What is Product Marketing?
Product marketing is the process of bringing a specific product to market. The ultimate goal of product marketers is to make the product successful.
Product marketing starts with a go-to-market strategy. The marketer understands a need that exists in the market, has a product that meets that need, and now develops a positioning and value proposition that will resonate with the target market.
A product marketer doesn’t necessarily have to do outward-facing marketing—they don’t have to create promotional content or even talk to consumers. Instead, their efforts focus on internal strategy management.
The role of the product marketer
Marketing Strategy: The product marketer works closely with the marketing team to develop and execute a strategy that aligns with the product’s positioning and growth plan.
Marketing Campaigns: A product marketer helps develop and execute marketing campaigns that promote the product and its features and benefits to target audiences.
Sales Support: A product marketer works with the sales team to provide them with resources and information to sell the product to the best prospects.
Product Management: The product marketer works closely with the product management team to ensure that the product meets the needs of the target audience and obtains feedback to improve the product.
Responsible for product marketing
Product marketing is sometimes combined with product management. The two work closely together, but while product management is responsible for product development, product marketing is responsible for overseeing the marketing strategy surrounding that product.
Market research
Product marketers often work closely with product teams to evaluate product ideas. At this stage, the product may not yet be formally developed. Instead, the emphasis is on conducting research (or market analysis) to better understand the environment and ensure that the new product is worth the company’s time and investment.
Development
Research can take place before the official start of product development or concurrently with product development. In both cases, product marketers tend to work closely with the product team during development to identify the key reasons why the customer would be interested in the product.
Sending messages
Product marketers are responsible for creating the larger story surrounding a product as it prepares to launch. Based on the research they do at the outset, product marketers determine what message will best engage their target audience and which marketing channels they should use to distribute that message.
Commencement
Before launching a product, product marketers must have a solid launch strategy. This includes creating buyer personas, finalizing your pricing strategy, and choosing the best promotional channels to achieve a high return on investment (ROI).
Product Marketing Skills
Product marketers are usually at the intersection of marketing, product, and sales. Because of their collaborative work with these other teams, they must be effective communicators who are able to deliver key insights in an actionable way. In addition, they are also curious about the market and need to understand everything from customers to competitors.
– Data analysis
– Research
– Creative thinking
– Problem solving
– Cooperation
– Strategic planning
– Communication
