What does a product specialist/manager do?
Product specialist/manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real product specialist/manager resumes:
- Lead cross-functional team in pioneering the application/game download ecosystem with the implementation of Java games and generating significant new revenue stream.
- Analyze revenue to determine ROI of, and help improve, promotional campaigns of mobile products.
- Develop product localization requirements documents, project assessments and ROI analyses.
- Utilize SQL to support data-driven analysis and decision processes to inform project prioritization, assess feature effectiveness, and troubleshoot issues.
- Complete RFP's for major counties/municipalities/cities.
Product specialist/manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Product Specialist/Managers are proficient in Technical Support, Product Knowledge, and Product Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Interpersonal skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Product Specialist/Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Technical Support, 12%
Provide excellent customer service and software technical support.
- Product Knowledge, 11%
Train all associates product knowledge, delivering superior service, resolving customer needs, closing the sale and follow-up.
- Product Management, 9%
Worked in Product Management Group, program managing the development of a category of Quark software products.
- Customer Satisfaction, 8%
Solved problems related to customer satisfaction, incorrect/defective products, and late/missed deliveries by suppliers.
- Product Portfolio, 7%
Procured all material purchasing assigned product portfolio for 11 distribution centers.
- Ongoing Support, 7%
Install systems, run cabling, train end-users, perform ongoing support and upgrades.
Most product specialist/managers use their skills in "technical support," "product knowledge," and "product management" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential product specialist/manager responsibilities here:
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for a product specialist/manager to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." Additionally, a product specialist/manager resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "managed a 20,000sqft facility including management of employees, customer relations, advertising/marketing, inventory, truck routes and store profitability. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform product specialist/manager duties is interpersonal skills. Product specialist/managers responsibilities require that "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." Product specialist/managers also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "utilized interpersonal skills to build strong relationships with other functional areas to assist in timely product development and launch. "
Organizational skills. This is an important skill for product specialist/managers to perform their duties. For an example of how product specialist/manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a product specialist/manager: "ensured product strategy and tactics aligned with organizational strategy, and complied with regulations. ".
Analytical skills. For certain product specialist/manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "analytical skills." The day-to-day duties of a product specialist/manager rely on this skill, as "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what product specialist/managers do: "assist with proactive analysis of problems with the focus of constantly improving customer support and eliminating the recurrence of persistent problems. "
Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a product specialist/manager to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what product specialist/managers relies on this skill, since "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process." How this skill relates to product specialist/manager duties can be seen in an example from a product specialist/manager resume snippet: "provide customer service for products sold and maintain effective communication between all departments procuring product purchasing. "
The three companies that hire the most product specialist/managers are:
- Cisco4 product specialist/managers jobs
- Thermo Fisher Scientific3 product specialist/managers jobs
- Stryker2 product specialist/managers jobs
Compare different product specialist/managers
Product specialist/manager vs. Manager/partner
A manager/partner or managing partner is an individual who manages the daily activities of a company as well as guides its overall strategic business direction. Managing partners must cooperate with other executives, board members, and employees to implement organizational goals, procedures, and policies. They are responsible for the hiring and managing of employees and should follow the executive committee guidelines and federal and state laws and regulations. Managing partners must also maintain positive client relationships and lead the drive for new business acquisitions.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between product specialist/managers and manager/partner. For instance, product specialist/manager responsibilities require skills such as "technical support," "product knowledge," "product management," and "product portfolio." Whereas a manager/partner is skilled in "project management," "client facing," "partner relationships," and "strategic partnerships." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that managers/partner earn slightly differ from product specialist/managers. In particular, managers/partner are 3.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a product specialist/manager. Additionally, they're 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Product specialist/manager vs. Distribution sales manager
A distribution sales manager is tasked to find whole and retail sellers to distribute goods and services. Alongside distribution, the manager's tasks include monitoring all sales, orders, product performance, and retailer feedback to further improve the product. The distribution manager must also have skills in email marketing, B2B correspondence, engage with potential clients and customers, and ensuring all orders are fulfilled on time and without delays.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, product specialist/manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "technical support," "product management," "customer satisfaction," and "product portfolio." Meanwhile, a distribution sales manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer complaints," "sales people," "retail store," and "route sales." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Distribution sales managers earn similar levels of education than product specialist/managers in general. They're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Product specialist/manager vs. Vice president, product management
A vice president of product management is responsible for handling the overall operational decisions of product deliverables, creating strategic procedures for product marketing strategy, and ensuring that the outputs provide the highest customer satisfaction. The vice president of product management monitors the department's budget, allocating adequate resources to every team to support operational promotions and research on current market trends. They also adjust product management approaches to meet the company's goals and objectives and identify opportunities to increase revenues and profitability.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, product specialist/managers are more likely to have skills like "technical support," "product knowledge," "ongoing support," and "lead generation." But a vice president, product management is more likely to have skills like "analytics," "product strategy," "cloud," and "product roadmap."
When it comes to education, vice presidents, product management tend to earn higher degree levels compared to product specialist/managers. In fact, they're 16.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Product specialist/manager vs. Market manager
A marketing manager is an executive who manages a brand or product's promotion positioning. Marketing managers analyze the trends in the industry and the demand for certain products and services. Typically, they attract more customers to purchase products and/or services and raise brand awareness through marketing campaigns. They research, identify, examine, and evaluate product demand. Also, they review advertising materials like print ads to boost the marketing strategy of the company and strengthen its campaign.
Types of product specialist/manager
Updated January 8, 2025
