MarketingManagement.pdf

packaging, media, sales promotion, market surveys, and statistical analysis. The com-

pany is soon saddled with a large and costly structure.

Fourth, brand managers normally manage a brand for only a short time. Either

they move up in a few years to another brand, or they transfer to another company.

Short-term involvement with the brand leads to short-term marketing planning and

plays havoc with building the brand’s long-term strengths.

Fifth, the fragmentation of markets makes it harder to develop a national strategy

from headquarters. Brand managers must please more regional-based trade groups and

rely more on the local sales force.

Pearson and Wilson have suggested five steps to make the product management

system work better:^6

1. Clearly delineate the limits of the product manager’s role and responsibility.


2. Build a strategy-development-and-review process to provide a framework for
   the product manager’s operations.


3. Take into account areas of potential conflict between product managers and
   functional specialists when defining their respective roles.


4. Set up a formal process that forces to the top all conflict-of-interest situations
   between product management and functional line management.


5. Establish a system for measuring results consistent with the product man-
   ager’s responsibilities.

A second alternative is to switch from product managers to product teams. There

are three types of product-team structures in product management (Figure 6-8):

1. Vertical product team:Product manager, associate product manager, and prod-
   uct assistant (Figure 6-8[a]). The product manager is the leader and deals with
   other managers to gain their cooperation. The associate product manager as-
   sists in these tasks and also does some paperwork. The product assistant car-
   ries out most of the paperwork and routine analysis.


2. Triangular product team:Product manager and two specialized product assis-
   tants, one who takes care of marketing research and the other, marketing
   communications (Figure 6-8[b]). The Hallmark Company uses a “marketing
   team” consisting of a market manager (the leader), a marketing manager, and
   a distribution manager.


3. Horizontal product team:Product manager and several specialists from market-
   ing and other functions (Figure 6-8[c]). 3M has teams consisting of a team
   leader and representatives from sales, marketing, laboratory, engineering, ac-
   counting, and marketing research. Dow Corning sets up teams of five to
   eight people; each team manages a specific product, market, and process.

A third alternative is to eliminate product manager positions for minor products

and assign two or more products to each remaining manager. This is feasible where

two or more products appeal to a similar set of needs. A cosmetics company does not

need separate product managers for each product because cosmetics serve one major

need—beauty. A toiletries company needs different managers for headache remedies,

toothpaste, soap, and shampoo, because these products differ in use and appeal.

A fourth alternative is to introduce category management, in which a company fo-

cuses on product categories to manage its brands. Here are two examples:

■ General Motors For General Motors, products are categorized by the make

of car, and each division offers a range of models to appeal to a specific mar-

ket segment. Cadillacs, of course, are the eponymous status symbol of the in-

dustry. Buicks are intended to appeal to professionals such as doctors and

lawyers; Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles, to the driver who wants a sporty image;

and Chevrolets, to the average driver looking for a practical means of trans-

portation. These distinctions can be traced back to Alfred Sloan’s idea of “a

car for every pocketbook.” But over the years, the divisions lost sight of their

individual target customer as each attempted to develop a full line of mod-

part five

Managing and

Delivering Marketing

(^686) Programs
APM
PA
PM
PM
RC
PM
RC SD F E
(a) Vertical product team
(b) Triangular product team
(c) Horizontal product team
PM = product manager
APM = associate product manager
PA = product assistant
R = market researcher
C = communication specialist
S = sales manager
D = distribution specialist
F = finance/accounting specialist
E = engineer
FIGURE 6-8
Three Types of Product Teams