The Do's and Don'ts of Product Marketing

Introduction

Product marketing is a critical function at the intersection of product, sales, and marketing. Product marketing aims to bring products to market, driving their adoption and sales. To be successful, product marketers need to deeply understand the target customer, develop compelling positioning and messaging, enable the sales team, and execute go-to-market launches. However, product marketing is complex, with many pitfalls to avoid. Making the wrong moves can lead to failed product launches, wasted marketing spending, and poor sales.

This post will explore some key do's and don'ts of effective product marketing. Following these best practices can help set your products up for success in the market.

Do Develop a Deep Understanding of Your Target Customer: Product marketing starts with the customer. Before you can market and sell a product, you need to understand who you are selling to intimately. Some key things to research about your target customer:

• Demographics - Age, gender, income level, job title, industry, geography

• Psychographics - interests, opinions, attitudes, values

• Behaviors - What products do they currently use? How do they research and buy products?

• Needs and pain points - What problems are they trying to solve? What needs are unmet?

• Goals - What are they ultimately trying to achieve?

Gather both quantitative and qualitative insights about your target customer. Look at market research reports, analyze customer data, interview customers directly, and shadow sales calls. Develop detailed buyer personas that vividly depict your different customer segments.

Don't Neglect to Validate Product-Market Fit: One of the biggest mistakes product marketers make is trying to bring a product to market that doesn't adequately meet customer needs. Before marketing a new product, you must validate the product-market fit. Ways to test for product-market fit include:

• Interviewing potential customers to understand their needs and gauge their reaction to your product concept

• Running a beta or pilot program and gathering feedback from early adopters

• Analyzing usage data and engagement metrics for signs of traction and adoption

• Examining sales data to see if there is growing demand and low churn

If a product doesn't have a good product-market fit, no amount of marketing will make it successful. It's critical to involve product marketing early in the product development process to represent the customer's voice. Product marketers can provide input on customer needs and help shape the product roadmap. Rushing to launch a product without validating the market need is a recipe for failure.

Do: Craft Clear Positioning and Messaging: One of the core responsibilities of product marketing is positioning and messaging. You must clearly define how your product is uniquely positioned in the market and develop the key messages and value propositions you will use to pitch the product. When developing your positioning, consider the following:

• What specific customer needs does the product address?

• What are the key benefits and value propositions?

• How is it differentiated from competitive offerings?

• What is the single most compelling reason to buy?

Distill your positioning into a clear, concise positioning statement that captures the essence of your product's value. Use this as the foundation for your messaging. Your messaging then builds on your positioning. Develop a hierarchy of messages, from high-level value propositions down to more detailed proof points. Ensure your messaging speaks directly to the needs and benefits your target customers care about most. Make your messaging as customer-centric as possible, addressing the benefits they will derive and not the product's features. And back up your claims with proof points, statistics, and customer evidence.

Don't Overlook Sales Enablement: For a product launch to be successful, your sales team needs to be armed and ready to sell the new offering. However, a surprising number of product marketers underprioritize sales enablement. To get your sales team ready to pitch your product effectively, you must provide them with the training, content, and tools they need. This includes:

• Product training that helps them understand the key features, benefits, and differentiators

• Objection handling guides that provide talk tracks for common customer objections

• Battle cards with information on how to beat specific competitors

• Product demos and pitch decks they can use in sales presentations

• Customer case studies and testimonials that help prove the value

The sales team is on the front lines with customers every day, so their feedback is invaluable for informing your marketing efforts. Regularly sync up with sales to understand what's working, customers' questions, and where they need more support. Incorporate their input into your positioning and content. Close the loop by reporting to them on how marketing campaigns impact pipeline and revenue.

Do Execute a Coordinated Go-To-Market Launch: Bringing a new product to market requires a coordinated effort across multiple teams and channels. Product marketing must quarterback the go-to-market launch and ensure all the moving pieces come together. Map out a comprehensive launch plan that includes:

• Goals and success metrics. Define what you are trying to achieve with the launch and the key performance indicators you will track.

• Messaging and content. Develop the core content assets you will need for the launch, such as website copy, product videos, sales collateral, blog posts, etc.

• Marketing programs. Plan your specific marketing tactics and programs to generate awareness and demand. This could include paid advertising, PR, events, email campaigns, content syndication, etc.

• Sales enablement. Train the sales team and arm them with the tools and resources they need to start selling the new product.

• Customer communication. Determine how and when you will communicate the new product to existing customers.

• Internal communication. Don't forget about your employees! Build excitement and align the company around the launch.

The go-to-market launch should be a cross-functional effort. Collaborate closely with the product team, sales, customer success, and corporate marketing. Ensure everyone is aligned on the launch goals, plan, and messaging. Once the launch is underway, monitor your metrics closely to track performance. Be prepared to optimize your marketing tactics continuously based on the data. The launch is just the beginning—ongoing marketing is required to drive continued adoption and growth.

Don't Set It and Forget It: Launching a product is a major milestone, but product marketing work is never done. Markets, customers, and products all continuously evolve. You can't just move on to the next thing. Set up listening posts to gather ongoing feedback and track your products' performance in the market. Continue to collect input from customers, prospects, and sales. Monitor product usage data. Track competitor moves. Based on what you learn, update and optimize your marketing strategies and tactics:

• Refresh your positioning and messaging as needed to adapt to changing market dynamics.

• Fill gaps in your content and tools based on feedback from sales and customers.

• Dial-up marketing programs that are working and experiment with new approaches.

• Arm the sales team with new talk tracks and resources they need to keep winning.

Product marketing should be the voice of the market internally. It should represent the customer in product roadmap decisions and company strategy discussions. It should also evangelize product feedback and insights cross-functionally. The best product marketers never stop listening, iterating, and optimizing. Adopt an agile, continuous improvement approach to keep leveling up your marketing.

Conclusion

As you can see, product marketing is a complex discipline with many moving pieces. Doing it well requires close alignment with many stakeholders, deep customer knowledge, and a combination of strategic and tactical skills. Following the dos and don'ts in this post can avoid common pitfalls and set your product marketing up for success.

Do:

• Develop a deep understanding of your target customer

• Craft clear positioning and messaging

• Execute a coordinated go-to-market launch

• Continuously gather feedback and optimize your marketing

Don't:

• Neglect to validate product-market fit

• Overlook sales enablement

• Set it and forget it

Product marketing can be a challenging role, but it's also enriching. You get to be at the center of the action, shaping products that deliver value to customers and driving business growth. Hopefully, this post has given you a solid foundation for some product marketing best practices.