Product Manager's Handbook by Gorchels (2nd edition)

Product Manager's Handbook by Gorchels (2nd edition) is the second edition of The Product Manager's Handbook: The Complete Product Management Resource that has been authored by Linda Gorchels and published by NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group's NTC Business Book.

• Action program. The part of the marketing plan describing the actual steps by which the marketing strategy is implemented to reach the established objectives.
• Alpha test. A method of testing a new product prototype within the developing company to eliminate potential defects before commercial launch. For example, a manufacturer of accounting software might test a new product within its own accounting department.
• Benchmarking. Comparing a product, a product feature, or a process against best-in-class to improve the level of quality.
• Beta test. A method of testing a new product prototype under actual customer-use situations to eliminate potential defects before commercial launch.
• Brand equity. The goodwill or positive identity of a brand.
• Brand extension. A slight variation of a product, carrying the brand name of the core product.
• Brand manager. The product manager title frequently used in consumer packaged goods.
• Category killers. Large-scale companies that have changed the way business is done in their industries by operating more cost effectively: for example, Walmart in retailing, Home Depot in do-it-yourself home improvement, and W. W. Grainger in industrial distribution.
• Causal forecasts. Forecasts developed by studying the cause-and-effect relationships between variables: for example, housing starts might have a causal effect on the demand for private mortgage insurance.
• Competitive intelligence. The process of gathering, analyzing, and disseminating information on the competitive environment obtained through sales force input, on-line database searching, published sources, personal interviews, and so on.
• Concept screening. The evaluation of new-product ideas to determine whether they merit further analysis and development.
• Concept testing. The activity of taking new product ideas to customers for their input before further development.
• Continuity. Advertising on a continuous basis to the target market.
• Contribution margin. The amount of revenue left after incremental costs have been subtracted.
• Contribution to overhead (CTO). The line on an income statement that indicates the amount of revenue left to cover overhead and profit after all direct and controllable costs have been subtracted.
• Core competencies. The central skills and knowledge of a company that provide its strengths against competition.
• Customer visit program. A method of qualitative marketing research whereby product managers visit customers as part of a team with the sole purpose of collecting market information (such as ideas for new products).
• Delphi technique. A method of reconciling subjective forecasts by using a sequential series of estimates derived from a panel of experts. Often used in forecasting technological change.
• Distribution channel. The set of all the firms and individuals that take title, or assist in transferring title, to a particular product or service as it moves from the producer to the customer.
• Early indicator chart. A chart of "red flags" that might indicate that a new-product launch is not moving at the pace required in the launch materials.
• Fixed costs. Costs that don’t vary with production or sales level. Rent, heat, and executive salaries are examples of fixed costs.
• Flanker brands. Products created to reach a new market segment without altering the positioning of the main brand. For example, a new product or brand might be created for a low-priced segment of the market rather than reducing the price of the core product.
• FMCG. Fast-moving consumer goods.
• Focus group. A semistructured, free-flowing interview with a small group of customers, usually for the purpose of obtaining qualitative research.
• Frame of reference. The set of products a customer considers when making a purchase decision in a given product category.
• Frequency. The average number of times a customer sees an advertising message within a given time period.
• Gross margin. Sales revenue less cost of goods sold.
• Incremental costs. Costs that change with a decision to produce an additional quantity of product. These would include direct costs plus any semifixed costs (such as adding an additional shift) resulting from an increase in quantity produced.
• Launch. The introduction of new product to the market.
• Launch control plan. The identification of activities to be performed as part of new product commercialization, as well as the recognition of "red flags" to look for during the process.
• Market segmentation. The process of breaking a group of potential customers into smaller, more homogeneous subsets.
• Matrix organization. An organizational structure in which individuals have both direct line (i.e., functional) reporting relationships as well as responsibilities to work horizontally with other groups in the company.
• Milestone activities chart. A list of the desired dates of completion for various "milestone" activities of a new-product launch, such as purchasing equipment, finalizing package design, and obtaining legal clearance.
• New-product proposal. A summary of a business plan for a new product concept.
• Parity. Being perceived the same as all competitors, such as with commodity products.
• Perceptual map. A visual depiction of how customers position a product versus its competitors along identified factors.
• Positioning statement. A statement of how a product offering is to be perceived in the minds of customers relative to the competition.
• Price sensitivity. The degree to which a target market is motivated by price in making purchase decisions.
• Product fact book. A compilation of all information a company has on a product, its customers, and the product’s competitors.
• Product management team. A cross-functional group used by some companies to make product management decisions in lieu of or in conjunction with product managers.
• Prototype. A mock-up or preliminary version of a new product used for research purposes.
• Pulsing. Grouping marketing communications within a given period of time to provide more intensity or impact than could be obtained from spreading those same communications evenly throughout the year.
• Reach. The number or percent of the target market being exposed to an advertising message within a given time period.
• Regression. A statistical method of relating a causal variable, such as an economic indicator, to sales. Future sales are then forecast by inserting the estimated causal variable into the equation.
• Return on promotional investment (ROPI). A calculation of revenue generated directly from marketing communications, expressed as a percentage of the investment in those communications.
• Roll-out. The process of introducing a new product to the market by selectively prioritizing the markets and the order in which they receive the new product.
• Segment management. The process of organizing internal decisions and job roles by market segment rather than by product or function.
• Share. The portion of the overall sales in a market accounted for by a particular product, brand, or service. Also referred to as market share or share-of-market (SOM).
• Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). Numeric government codes assigned to companies to designate the industry they are in.
• Target market. A market or portion of a market that a firm attempts to serve by actively allocating resources to it. Sometimes referred to as "served market."
• Test marketing. Taking a new product to a limited number of cities, companies, or geographic regions to test the effectiveness of a marketing strategy before the product is launched.
• Unique selling proposition (USP). A term used to describe the primary competitive differentiation of a product or service to be addressed in marketing communications.
• Variable costs. Those costs that vary directly with the level of production. They tend to be constant per unit produced.