What Is Product Marketing?

The main objective of any business or brand is to drive more revenue and sales. It takes this for brands and companies to survive in a highly competitive environment. A lot of things play a part in this regard. Among them, product marketing is undeniable. This article aims to throw light on what is product marketing, its types, strategy, importance, real-life examples, and much more. Sounds great? Let’s dive in to uncover the facts!

What is the definition of Product Marketing?

Product marketing refers to directly communicating product core values to consumers or customers. The communications essentials include:

• Issues that customers are facing
• How a service or product can eliminate these issues
• What differentiates the product from the rest

In other words, Product marketing also refers to the product position alignment as per customer requirements.

What are the Key Types of Product Marketing?

Product marketing is of multiple types. Each type has its features and benefits. Get familiar with the key ones in the following section:

1. Online Product Marketing

As the name reflects, this marketing type occurs on the Internet. You cannot question the effectiveness of this marketing. The main reason is it drives the attention of a broad and diverse audience at a fraction of the cost. The difficulty associated with this marketing is a little more for specific businesses. In recent years, social media advertising has become a pivotal element, with platforms like TikTok and Instagram leading the way in influencer collaboration and targeted ads.

2. Traditional Product Marketing

One of the most common product marketing types is traditional marketing. This type makes use of conventional channels for product promotion. The key tracks include print ads, brochures, radio, TV, billboards, and newspapers. The cost associated with traditional marketing is very high, but at the same time, it can be very effective. However, many businesses are finding it increasingly challenging to measure ROI from traditional channels due to the digital shift.

3. Referral Product Marketing

Referral product marketing refers to the type in which customers directly market the products to family, friends, or neighbors. Referral product marketing is highly effective because it involves a higher trust level. A limitation of referral product marketing is that you cannot track its performance. Nevertheless, many companies are now utilizing technology and software tools to facilitate this channel, allowing them to incentivize and track referrals better.

4. Guerrilla Product Marketing

This marketing method is non-conventional, but the effectiveness associated with this method is remarkable. The only limitation is that you don’t have full control over this type of marketing. Key examples include publicity stunts, reverse graffiti, flash mobs, treasure hunts, etc. In recent years, guerrilla marketing has increasingly leveraged social media, allowing brands to amplify their stunts and engage with a broader audience.

5. Inside Stores Product Marketing

This marketing type utilizes retail stores. The effectiveness of this type of advertising is also notable. This allows customers to see and touch the product before purchasing. Inside-store product marketing is costly but can significantly enhance customer experience when well-executed. The rise of online shopping has also prompted stores to rethink their in-store experience to encourage foot traffic.

What Do You Mean By Product Marketing Strategy?

Product marketing strategy involves a series of steps. Keep reading to know what it takes for a highly effective product launch:

1. Know Your Audience/Customer

The step before defining the product is determining your audience/customer. A buyer persona will help you do so effectively. This will enable you to create product messaging that aligns with customer interests. The use of analytics and CRM tools has become increasingly vital for understanding customer behavior as businesses seek to personalize their marketing efforts.

2. Messaging and Positioning

Once you have defined your audience, it comes to drafting the message. The message must present your product as a complete solution to the customer's issues. You must focus on the key differentiation contributing to the product value to do so. Find answers to these questions to draft a better message:

• Who will be the end user of the product?
• Define the role and function of the product.
• Why should customers use your product?
• What makes your product different from your competitors?
• What contributes to the need for your product?

Knowing the answers to these questions can help you in crafting incredible messaging, particularly in an era where personalized marketing is key.

3. Sharing

Sharing of the messaging matters a lot. Doing so will contribute to higher accuracy and consistency. You can also bring the other company members on the same page by sharing. They can provide feedback that can raise the message effectiveness. Consistent messaging across all channels, especially in the age of digital marketing, aligns the brand identity and enhances customer trust.

4. Prepare The Launch Plan

Preparing the launch plan is the only way to ensure a successful launch. Different teams are involved in a single launch within an organization. These teams include sales, customer support, and marketing. To contribute to a successful launch, you need to keep in mind the following:

• The Main Objective Behind Launch
• Launching Date Keep these two things in mind and then set goals. This will help you ensure a timely launch and objective accomplishment.

5. Product Ad Content Creation

The content is the key thing that communicates the key notables about your product. Content creation involves all your assets which will aid the launch process. These assets include product demos, screenshots, landing pages, blog posts/articles, one-pagers, training materials, pitch decks, and email copy.

6. Team Preparation

Don’t forget to keep the entire team on board while launching your product. Internal as well as external communication is a paradigm. Suppose you have launched the product and the website was not good to be live. Or the support team is unable to offer support through chats or calls about the product. Keeping everyone on board will ensure that development is completely ready for launch.

7. Launching Product

When you have determined that everything is entirely ready and in position, go for the product launch. Beware that things can go wrong beyond expectation. To ensure the provision of instant edits/adjustments.

8. After-Launch Considerations

Track the performance of the launch and monitor the stats. This will allow you to estimate success or failure. Prepare yourself for both. If the customer is not converting, tweak the messaging, look backward, and point out the lacking. Take the customer's feedback on the product and ensure they align with product positioning and messaging. Again measure and monitor the metrics to ensure a successful launch.

Why is Product Marketing Important?

Suppose you are a company or a business selling a service or a product. You cannot deny the value that product marketing possesses.

