The role of a product manager: what do they do on a daily basis?

The digital transformation of companies has changed the employment landscape, giving rise to new professional profiles such as the product manager. You might have also heard of them as a product officer or product owner.

But do you really know what a product manager is and what their responsibilities are? In this post, with the help of Helena López-Casares, director of the Master in Product Management Online (in Spanish), we’re going to tell you everything you should know about the role of a product manager and their responsibilities. You should also know that we offer the Msc Project Management in English at our campus in Madrid.

What is a product manager?

A product manager is a person responsible for coordinating the different stages of the life cycle of a service or product: strategy, planning, execution and launch.

All their efforts and actions are aimed at successfully meeting the needs of the market. At the same time, they must keep in line with business objectives and maximize profitability.

The ideal product manager profile is someone with experience in product management who has technological knowledge and a high level of creativity. With today’s growth and dependence on technology, the position of product manager is associated with technology companies. Therefore, to be a product manager, organizations usually ask for experience in UX, design or programming, which you can attain with a Master's degree in UX/UI, or a Degree in Graphic Design - both of which we offer in Spanish.

Product manager characteristics

As Helena says in an interview published on LinkedIn, the product manager has to solve problems, create options, carry out product research and analyse the market.

Therefore, according to Helena, “The most relevant characteristics that a product manager should have are a strategic vision of the business in which their company is immersed and the sector of activity in which it operates; the ability to anticipate; the ability to push the limits of their own thinking; the ability to change perspectives and the ability to resolve problems.”

They should also be organised, with strong planning skills, as they have to understand and be aware of the process flow of a product. Finally, since they have to work with different teams or departments within their company, with suppliers and with customers, product managers must also have strong verbal and written communication skills.

Types of product managers

While there are different product manager profiles, these are three of the most common:

• Technical product manager: this profile usually works together with engineering, IT and design teams in the creation of technological products and solutions and in the development of specific, more technical functions.
• B2C (Business to Consumer) product manager: the day-to-day activity in this role is dedicated to working with consumers. This includes researching market trends, observing the competition and getting to know in depth the potential audience of the product or service to be launched (who they are, what their behavioral patterns and pain points are, what relationship they have with the brand, etc.). All this is done to establish the most appropriate business and marketing strategies for company growth.
• B2B (Business to Business) product manager: this is very similar to the previous one, except that the responsibilities of the B2B product manager are more focused on selling products or services directly to other companies rather than to users. In other words, to provide an effective response to other businesses.

The product manager’s duties

This professional profile is very diverse, as you might have guessed from what we’ve already said. A product manager’s responsibilities are very varied, since they’re an active part of almost the entire process of creating, developing and launching a product or service.

Even so, out of all of them, the ones that could be considered priorities, or among the most important, are:

• Evaluate business opportunities by proposing ideas for new products and services, or changes to existing ones.
• Identify the needs of the target consumers. To do so, the product manager relies on market studies, user surveys, tests, result/sales reports, etc. that have been carried out previously.
• Designing a product roadmap taking into account current market trends, the value proposition for customers, business strategy objectives and possible obstacles that may arise throughout the process.
• Monitor the product or service and compare it with what the competition offers to see the advantages, disadvantages and areas for improvement.
• Establish the plan for launching the product to the market: strategies, schedule, resources needed, etc.
• Coordinate all the teams or departments involved in all this.
• Define success metrics, i.e., review and analyse if the results are meeting business objectives. Otherwise, the product manager will have to rethink the strategy, make immediate decisions and make adjustments.

How to be a successful product manager?

At Universidad Europea we have a wide range of academic offers to gain the skills needed to launch your professional career as a product manager. In all of our programmes, you will have a first-class faculty at your disposal. Many of our teachers are leaders in their area of expertise and still working in the field, so you’ll learn the latest trends and developments.

We also know how important it is to gain some experience before starting your career. So, we’re committed to an academic model based on experiential learning. You will work with your classmates on real cases, finding solutions together and improving essential skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication. During your programme, you’ll carry out internships in sector-leading companies to expand your network of contacts, and see first-hand how to work in product manager roles.

If you want to boost your career, either as a product manager or in any other of today’s most promising professions, you can with Universidad Europa!