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:

• Developing and positioning new products
• Individual product decisions
• Multiple product decisions and strategies
• The product life cycle
• Customer service