Study: The customer as a key factor in product management
Successful product management focuses on the customer and is becoming increasingly international. This is shown by a study by the ZHAW School of Management and Law.
The 383 marketing decision-makers surveyed believe that the key factors for successful product management are an understanding of customer needs and behavior (80.7 percent), the ability to innovate (47.8 percent), cross-departmental collaboration within the company and strategic anchoring (43.1 percent each). The customer is also considered the most important source of inspiration for product innovations: "Customer service/sales" is seen as the most important source of information for internal company drivers, while "personal customer contact" is seen as the most important source of information for external company drivers.
Customer focus and sustainability as key trends
The analysis of trends in this field of work also shows a strong focus on the customer: In first place is the trend "focus on customer needs", followed by "sustainability and environmental compatibility" as well as "innovation" and "shorter product life cycles/shorter time to market". Due to the great importance of the "sustainability and environmental compatibility" trend, it is in the interest of product management to see it in a larger, strategic context, as it contributes to the economical use of resources and thus to reducing costs.
Increasing internationalization
A good two thirds of respondents operate internationally (70.1%). They see the advantage of serving different national markets primarily in improving their competitive position (77.4 percent) and achieving economies of scale (49.0 percent). Product adaptations to cultural differences are only made with restraint, mainly in terms of services and pricing. Managing the balancing act between global economies of scale and local adaptations is a strategic challenge that future product management will have to meet.
About the study
The "International Product Management" study will be conducted both in Switzerland (Part 1) and abroad (Part 2, planned for 2012). The study provides in-depth insights into the success factors, challenges and trends in international product management. A total of 383 randomly selected decision-makers from the marketing departments of medium-sized and large Swiss companies were surveyed.
The study can here be ordered.
