It isn’t easy being in product management and marketing, according to the 1,800 respondents who took part in Pragmatic Institute’s 14th annual survey, conducted between November 22nd and December 18th, 2013.
No rest for the (not so) wicked. These dedicated individuals report that there are a number of things making it difficult to get some shut-eye—and that some of these problems make it difficult to focus on other problems. For example, 39 percent are having difficulty adding innovative features because customers are demanding support for old features. Meanwhile, 27 percent find they need to commit to adding features to a product to close a deal.
 Click Here for the 14th Annual Survey |
Taking responsibility. There just aren’t enough hours in a regular work day to get all of their go-to-market, technical and sales-readiness responsibilities taken care of. Respondents reported that they work an average of 49 hours a week, with 18 of those in meetings. And they’re only able to spend 29 percent of their time on strategic activities.
In some ways, we’ve got a ways to go. While there is a stronger, more consistent understanding of product management and marketing responsibilities, we found a gap between how important certain activities are considered and how well they are being performed. In particular, while the importance of gathering and understanding market problems was universally recognized, it was also among the lowest-rated activities in terms of performance. Because market facts should be the basis for every product and go-to-market decision, this has a direct and adverse effect on every artifact and activity downstream.
Location really is everything. The average salary remained at $100,000-$120,000 annually. Where respondents were based was a contributing factor to whether they fell above or below the average. In Switzerland, the average was $138,000, followed by the Australian average of $136,000 and $127,000 in the United States. India was at the other end of the spectrum with a $65,000 average, followed by Spain’s $80,000.
Download the 2014 State of Product Management and Marketing by clicking here.
