What you’ll learn to do: explain product portfolio management and how it relates to the organization’s marketing strategy and tactics

Our last example showed the importance of marketing a diverse set of products and using new products to gain strategic advantage. Defining and managing this collection of products is called product portfolio management.

Think of an artist’s portfolio. The artist will use her portfolio to display a range of work. She will try to select works that showcase her strengths in different areas so that someone reviewing her portfolio can see the range of different things she can do well.

Similarly, a product portfolio requires diversity in order to be effective. In this module we will talk about what the product portfolio is and how a marketer can use the power of a product portfolio to achieve marketing objectives.

The specific things you’ll learn in this section include:

• Define the product portfolio and explain its use in marketing
• Identify marketing strategies and tactics used to achieve portfolio objectives
• Explain why new products are crucial to an organization’s success

Learning Activities

The learning activities for this section include the following:

• Reading: The Product Portfolio
• Reading: Achieving Portfolio Objectives
• Reading: New Products in the Portfolio
• Self Check: Product Portfolio Management