What does the brand manager NOT do?
What are the responsibilities of a brand manager?
Every year, companies spend more and more time looking for the right employee. Technology and education are changing. Major mistake - manager misunderstanding conflict based on your experience with small businesses, you can identify the mistake everyone makes when creating a job and looking for a brand manager. Each employer assigns them specific responsibilities and has their own idea of what they should do. An employee comes to the company with a vision of himself. To avoid such mistakes, it is worth identifying tasks that a brand manager should NOT solve.
1. A brand manager does not create products on his own, he is not a technologist or a designer. Generate terms of reference (terms of reference) for a technologist, designer or innovation department - RND (in some cases, the development department is responsible for creating new products). The brand manager manages, coordinates the development of new products, makes decisions and is responsible for the development, implementation and sale of new products and the current range, but in cooperation with the commercial department.
2. The brand manager is not a sales manager. He can participate in negotiations with federal networks and key partners, prepare presentations and sales, but his main task is to properly interact with sales, i.e. H. Specify MSL (Required Inventory List) - a mandatory inventory for business based on data. And analysis of the layout of the shelves, distribution channels, and also in line with the company's goals. He analyzes sales by brand and, when a new product is launched, indicates the channels in which the assortment should be available. For example, if it is juice from a low price segment, the distribution channels are discounters or category C and D stores. In addition, he must make presentations about new products to the sales department, educate the product, indicate the competitive advantages of the product and brand, etc.
3. The brand manager does not plan or conduct commercial marketing activities himself. But it determines their direction. Defines a series of actions for the sales department. The trade marketing function must be included in sales and implemented jointly by the salesperson and the sales team. 4. A brand manager is not an analyst, does not analyze data, does not engage in detailed analysis of the sales of a company for which the company has or should have a service or analytical department. The task of the brand manager is to formulate conclusions and visions based on the data received from the analyst.
5. A brand manager is not a product manager. A brand manager is a person who manages a brand. He knows his target audience well, understands the psychology of consumer behavior, needs, product pricing strategy and creates product advertising. He creates terms of reference for agencies to develop advertising campaigns on TV or on YouTube. ...
A product manager is an employee who cares about the product, perhaps develops or promotes it depending on the purpose of the company, but does not deal with the brand. This always creates confusion, and in order to avoid this, it is important to understand and consider this difference when looking for an employee. The main mistakes in setting goals for a brand manager. What are the challenges faced by a brand manager? one.
Strategy is the most common item for every employer. If the company does not have an active marketing director, it makes sense to invite a marketing consultant (strategist) who will assess the depth of research, relevance, and resources involved from the outside.
We need the brand manager to sell the entire range that we have, to promote the developed trademarks. It is not necessary to immediately form a promotion task, it is important that the products that the brand manager will promote together with the entire team meet the needs of the target audience. It is also worth paying attention to the need for the market for these products and there was competitiveness, otherwise you will spend a lot of time and money, but there will be no result. First, you need to audit the assortment portfolio, and only then, when everyone is sure that the products have the above criteria, you can set the task of promotion. 3. We definitely need a brand manager, since no one else in our company can change the situation with the sale of products and the release of new products. Yes, indeed, the brand manager is responsible for new products, their creation, promotion, implementation of the plan, but he is not the only one. This is the work of a whole team, primarily the CEO or owner, who also create products and participate in promotion. Therefore, the tasks of the brand manager should include the implementation of the project approach in the company, the formation of a project team, the creation of a project system and a system for creating and bringing new products to the market.