My name is Kristina Tabakova and I am the Products and Services Manager in a telecommunications operator. Together with my team of product managers and specialists, we take care of an extremely rich and diverse portfolio of mobile and fixed telecommunications products and services aimed at private and business customers. We are privileged to live in the boom of the technological revolution, which inevitably affects the way we develop and position ourselves, as well as the demand for services and products in our innovative business. The new generation of consumers now demands not only a good price, they value speed and convenience, as well as the ability to independently define and change the services they receive.
Such a Manager is responsible for defining what product or service the company should create and who the target customers are. He is responsible for the success of the product and his duties include in-depth analysis of the telecom industry, competitive proposition and market research, manage the performance of the product throughout its life cycle, define and describe detailed requirements for product functionalities, work together with IT their implementation department, to prepare a business case for determining the profitability of the product, to determine the pricing strategy, to present the competitive advantages of the product to the department responsible for marketing communications for the preparation of clear and attractive advertising, as well as to the sales department responsible for the distribution. All these activities are also related to the achievement of the company’s strategic and commercial goals.
In the telecom sector, a Products and Services Manager is the link between business and technology, and therefore must have a fairly broad specialization. On one hand, he must have knowledge and experience in marketing and sales, planning and forecasting, finance and business development. On the other hand, he must keep up with new technologies and be able to successfully manage projects, since the creation of a new product and its implementation on the market is a complex and long-term project. It is very important for a product manager to have a combination of business and technical skills, but in my opinion, presentation skills, clear and correct transmission of information, time management and teamwork are even more important.
If you are looking for a dynamic, interesting, challenging profession that constantly stimulates you to develop and learn new things and provides many opportunities for realization, then product management is for you.
