The product offering is the common factor that links an organisation to its customers. As the product is the focal point around which other elements of the marketing mix are planned, decisions about the product form the very centre of Marketing strategy and management and therefore, in a sense, form the heart of the organisation. Product management is an interactive handbook which describes and illustrates product decisions within the South African context.
Product management follows an outcomes-based approach and includes basic theoretical concepts, review questions and case studies which can be used for class discussions, self-study or assignments. Topical examples from the South African market clarify and reinforce the theoretical points considered.
Contents include the following:
Product management will be an invaluable reference for undergraduate students of Marketing and product management at all higher education institutions in South Africa, as well as private training organisations or in-house training units.
Prof. Chris Jooste, the editor, is chairperson and the head of the Department of Marketing Management at the University of Johannesburg. He specialises in Strategic Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, and is a member of the South African Institute of Management Scientists (SAIMS) and the Academy of Marketing Science.
Chapter 1: Introduction to product decisions
Chapter 2: Developing and positioning new products Internet exercise
Chapter 3: Individual product decisions
Chapter 4: Multiple product decisions and strategies
Chapter 5: The product life cycle
Chapter 6: Customer service
