Analysis of the activities of product managers

What does the day-to-day work of a product manager look like?

Product managers work in all companies and organizations in which products are manufactured and sold or services are offered. Within their organization, they have the cross-functional and cross-departmental task of managing their product groups as a whole and placing them successfully on the market. Their most important main tasks are Product marketing, product analysis, product concept and product optimization. And in order to achieve their strategic goals, they must be able to coordinate the various departments and bodies involved in a product.

The strategic responsibility for the product groups covers the entire product life cycle from planning and production to marketing and the discontinuation of products. In order to offer optimal product groups, the Product Manager focuses on the market, customer requirements, production/purchasing costs and sales/profit figures.

For market and product analysis, Product Management collects information about the market situation and trends, buyer behavior and competitor products. From this, they work with the development department, sales and marketing to identify trends for new product lines. Or they define the need for improvement and renewal of existing products. During the subsequent conception and planning phase, the product manager often has the role of project manager. He or she ensures that everyone involved is well informed and monitors the progress of the work. Together with the marketing department and controlling, they then decide on the prices and conditions at which the new or renewed products should be offered on the market.

This is followed by the important task of repositioning the new products on the market, creating marketing concepts and monitoring the market launch.

According to the job advertisements, the tasks are distributed roughly as follows:

The distribution of tasks can vary greatly depending on the job profile and type of company.

What is usually required in job advertisements for Product Managers?

• Completed training and further education or studies. Depending on the position, e.g. in the business, technical or scientific field
• Relevant professional experience appropriate to the position
• Experience in project management
• Good communication skills
• Business fluent in German, good knowledge of English
• Independent, flexible and strong organizational personality
• Networked thinking with good analytical and conceptual skills
• Willingness to travel

Who is the "Product Manager" course suitable for?

Target group:

• Product managers, marketing managers
• Product range and product managers, employees in research, development, marketing, purchasing/sales
• Small business owners

Personal requirements:

• Communication and coordination skills
• Interest in constant renewal and innovation
• Initiative and assertiveness
• Negotiating skills
• Organizational talent

Course description:

Important features such as the duration, costs and content of the "Product Manager" course are described here:
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Admission to the courses

• Apprenticeship diploma with federal certificate of competence
• Or completion of a higher vocational education/university degree
• In some cases, a certain amount of professional experience is required

Financing of further training

The course fees for the "Product Manager" course are to be paid either at the beginning of the course or by the semester. However, in individual cases it is also possible to agree individual installment payments.

Time spent on classroom teaching and learning (homework)

The part-time course lasts an average of two semesters. Depending on the provider, classroom teaching takes place during the week in the evening or on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.

The amount of learning and practicing required in addition to school lessons is around 4-6 hours per week.

Conclusion

Will I graduate?

The courses usually conclude with an oral examination and a written diploma thesis. Admission to the examinations requires attendance of at least 80% of the classroom lessons and completion of the case studies and intermediate examinations.

General success factors for successfully completing an apprenticeship and the final examination are

• Interest in the topic and attentive participation in class
• Regular preparation and follow-up of the lesson material at home
• Committed cooperation in group work, case studies etc.
• Participation in learning groups for regular exchange
• Practise exam situations by working on previous exam tasks