The main role of the Brand Manager (also called Merchandising Manager or Collection Merchandiser) is to make sure that the company’s efforts are focused on developing and marketing a product that the customer needs, while at the same time maximizing the profit of the products under his or her responsibility.
Business success depends on customers. And because the Brand Manager is responsible for evaluating business opportunities and deciding what is produced and delivered to the customer, he or she is also the person who must be held accountable for the success of a given product. Usually when a product succeeds it is because the entire team (Brand Manager, Designer, Developer, Sales Manager) did a good job. But when a product fails, the Brand Manager is to blame. That is why the role of the Brand Manager is very delicate and is also the perfect ground for future CEOs.
The Brand Manager’s main contribution to your organization is a deep understanding of:
- the customer – how he behaves, how he thinks, how he decides to purchase;
- the data – constantly analyzing them and, above all, understanding the reasons behind them;
- the market – therefore the competition, the main trends and the Critical Success Factors (CSF);
- the business, i.e. the constraints of your organization (financial, production, distribution).
Finally, you need to ensure that this role is well integrated within the organization and that it is equipped with the appropriate tools and decision-making power necessary to be able to lead the product team towards the development of successful products.
