Question

Topic: Career/Training

Product Marketing Versus Product Management

Posted by Anonymous on 12/3/2004 at 10:25 AM ET 125 Points
pls describe the role of each or the difference - our company is evolving with many needs, it will help focus and elimminate the level setting explanation time
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  • Posted by SRyan ;] on 12/3/2004 at 12:42 PM Member
    I think the job title "Product Manager" has to be taken in the context of the organization.  A Product Manager in the marketing department will have very different responsibilities than a Product Manager in operations.

    Titles are funny things. Most of them are meaningless!

    - Shelley ;]
  • Posted by Janet O. on 12/3/2004 at 1:23 PM Member
    Mbandini, these are two separate functions, but many companies, especially smaller ones combine these into the same function. Product Management is the way that a company manages their product development process. The Product Management team gathers market-based information about the problems that customers are looking to solve. The team figures out how your products and competitors' products can solve their problems. Then the team decides how your products will allow you to better complete with others that are out there. Product Management manages the master schedule, sourcing, etc.

    Product Marketing focuses more on the customer and marketplace presentation/message of how your products solve problems. Product Marketing puts together strategic and tactical plans that offer solutions. These plans change/evolve since there may be a need to refocus your message based on competition, market changes, changes to your products, etc.
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 12/3/2004 at 2:16 PM Accepted
    In general, product marketing and product management are often used interchangeably. If a company has both titles within the organization, the general definitions I see used are:

    Product marketing - outward facing person involves with promoting products to customer. Activities include product launches, marketing literature creation, etc.

    Product management - inward (plant) facing position, mostly working with product development. Activities include keeping product road map, defining what the product should be, working with development to develop product,. technical literature, etc.

    These two positions work together. The best image is that they are back to back, one handling the company side of things, the other handling the customer side of things.

    If only one title is used within the company, it would generally be product manager and they would likely have the job duties of both the above titles.
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