The IT Solutions and Telecoms sector has become increasingly competitive and customers now demand more of suppliers. To be successful, product managers now need to understand how to develop and market solutions that add real value for business customers. The demands on product managers to be innovative and to manage, not just product innovation but market-place innovation, are increasing. To be an effective product manager now requires a deep understanding of customer-value and commercial reality. It is no longer sufficient to offer new solutions to customers on the basis that they do a good job. The real value of solutions is in the commercial proposition that they enhance a customer’s business. This puts an increasing burden on product managers to think and act strategically, and to help customers and other channel partners to succeed.

The nature of solutions in the industry
• The factors that determine effective and ineffective solutions
• How internal focus is affecting IT and Telecoms businesses
• The role of the product manager in IT and Telecoms
• Thinking strategically and acting tactically

Understanding the market
• Identifying factors that shape the market
• Defining key success factors
• Competitive intelligence
• Customer targeting and segmentation
• Identifying decision makers and the processes they use to select solutions
• Perceived risk and how it affects the customer’s decisions
• Discovering the customer’s real requirements
• Thinking like the customer

Managing solution portfolios
• How to activate the thought process that leads to profitable innovation
• How to manage the process of innovation
• Understanding what differentiates your solution
• Developing solutions through the stage gate process
• Building a business case for new solutions
• Understanding the trade off between different solutions~
• Managing a portfolio of different solutions strategically
• Managing solutions through the lifecycle
• Recognising attractive and unattractive markets for your solutions

Establishing a price for your solution
• Factors that affect your pricing options
• Strategic pricing decisions
• Cost plus, break-even and contribution pricing

Communicating solutions
• How the communications process works
• Barriers to communications
• Developing the right messages with the right words~
• Developing a value proposition
• Selling value to the customer
• Defining the positioning statement and preserving brand values
• Constructing a communications mix
• Winning support from colleagues and customers
• Building relationships with customers

Creating a marketing plan for your solution
• A marketing planning process
• Fitting your competences and strategy to key success factors in the market
• Establishing clear marketing objectives for your solution
• Constructing the strategy for your solution
• Developing the tactical elements of your plan
• Defining responsibilities, resources and timescales
• Controlling and measuring the outcomes
• Defining and assessing the financial investment

• Be more innovative in the search for solutions that generate commercial value
• Develop innovative solutions that have a greater chance of success
• Find out what your customers really want
• Segment your market - and target customers more accurately
• Research your market and competitors, to generate insight that leads to profit
• Differentiate your solution from competitors
• Position your solution
• Tailor your communications to suit different decision makers
• Show customers the real value of what you are offering
• Manage a portfolio of solutions strategically
• Win support from people inside and outside your organisation
• Evaluate the attractiveness of different markets
• Create a sound business case for new innovative solutions
• Manage solutions through the life cycle
• Create the right marketing mix for your solutions
• Develop and implement product marketing plans
• Measure the success of your product marketing plans

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