Organizational Structures
We will explore 3 Organizational structures;
- Product-Focused Organizations
- Market-Focused Organizations
- Functionally Focused
Product-Focused Structure
- Product Manager Acts as a “mini-CEO”
- Takes responsibility for overall health of a brand
- Well Defined Hierarchy exists (ie Group product Manager, Brand manager, Assistant Brand Manager)
Market-Focused Organization
- Defines authority by Market segment
- Segments can be industry, channel, regions of the country or customer size
- Useful when there are significant differences in buyer behavior among the market segments
Advantages
- Strong Customer Focus
- Easier to get Product Managers to ‘pull together’
- Better knowledge of company’s line of products
Disadvantages
- Does not give managers full responsibility for products services (more coordination)
- Lose ‘mini-CEO training’
Functionally Focused Organizations
- Align themselves by functions (ie Advertising, Sales, merchandising)
- No Single person is responsible for the day-to-day health of a brand
- CEO & Vice Presidents (VP’s) make marketing strategy decisions
- Strategies are implemented through discussion & coordination among functional groups
Product Management: Critical Skills
- Teamwork
- Communication Skills
- Analytical Ability
Discussion Topics
What market trends are impacting the role of the Product Manger?
Category Management
- Driven by increased power by retailer
- Analysis of category to optimize product mix
- Product are business units customized on a store-by-store basis
- Impact on marketing organization