The essential guide to seamless product management for today’s fluid, unpredictable business worldLong considered the most useful and insightful guide of its kind, The Product Manager’s Handbook has been fully revised and updated to give you the edge in today’s challenging business landscape. It features expanded coverage of product development processes, intelligence-gathering techniques (including social media), and a greater emphasis on international issues.This indispensable resource proves that the techniques and tools product managers use are similar—regardless of what industry they work in and what kind of products they manage. Simply put, this book has everything you need for superior job performance—whether you manage consumer or business-to-business products created by an organization that is hierarchical or horizontal.The Product Manager’s Handbook shows you how to integrate your organization’s disparate segments into a cooperative, results-focused unit that produces satisfying products—from initial design through the postpurchase experience. If your job is to create and commercialize products, it provides the information you need to:Balance breakthroughs and line extensionsCreate business cases—including competitive assessment, market requirements, and risk reductionConduct gate reviews and beta testing and manage scope creep Get everything in order for a smooth product launch For those who manage existing lines, this guide provides:Specific tips for each of the 4Rs of product life-cycle managementBrand guidelinesApproaches to customer message managementAdvice on working with sales and the channelClear, easy-to-read charts show you how to manage each crucial step from conception to completion, and practical checklists help you evaluate progress at every stage. Interviews with seasoned product management consultants and top-performing product managers provide you with dynamic, proven strategies for addressing potential problems in marketing, production, cross-cultural communication, and more. The Product Manager’s Handbook examines current market-leading companies, the latest research findings, and evolving customer perceptions to provide you with the tools you need to design, produce, and market winning products—and beat the competition at every turn.
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The go-to guide for creating and managing a fully integrated product lifecycle--updated with critical information about innovative new tools and evolving customer perceptions
Section One: Bedrock ConceptsChapter 1. The multi-faceted nature of product management jobs and structurea. Your job is unique – but you’re not aloneb. Product management can work for services, too!Chapter 2. Leadership and management competenciesa. Change managementb. Surviving matrix structures and cross-functional teamsc. Tips to improve decision makingChapter 3. Business competenciesa. Basic financial conceptsb. Assembling forecastsc. Running a “virtual” businessChapter 4. Market knowledge competencies: fact capturinga. Trend-spotting, research and customer segmentationb. Describing the customer purchase process, personas and value chainc. Competitive intelligence briefingsd. Technology assessment and design thinkingChapter 5. Planning frameworksa. The product manager continuum: from upstream to downstreamb. Introduction to portfoliosc. Innovation, revitalization, protection and sunsettingSection Two: Upstream product management: Strategic new products & initiativesChapter 6. Roadmaps, strategic plans and innovation directivesa. Visualizing the future: three time horizonsb. Time management of the pipelinec. Making buy, build or partner decisionsChapter 7. Managing the fuzzy front end of new product processesa. Balancing breakthroughs and incremental changesb. Defining current and future customer need-driversc. Generic NPD processes and stage-gatesChapter 8. Creating – and getting approval for – business casesa. Understanding the importance of the business caseb. Estimating and validating demandc. Requirements planning, management and clarification of feasibilityd. Framing and justifying the investmente. The provisional marketing planChapter 9. Overseeing new product projectsa. Attributes and responsibilities of core teamsb. Team decisions and processesc. Managing scope creepd. Guiding gate reviews and readiness to move to each levele. Improving beta programsChapter 10. Formulating and executing launch plansa. The major components of the launch document & processb. Incorporating belief buildersc. Building in early tracking measures d. Preparing red alert strategiese. The final analysis: project and process reviewsSection Three: Downstream product management: Marketing and ongoing supportChapter 11. Generating brand equitya. Cultivating brands and positioning from the outside inb. Brand elements, structure and strategyChapter 12. Lifecycle management and marketinga. Categorizing products for streamlined effortsb. Defensive and offensive considerationsc. Revitalization programs: product versioningd. Revitalization programs: refocused marketing schemae. Right-pricing your productsChapter 13. Supporting sales and channel effortsa. Lead generation, referrals, and collateralb. Call support, demos and presentationsc. Converting product marketing plans into sales callsChapter 14. Marketing communications, SEO and social networkinga. Who should write the copy and what should it sayb. From broadcast to narrowcast approachesc. Make the message resonate with the right customersd. Manage the sales funnelChapter 15. Sunsettinga. Defining kill criteria: the "Cockroach" problemb. Evaluating alternative approaches for product eliminationSection Four: Fine-tuningChapter 16. Establishing a global mindseta. Global versus multi-local products: decision points>b. When product development is handled in another countryc. Working with cross-cultural co-workers on project teamsd. Communicating across borders and culturesChapter 17. Goal and performance alignmenta. Linking goals, directives and initiativesb. Defining appropriate product manager performance measuresc. Coaching toward proficiency
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780071772983
Publisert
2011-09-16
Utgave
4. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
McGraw-Hill Professional
Vekt
705 gr
Høyde
231 mm
Bredde
163 mm
Dybde
33 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
400

Forfatter

Biographical note

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