Product Managing Specialties

We see advertisements everyday of our lives, and there really is no escape from it unless we lock ourselves in a room with no windows or light. Advertising has seemingly taken over society. No matter where we look it is there, on the internet, television, movie theaters, and sporting events. Sometimes we can be bombarded with relentless advertisements which would lead us to the brink of insanity. Product promotions, product managers, and demonstrators are necessary to get their product to the consumers for purchase. There is this old saying, ''If a tree falls in the woods and no one in around to hear it, does it make a sound?'' The same can be said with goods, materials, and products. If no one is around to purchase them, do they really exist? Technically, yes, they still do exist but what is the purpose of a product if the consumer is unaware that they do exist?

One of the examples of product managing taken place is commercials. While they are on everyday, specific commercials run at different times to advertise to their intended demographics. During the morning and early afternoon there are many senior citizens which stay home so there are many medic and healthcare commercials. During the evenings it is dinner time so there are many food commercials. During children’s programming there will be many toy commercials. Certain channels have their own commercials as well. Home improvement and house wares channels will promote cleaning products and tools, music channels will promote bands, sports channels will promote work out apparel, vitamins, and sports drinks, and so on.

There are different types of product managers such as sales managers, promotion managers, marketing managers, and advertising managers. While their job descriptions have specific duties, they all have one thing in common, that they want consumers to purchase their products.



Sales managers work typically in specific regions of the country and focus on one area on a continual basis. Sales managers will train sales representatives, set goals for them, and monitor their performances to help them improve their sales skills. A good product can sell itself to an extent but a good salesman can put the product over the top and make it seem like it’s the best product in the world. A great salesman will convince the consumer how much their life will improve if they purchase the product. A sales manager should know every single detail about the product and will inform the training sales representative to focus more on their communication skills.

Promotion managers promote the product but with a purchasing incentive such as discounts, coupons, and mail-in rebates. If a product is selling relatively well but the company wants to sell off the product they will offer promotional give-a-ways and bonuses if the consumer purchases their product in a given time frame for instance. If a company is overstocked with an item they will offer promotional discounts to entice the consumer.

Marketing managers work on the ground floor of product managing, which means they develop the specific strategies for a company to sell their product. Marketing managers must be aware of what type of demographic they are appealing to, what are some of the interesting ways to promote the product, which mediums to use in promoting the product, how the product will cost to increase profits, and understand the trends of the market. This type of product manger position is very critical. The wrong marketing strategy can make or break a company financially.

Advertising managers are similar to promotion and marketing managers. Advertising mangers can work for a company of an advertising firm that specializes in just advertising which are outsourced by other companies. The advertising manager are given ideas from the creative directors on how to advertise a product and they see which will work the best for that particular product. Advertising managers usually have the final say how an advertising strategy will be implemented. The American Association of Advertising Agencies or AAAA is an organization offers services and expert advice in the advertising agency business.

With product managing being a very popular field, competition for such jobs will be great. Those who have the creative skills and basic economic principles are needed to become successful. Communication skills are one of the most important aspects of any type of product manager because the ability to convey ideas on strategies clearly and thoroughly is critical in the success of the product.

There are currently around 600,000 product managers and that number is expected to increase overall within the next decade. Companies will look to promote their products to other foreign markets and tap into previously overlooked markets. The economic struggles do play a role in product managing, and certain companies will fail or go out of business and this will create fewer product managers.

The average earnings for a product manager will depend on experience, skills, location, commissions, and type of product one is working with. Many product managers earn on average from $35,000-$120,000 per year.