Marketing Management, Millenium Edition - epiheirimatikotita.gr

These tasks are common to both consumer- and industrial-product managers. However,consumer-product managers typically manage fewer products and spend moretime on advertising and sales promotion. They are often younger and MBA-educated.Industrial-product managers spend more time with customers and laboratory and engineeringpersonnel, think more about the technical aspects of their product and possibledesign improvements, and work more closely with the sales force and key buyers.The product-management organization introduces several advantages. The productmanager can concentrate on developing a cost-effective marketing mix for theproduct. The product manager can react more quickly to problems in the marketplacethan a committee of functional specialists can. The company’s smaller brands are lessneglected, because they have a product advocate. Product management also is an excellenttraining ground for young executives, because it involves them in almost everyarea of company operations (Figure 6-7).But a product-management organization has some disadvantages. First, productmanagement creates some conflict and frustration. Typically, product managers arenot given enough authority to carry out their responsibilities effectively. They haveto rely on persuasion to get the cooperation of advertising, sales, manufacturing, andother departments. They are told they are “minipresidents” but are often treated aslow-level coordinators. They are burdened with a great amount of paperwork. Theyoften have to go over the heads of others to get something done.Second, product managers become experts in their product but rarely achieve functionalexpertise. They vacillate between posing as experts and being cowed by real experts.This is unfortunate when the product depends on a specific type of expertise,such as advertising.Third, the product management system often turns out to be costly. One personis appointed to manage each major product. Soon product managers are appointedto manage even minor products. Each product manager, usually overworked, pleadsfor an associate brand manager. Later, both overworked, they persuade managementto give them an assistant brand manager. With all these people, payroll costs climb.In the meantime, the company continues to increase its functional specialists in copy,F I G U R E 6-7ManufacturinganddistributionAdvertisingagencyMediaThe Product Manager’sInteractionsResearch anddevelopmentPromotionservicesLegalProductmanagerPackagingFiscalPurchasingMarketresearchSales forcePublicitychapter 22Managing theTotal MarketingEffort 685