Public Programmes

Practical and Effective Product Management

Objectives

• To provide a practical and in-depth insight into the role of the product manager in today's pharmaceutical industry
• To provide an overview of the marketing process and the key elements that drive the marketing plan

Target Audience

• Product managers / brand managers / executives with up to approximately one year's marketing experience
  

Course Content

DAY 1:
Marketing and Business Fundamentals

• Definitions and aims of marketing
• The importance of focusing on the customer and the competition
• Bottom-line versus Top-line
• The role for the product manager and the marketing department

Market Definition and Segmentation

• How to define a pharmaceutical market
• How to segment a market

SWOT Analysis

• What is SWOT?
• How to find out your companies product strengths and weaknesses compare to the competition
• The importance of customer perception
• How do you use this methodology and why?
• SWOT and critical success factors
• Types of SWOT

DAY 2:
Project Planning

• How to get things done on time!
• How to use Gantt charts
• What is a critical path analysis?

Forecasting

• How to forecast a market
• How to forecast an established brand
• How to forecast a new therapy
• Building patient models

Product Positioning

• What is positioning? Why is it so critical?
• What is a positioning statement?
• Factors to be considered when positioning a product, both pre and post marketing
• The Ries and Trout approach to positioning
• Matching the creative approach to the positioning strategy
• Examples of positioning

DAY 3:
Targeting

• The rationale for targeting
• How to target - factors to consider
• When to target
• Measuring success or failure

The Product Life Cycle

• What is meant by product life cycle?
• Extending the life cycle: factors to consider
• Critical stages in the life cycle - how to identify where your product is
• Life cycle theory and planning

Product Portfolio Analysis

• How to conduct a portfolio analysis
• Different methodologies
• The implications in terms of company planning and product strategy

DAY 4:
The Promotional Mix

• What methods are available to promote pharmaceutical products?
• What can realistically be achieved by each of these methods?
• How to define the right mix and an appropriate campaign plan
• How to set key performance indicators

The Financial Aspects of Marketing

• The profit and loss statement
• Break-even analysis
• Budgeting and the importance of budgetary control

The Product Marketing Plan

• What are the key elements of a marketing plan?
• How to structure it

Course Review