The Product Manager has a responsibility to manage the product line profit and loss. They act as the General Manager for the product line. They have a more significant role in determining which products to produce and in portfolio planning for the product line. They interact with executive management as if management is the banker to fund their development effort. They direct the development efforts of the product team.
The Product Manager is responsible for all aspects of a product line including the coordination of activities across various departments. This extends from deepening the profitability and penetration of existing products to developing new products for the company.
Key Responsibilities
Plan
- Managing the product line life cycle from strategic planning to tactical activities.
- Developing and implementing a company-wide go-to-market plan, overseeing interdepartmental activities to execute plans.
Research
- Specifying market requirements for current and future products by conducting market research using multiple channels supported by on-going calls and visits to customers and prospects.
Roadmap
- Prepare, maintain, and evangelize the product roadmap which defines the product.
enhancements for short- and long-term releases. - Define feature roadmap for weDevs’ products based on business opportunities and market research.
Partner Relationship
- Analyzing potential partner relationships for the product.
Budget
- Propose an overall product budget to ensure success.
Pricing
- Monitor and set prices on products in the product line to meet revenue and profitability goals.
Strategy
- Work with sales management and other contributors to evaluate and prioritize opportunities and develop strategy.
- Help develop and deploy key market messages and communication strategies for the product line with the Marketing Support team. (Including Release Notes, demonstrations, and Improvement Reports.)
- Collaborate with technology to create strategies by which technology will be developed or adapted to meet market needs and leverage opportunities. (e.g., Buy/Build decisions)
Guidance
- Create feature descriptions to provide guidance to Business Analysts and contribute and approve the product-related Business Requirements Documents.
Specification
- Validate detailed specifications and development costing versus market potential and future predictable revenue.
Vision
- Become subject matter experts in product’s markets and provide vision and leadership to technology R&D efforts.
Product Launch
- Responsible for product launch and release plans. Coordinates internal and external product launches working with Marketing Support and Training teams.
Monitoring
- Monitor and analyze new technologies and inform the company of their potential applications to our business. Conduct and lead forward-looking research studies.
Presentations
- Develop and when necessary deliver concise and meaningful presentations for internal and external audiences, including education and training of sales staff, training of support groups, train the trainer programs, and presentations at symposia, trade shows,
and key customer accounts.
Liaison
- Act as liaison between Sales, Client Services, Marketing Support, and Technology teams to support product positioning and customer demand as part of new Product Development.
Training
- Work with the Training team to develop product training plan internally and externally.
- Consult with Client Services team to ensure appropriate service levels for the Product Line.
Profit
- Create and maintain profit and loss of documentation for products and services.
Last but Not the Least
- Act as a product champion within the company.