How to Build a Strong Brand as a Product Manager

The core of a strong brand is a great product or service, but that product or service must be supported by creative and effective marketing. As a product manager, you stand right at the intersection of product planning and marketing. Product managers have the unique position of being able to affect a product throughout its entire life cycle. With proper planning and constant attention, a product manager can build a strong brand for any product.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Create a brand charter that explicitly describes the meaning of your brand and quantifies the importance of your brand equity. Good brands invoke consumer confidence in products and services and boost a company's position in relation to its competitors. Brand equity automatically adds value to products and services.

2. Gather and analyze customer feedback. Strong brands pay attention to what customers want and deliver the features they most desire. Meeting the needs of customers contributes to brand equity.

3. Monitor industry trends and market conditions. A strong brand always stays current and relevant. Failure to move with industry or technology shifts can take away from brand equity.

4. Track competitor developments. Good product managers should be constantly aware of how the competitive landscape is changing so that their products can be differentiated from competitor products and added value can be maintained.

5. Build on brand equity by constantly improving products and services. Products and services quickly become outdated. Research and development is a constant process that should be monitored by product managers.

6. Ensure consistency of the branding message throughout all forms of marketing. Projecting a consistent brand image through all marketing endeavors is essential to creating a solid brand.

7. Delegate responsibility. Product managers have as much on their plates as any other position within a company, if not more. It's important to pass some of the brand management duties off to others to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Tips & Warnings

• Strong brands share several attributes, including being memorable, likable, meaningful and transferable. Good brands can be used with all future products that are developed.
• Proper branding requires the attention and commitment of every segment of a business. It's important to communicate branding messages company-wide.
• A product manager should acquire customer feedback for both products and the brand. Knowing how customers feel about a brand can help you improve your brand image.
• A brand manager cannot build a strong brand without first having quality brand elements, such as logos, slogans, spokespeople and other advertising vehicles.