What is a Principal Product Manager?

Do you ever wonder how products sell in the marketplace? Or how come your favorite artist is on the television, advertising the item you could see on a shopping stall, but didn't think of buying until now? That's a product manager's job. Simply put, product managers handle the product's presence in the market to persuade a person, like you, to take those items home.

Needless to say, the product manager is a senior position. And for you to qualify, you should have extensive experience and skills under your belt to handle sales strategies and the team's performance. You'll be the team's "know-it-all" - meaning, you'll never run out of ideas and techniques to make the account successful. Basically, that's your objective - to help the business grow by achieving your client's highest satisfaction.

Being a product manager is actually not a smooth-sailing journey, because you will be accountable for whatever results your strategies might create. But the self-accomplishment it brings is priceless, especially when you know that you contribute so much to the company's goals. Everyone has their own starting point. It's just a matter of hard work and patience to get to the top of the game. And maybe, the business owner of the cereal you're eating every morning needs someone like you to lead that brand. We'll never know.

Product marketing managers are responsible for developing effective marketing strategies and plans to communicate the features and benefits of new products to customers. You are to handle market research on current trending products, establish timescales for upcoming products, influence pricing and packaging, guide sales teams, develop messaging, and market positioning around products, and participate in presentations and events. Frequently, you are referred to as the 'voice of the customer' within the company, precisely researching consumer needs and experiences. You will work mainly in private sector companies, but you can be employed by any company that promotes and sells products.

You need to have a bachelor's degree in business administration or marketing for this job. As a product marketing manager, your job requires you to work with multiple teams, and you need to have collaborative skills. You should also have excellent product management skills. Your average salary per annum is $92,174.

A Product Development Manager, also known as a PDM, is an expert, often in software engineering or UX design or both, tasked with designing, developing, and improving new products and services that can be sold to the public and other companies and organizations.

They must be able to do market and technological research, develop proposals, supervise the design and development projects and processes, cooperate and collaborate with specialists and employees working in other parts of the company, and often must present and explain the product to investors, higher management, and customers alike.

Generally, a person hoping to begin working as a Product Development Manager must have at least a Bachelor's in Industrial Design, Engineering, or a similar field of study, along with some experience in similar and related positions, and a good understanding and proficiency in prototype and design software and platforms, such as 3D printers and Autodesk.

Depending on the level of the positions, further education, experience, and specialties may be necessary.