A Product Manager, or Product Design Manager, is responsible for overseeing all activities relating to researching, designing and marketing products on behalf of their employer. Their duties include completing market research to find out more about competitor products or customer needs, overseeing a team of product professionals and department budgets and coordinating with the customer service department to identify potential product defects or customer suggestions.
A Product Manager should be able to fulfill various duties and responsibilities. The following are some duties and responsibilities a Product Manager should be able to execute:
- Using market research to get ideas for products that customers will want
- Helping to oversee the design and manufacture and planning how to market and promote the product to the public
- Defining product marketing communication objectives
- Comparing the company’s products to competitor’s products in order to assess competition in the market
- Providing management with analyses and reports and responding to questions and requests from management
- Specifying and overseeing the research needed to determine the needs and desires of customers
A competitive Product Manager will have certain skills and qualifications, including:
- Excellent written and oral communication skills are required since the Product Manager has to communicate with team members, other departments, upper management and consumers of the company’s products
- Expertise in the product or market including specific technical or industry knowledge
- Superior project management and interpersonal skills
- Ability to maintain a keen attention to detail, multitask and work well under pressure
- Natural tendency to be curious, positive and creative
- Team player who collaborates well with others
