2. Start earlier, work from a timeline and hold team meetings
3. Get your materials and references together and provide to reviewers.
4. Do the killer demo (during press tour): practice practice practice
5. Make it “dummy proof” with custom preset accounts

6 Set the competitive argument – tell reviewers/the front upfront what category you are in, who the competitors are and why you are superior.

7. Phase rollout, track equipment, check in routinely – rollout out to reviewers to sure everything is working correctly, use a spreadsheet to track the date you sent the product and the date it was received back, make calls to ensure you have the best response possible.
8. Provide immediate responses to reviewers,
9. Include screenshots & photos with captions – screenshots should include top 3 features of your product.
10. Write the review for them – provide a comprehensive and thorough reviewer’s guide to include an overview and introduction that sets the stage in terms of what is important when reviewing this type of product and what is important to the customer. *Include a FAQ

9 key product process templates

1. business case
2. market needs
3. product description
4. market strategy
5. roadmap
6. beta plan
7. launch plan
8. marketing plan
9. end of life plan
10. Phase
11. stage in the product lifecycle
12. Gate
13. critical decision point ending a phase and starting the next
14. Product Life Cycle
15. The phases from Conceive to Retire
16. Product
17. a good, idea, method, information, object, or service…which serves a need or satisfies a want. It has combination of tangible and intangible attributes (benefits, features, functions, uses) that a seller offers a buyer for purchase
18. Need
19. a lack of basic requirement
20. Want
21. specific requirements for products or services to match a need
22. Demand
23. set of wants plus the desire and aility to pay for the exchange
24. Marketing
25. identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customer requirements profitably
26. Quality
27. meeting or exceeding customer’s expectations
28. Value
29. ratio of perceived benefits and their perceived costs
30. Product Management Role
31. The person who is the market expert (customer and market research, voice of the customer), Owns the Product Development strategy and lifecycle, Develops the Business Case, Presents needs, and other duties.
32. Product Marketing Role
33. The person who is the marketing expert (competitive analysis, pricing, communications); Supports sales, Guides marketing programs, and owns the strategy for success in the market and launching new products.
34. Driver
35. The one person driving the decision to closure
36. Approver
37. The 1-2 people who approve a decision
38. Contributor
39. The person who provides information or implements the decision
40. Informed
41. The people who need to be informed of a decision but are not part of the decision process.
42. Strategy
43. high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty
44. Strategy Implementation
45. Creating unique and valuable position involving different sets of activities
46. PEST(EL) Analysis
47. Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal
48. Porter’s Five Forces
49. Bargaining Power of Customers, Threat of Substitutes, Threat of New Entrants, Bargaining Power of Suppliers, Intensity of Competitive Rivalry
50. Porter’s Generic Strategies
51. Cost Leadership, Differentiation, Cost Focus Segmentation, Differentiation Focus Segmentation
52. Strengths
53. Internal factors about the company and its market position that help your chances of success
54. Weaknesses
55. Internal factors about your company and its market position that weaken your chances of success
56. Opportunities
57. external factors that help your chances of success
58. Threats
59. External factors that weaken your chances of success
60. Goods
61. physical products
62. Durable goods
63. physical goods used over an extended period of time
64. Nondurable goods
65. perishable goods that can be destroyed easily or do not have a long shelf life
66. Finished goods
67. Goods ready for immediate sale
68. Service
69. A product that is not embodied in a physical good and that typically effects some change in another product, person, or institution
70. Intangible
71. A service cannot be seen, smelled, heard, or touched prior to the purchase.
72. Perishable
73. A service cannot be stored like a physical good
74. Inseperable
75. A service is performed and consumed at the same time (ex. Bank visit)
76. Variable
77. Each time a service is performed it will be performed in a different way (ex. Customer Service)
78. Consumer Products
79. goods or services bought by final consumers for personal consumption
80. Convenience products
81. Purchased frequently and immediately that are low-priced, mass advertised, and many purchase locations (i.e. groceries)
82. Shopping Product
83. Purchased less frequently- higher priced, fewer purchase locations, comparison shopping (cars)
84. Specialty Products
85. High price, unique characteristics, brand identity, few purchase locations. Requires special purchase efforts, such as a dealer. (Rolex watches)
86. Unsought products
87. Includes new innovations, products consumers do not want to think about or buy until there is a need (i.e. funeral caskets)
88. Industrial products
89. Purchased for further processing or use in the construction of products. Frequently purchased. (i.e., chemicals, metals, equipment)
90. Product Line
91. group of closely related products with similar attributes or target market
92. Product Line extension
93. using established product”s brand name for a new item in the same product category