Companion Animal (CA) – Product Manager (UK605) Leatherhead, England
Job Purpose
The Product Manager role owns the marketing strategy for a defined group of animal health products. They are responsible for the development and implementation of the marketing information and activities that the field force deliver to the customer.
The marketing strategies they develop are designed to deliver appropriate impact, product positioning, market growth and profitability. The activities they undertake support the wider Zoetis marketing strategy and the company wide direction for each product or service.
The person in role is required to develop collaborative and productive partnerships with colleagues in the business unit. They work closely with these field force colleagues to deliver maximum impact with every product campaign. They work alongside other marketing colleagues to generate holistic campaigns that utilise all possible streams including digital tools and social media.
Core Responsibilities
Planning
- Lead the development of annual strategic marketing plans for focus and core products that contribute to the delivery of the operating plan using the Zoetis framework
- Alongside the cross functional teams, work with field force to ensure alignment of marketing programmes to the Business Unit marketing strategy, sales activities and account plans
- Use detail of promotional plans to develop, review and revise sales forecasting and inventory management, taking into account seasonal variations and market demand
- Complete the monthly forecasting process and conduct monthly forecast meetings with demand planning team
- Manage the Direct Marketing Expenditure (DME) budget using thorough market analysis and appropriate prioritisation. Make calculated judgments that ensure expenditure drives sales
- Analyse DME spending activities and their effectiveness. Take results of return on investment analysis forward to inform future spends
- Determine and agree with Business Unit and Commercial Operations leaders the appropriate pricing structure to maximise sales and profitability. Consider value based pricing, market conditions and Account Manager flexibility
- Maintain expertise with the evolving portfolio of products, services, pricing, competition, market and industry trends
- Conduct regular customer visits to gain customer insights. Use this knowledge to feed into marketing plans
Marketing Campaigns & Demand Creation
- Develop and deliver marketing campaigns that achieve appropriate impact, product positioning, market growth and profitability, with consideration for both the short and long term
- Focus on the customer journey to understand how best to reach the customer at each touchpoint
Provide ongoing support, guidance and training to sales teams to ensure all promotional materials, events and PR support marketing priorities and objectives for each product and campaign
- Create campaigns that allow marketing messages and product information to be easily translatable into the context of the Solution Selling model
- Work closely with Area Business managers, Veterinarians, technical teams and L&D to agree training priorities and development plans for field force teams
- Gather data and feedback from a range of sources – market data, customer visits, field force feedback, market research, publications, conferences and industry contacts. Analyse and interpret; using results of analysis to inform commercial decision making
Relationships
- Develop mutually beneficial and productive partnerships with product stakeholders with a common goal of maximising commerciality of products and services
- Engage with the internal global marketing community to enable sharing of best practice
- Support the Global Asset Team in their development of the key product strategies that plan a product’s journey through its lifecycle
- Create networks of resources within the team around each product and marketing campaign. Utilise all resources available including Account Managers, value add service providers, technical teams, Veterinarians and Business Consultants.
- Draw on the broad knowledge of your colleagues and network to find business growth opportunities
- Seek customer centric input from sales team into marketing plans and programmes
- Contribute to the success of the business unit by sharing best practice with colleagues, proactively contributing ideas, and supporting others to do the same across the business
Compliance
- Maintain high standards of business conduct and compliance, adhering particularly to Pharmacovigilance Policy, Global vet Policy, Zoetis values, travel & expenses policy and local codes of practise
- Ensure the recording of accurate business records and communicate effectively, sharing information with other stakeholders
- Manage allocated Direct Marketing Expenditure (DME) budget with tight control to avoid overspends
Key Skills
- A strong working knowledge of all key marketing disciplines and of marketing techniques
- Commercially minded with strong financial acumen
- Analytical thinker, able to interpret data and information from multiple sources
- Strong communication skills; written, verbal and presentation skills
- Strategic and innovative thinker
- Exceptional relationship management, interpersonal skills and influencing abilities
- Effective stakeholder management
Training & Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree qualification required
- Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma
- Current passport and valid driving licence
- IT literate. Able to use standard business software and communication tools
Experience
- Significant experience in a marketing role in house
- Experience working with digital technology
- A scientific background; experience of or interest in science
- Experience in field sales as an Account Manager , Key Account Manager or similar role is essential
Travel Requirement
- Travel within the UK and overseas as needed