A lot of time, effort, and money goes into the formation/development of the product. Marketing is what decides its success or failure.

It communicates the product's value to the customers or audience through a captivating message. Several steps employed in product marketing include:

• Product design
• Product Formation
• Copywriting
• Multiple platform utilization like online or offline
• Multiple means like billboards, TV, radio, social media, etc.

It allows you to leverage a variety of means to ensure success. If you don’t utilize product marketing, you may face low ROI, sales, and product failure.

What Are Some Notable Product Marketing Examples?

To build successful product marketing, it is worth focusing on some famous product marketing done so far. Here is the highlight of key product marketing examples for your consideration:

1. Tesla

Tesla is not only a car manufacturer but a brand. They have built their name solely based on eco-friendliness, which comes under their brand statement. Tesla features a huge share of the high-quality electric vehicles market. These cars are so expensive that competitors cannot compete with Tesla. All this is only because of the brand statement, which reflects clean energy generation free from fossil fuels. This is how Tesla delivers value to the vehicle market and markets their products. Recently, Tesla has also expanded its product line with innovations in energy storage solutions and solar products.

2. Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola, once a pharmaceutical manufacturer, later became a soda manufacturer. This was part of their product marketing strategy. The product that they are selling is the same from year to year. Remarkable product strategy led Coke to become an international brand. This is the reason why when ordering a soda, people demand Coke. The remarkable customer association led to the unbelievable recognition of Coca-Cola. Over 95% of the population of the world is familiar with Coke. In recent years, Coca-Cola has also ventured into healthier beverage options to adapt to changing consumer preferences.

3. Apple

Apple is another practical example of a successful product marketing strategy. Every single launch of Apple goes viral because of its highly effective product marketing strategy. This is also because Apple spends hours and effort researching and developing new devices.

The launch of Apple Vision Pro recently received over 2 million searches just 24 hours after its launch. Their targeted messaging communicates exactly how people want to read. Apple has also focused on privacy as a key marketing point, especially in response to growing consumer concerns about data protection.

How Product Marketing Contributes to Product Improvement?

There are several ways product marketing greatly contributes to product improvement, such as:

Metrics Monitoring

Metrics monitoring involves tracking key parameters and their analysis. These parameters include sales data assessment, customer satisfaction scores, and retention rates. By keenly observing, you can tweak improvements where needed. Today, with advanced analytics tools, businesses can get deeper insights into customer behavior and preferences.

Customer Feedback

Customer feedback is crucial. This helps you identify where the issues with your product lie. What customers like and what they do not. It also allows you to point out areas where you can process improvements. Utilizing platforms for gathering real-time customer feedback has become standard practice for many businesses.

Market Analysis and Research

Market analysis involves examining what your competitors are doing better than you. You assess their customer retention rates. The option exists to analyze trends in the market. This will allow you to incorporate essential improvements. Additionally, trends toward sustainability and social responsibility are becoming increasingly important as consumers focus on ethical considerations.

What Does a Product Marketer Do?

The key role of the product marketer is to drive the product to market and ensure a successful launch. Apart from this, the other roles of the product marketer include:

1. Develop and Execute Market Strategy

Product marketers and the marketing team develop and execute an effective strategy. A product marketer ensures that the strategy aligns with product growth and positioning, taking into account the latest industry shifts.

2. Campaign Creation and Management

Product marketers automate the process of product marketing campaigns and development. The role involves the assurance of conveying product features and values to the customer effectively across all marketing channels.

3. Product Management

The product marketer ensures the fulfillment of effective product management. The product marketer also ensures that the product meets or exceeds the audience's or customer's requirements. The role also involves gathering feedback to improve the product over time.

A product marketer remains in the loop with the brand, sales team, competition, market trends, and the right audience. This is mainly to ensure success.

Difference Between Product Marketing Vs Other Marketing

Find key differences between product and other marketing in the table below. It gives you a fresh perspective and a better understanding of product marketing.

Product Marketing vs Marketing

Marketing is a broader term that involves performance marketing, content marketing, and brand strategy. The main role of marketing is to convey value to potential prospects.

On the other hand, product marketing revolves around the product and mainly focuses on the customer. It involves product alignment, packaging, and advertising.

Product Marketing vs Product Management

Product management involves organizing the teams on a large scale responsible for product design and development. The role of the product management team is to cater to alignment between product marketing strategy and products. This team also handles customer desires and market demands. The trend toward agile product management has also accelerated the pace of product development cycles.

FAQ’s

What is product marketing in tech?

Product marketing in tech means it solely details the technology products. For instance, it can include software as well as hardware products. Tech product marketing often places a significant emphasis on feature efficacy and user experience.

What is the Product marketing mix?

The term product marketing mix, as the name suggests, focuses more on marketing. It involves the utilization of marketing channels and product features to drive conversions. Key aspects include cost, benefits, distribution, and distribution channel/media, etc. The key objective is to achieve set sales and results while adapting to changing market dynamics.

What are Product Marketing Objectives?

The product marketing objectives vary from brand to brand, but general objectives include the following:

• Strengthen market presence
• Generate revenue
• Boost brand reputation
• Boost traffic/sales
• Increase customer retention
• Product improvement

In light of recent developments, businesses increasingly focus on sustainability and responsible consumption as part of their product marketing objectives.