How to Use Product Marketing to Stand Out
When someone asks me what I do for a living, I hesitate to answer because Product Marketing is a misunderstood area of marketing. It oftentimes requires a long explanation for those who are unfamiliar with the term. When most people hear product marketing they automatically assume I don’t market services. They hear the word “marketing” and conclude that I’m being fancy and putting the word “product” in front of it to indicate that I don’t focus on service industries and assume I am a web designer, a blogger, manage social media or focus on digital marketing strictly for tangible products. This is an all too common misconception and one that makes me want to rename the area of Product Marketing…we’ll save that for another post.
Of course, digital marketing, social media, web design and PR are all necessary and complimentary areas of marketing, but before any business focuses on the deployment of marketing activities, knowing your audience and the value you offer is essential.
What happens when a business jumps directly to executables, such as email distribution, blogging, social media posts or developing content of any sort is that they miss out on truly understanding their target customers and fail to set the foundation for capturing their attention. This results in a lot of wasted time and money on ineffective marketing efforts.
Product Marketing is the voice (truth) of the customer and great product marketers will:
- Analyze and understand your market
- Identify and understand your customers’ personas, purchase process and challenges or pain points
- Ascertain the benefits your product or service offer to customers
- Help differentiate you from the competition
- Establish appropriate messaging and positioning based on your target market, the pain points, your solution to those pains and the benefits you deliver to your customers
- Deliver content that ensures a positive response from your ideal customers
- Arm your internal staff with material and training that aid in the sales process
- Build relationships with analysts, market, customer and other industry thought leaders
- Manage your go to market strategy and product/service launches
The impact a great product marketer will have on your business is endless. From influencing product direction to driving marketing strategy, product marketers deliver immense value to any organization.
Regardless of the type or size of your business, I will work with you to identify the value you deliver to your customers and how you improve their lives. Reach out and let’s chat about your current marketing activities and how product marketing can make your efforts more effective.