FFMA product manager is not an unambiguous figure in the structure of any company.

He is the bearer of “secret and secret” knowledge about the product, and only he can realize what he came up with and what his leadership calls for.

Salespeople from the sales department need to fall in love with the product, give them all the possible tools to promote the product and adjust all business processes in the company in such a way that it is for the good of the product. 

On the other hand, it is necessary to collect information from the outside for timely correction of the strategy and tactics of product promotion.

And also use all available communication channels with the product buyer, while observing the balanced use of the promotional budget.

These unique people, combining a lot of knowledge, skills, as well as having certain psychological characteristics for some employees of the company remain a mystery, and an example of what kind of work you should not agree to, and for others - an example of what you can become and career benchmark.

As a marketing person, I’ll say that “There are no former product managers”you cannot confuse a real marketer regardless of the position he currently occupies: head of the representative office, marketing director, business unit manager, head of the marketing department ...

Now companies often order our agency product search manager.

We see a huge number of candidates for the position of product manager. Among them there are experienced employees with long work experience, there are product start-up managers, and there are many young, ambitious employees who like the “romance” of marketing and career growth.

Such candidates saw only the external side of the product manager’s work with the “field”, being in the position of a medical representative, KAM or a regional manager. 

Realizing that the pharmaceutical market, and not only, has resumed its growth, and we will look for as experienced candidates, and without work experience, below we present standard questions that can be asked to a candidate, a candidate product manager.

The list of questions for candidates for the vacancy “Product Manager”


Section “General marketing knowledge".

  1. How do you understand the term "product positioning"?
  2. How do you understand the term market segmentation?
  3. What is the marketing mix.
  4. What is 4P product. What are they needed for? 
  5. What is a brand? What is the difference between the original drug, the generic and the brand?
  6. What principles of pricing you know.
  7. If you are marketing a product to a segment that already has a leader, what price options can you offer.
  8. What product promotion strategies do you know? What is a push and pull strategy?

Section "Analytics".

  1. What is a SWOT analysis? (Strangers, Weakness, Opportunity, Threatening - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) What is it for, how is it done? Give examples from your own experience.
  2. What is PEST / PESTLE analysis? (Political, Economic, Social, Technology) What it is for. Give examples from your practice.
  3. What other types of analysis you used.
  4. What is the matrix of the Boston consulting group? What is it for and what kind of matrices are there in general?
  5. What analytical systems exist on the Ukrainian market, with which have you worked?
  6. How do methods for calculating market capacity exist?
  7. What is Patients flow?

Section “Promotion".

  1. What is a product logo?
  2. What is a key message, what is it for?
  3. Did you work with a brand portfolio? What is a brand line? Umbrella brand? Flagship model (product).

Section “Modern marketing tools".

  1. How do you understand the concept of digital marketing? What channels are used.
  2. What goals can be achieved with Digital Marketing?
  3. How to transfer customers using Digital Marketing from online to offline (bring from the network to the point of sale of the product)?
  4. Site function in marketing? What are the sites.
  5. Types of advertising on the Internet: Banner, contextual, which is still ...
  6. What applications for setting up advertising companies exist? For example, Google AdWords ...
  7. What analytical applications exist? For example, Google Analytics ...
  8. What is a landing page? Her role in sales.
  9. The function of social networks, groups, pages. The difference is Facebook, VKontakte, Classmates, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, Viber, Whats App ...
  10. The role of search engines and their promotional offers in the sale of goods and services.
  11. What is CRM? Customer Relationship Management - Customer Relationship Management System.
  12. What is CLM (Clouse Loop Marketing) - closed loop marketing?

Section “Marketing Plan".

  1. What is a marketing plan, what parts does it consist of? (Everyone has different, but necessary price analysis, competitor analysis, brand positioning and market segmentation, analysis of market segments, action plan for working with CA, promotional budget plan, external service cost plan, sales plan, growth, profit / cost analysis (P&L), for launchers - ROI (Return on investments).
  2. What is a promotional budget? What articles does it form from?
  3. What percentage of the promotion budget can usually be allocated?
  4. What marketing mechanisms did you use to switch a consumer to your product from a competitor's product?
  5. What is a launch plan?

Section "Working with external service and steak holders."

  1. How to calculate the required number of medical representatives?

What is a distribution curve?

  1. What is an external sales force service? What is the task of the product manager when working with him? What should the product do (you did) for the sales force?
  2. What is Campaign Beech? Vizhualad?
  3. What is the cyclic manual written for?
  4. Did you speak at cyclic meetings? What exactly did Sales force tell?
  5. What activities can / must carry out and control the product manager?
  6. Who is the opinion leader? What tasks do they perform? Did you work with opinion leaders?
  7. Which opinion leaders do you know and work on in your product portfolio?

Section "Production Planning"

  1. Did you plan the production of products? What is a series or party? How to calculate the product series?
  2. What is forecasting? What is it for?

Section "Personal Experience"

Tell good examples from your experience: product creation, launch, launch.

You ask: “Where can I find answers to these and other questions that may arise during a job interview for a product manager?”

My answer is simple: “Having questions is easier to find answers and prepare, because you know what you may be asked.”




Leave a Reply


Time limit is exhausted. Please reload captcha.