History
The concept of product management originates from a 1931 memo by Procter & Gamble President Neil H. McElroy. McElroy, requesting additional employees focused on brand management, needed "Brand Men" who would take on the role of managing products, packaging, positioning, distribution, and sales performance. The memo defined a Brand Man's work as: * Study carefully shipments of his brands by units. * Where brand development is heavy ... examine carefully the combination of effort that seems to be clicking, and try to apply this same treatment to other territories. * Where brand development is light: ** Study the advertising and promotion history of the brand. ** After uncovering our weakness, develop a plan that can be applied to this local sore spot. ** Outline this plan in detail to the division manager. ** Prepare sales helps and all other necessary material for carrying out the plan. ** Keep whatever records are necessary and make whatever field studies are necessary to determine whether the plan has produced the expected results. * Take full responsibility ... for the general printed word plans for his brands. * Take full responsibility for all other advertising expenditures. * Experiment with and recommend wrapper revisions. * See District Manager a number of times a year to discuss with him any possible faults in our promotion plans for that territory. In modern terms, McElroy defined the role as: analyze product distribution, optimize working distribution strategies, diagnose and solve distribution issues, optimize product positioning and product marketing, and collaborate with regional distribution managers.Role of Product Managers
Product managers are responsible for managing a company's product line on a day-to-day basis. As a result, product managers are critical in both driving a company's growth, margins, and revenue. They are responsible for the business case, conceptualizing, planning, product development, product marketing, and delivering products to their target market. Depending on the company size, industry, and history, product management has a variety of functions and roles. Frequently there is anTasks
Product managers analyze information including customer research, competitive intelligence, industry analysis, trends, economic signals, and competitive activity,By Steven Haines.See also
References
External links
* {{Authority control Brand management