Marketing is a vital function that ensures that there is an intersection between consumer demand and product innovation. Marketing cannot be aggressive and is dependent on the time for your product to mature. The marketing strategies are designed in a way that matches the product’s maturity.
Then only you can deliver the needs of the consumer and increase the conversion. Getting leads without proper conversion would make your efforts go in vain. Hence as a marketer, one has to continually discuss with sales as well as the product team so that he/she can create a bridge to have everyone in the same context.
On a simple note
- Product Management (Focus on the User) (Strategic Sight)
- Product Marketing (Focus on the Buyer) (Right Messaging)
Product marketers help in Value propositions. Target customers. Market intelligence. Marketing & sales plan. Etc
Product Managers helps in defining market needs, Translating the research into insights, and present it to the engineering team, Future product initiatives, and growth plan
Both the function even though work’s in 2 different departments their end goal is the same and their end prospect is the users only so some of the intersection points that are shared between both the teams are ( Customer happiness, Competitive analysis, Market trend, Revenue streams, Finding opportunity for capitalization)
Let’s take a scenario (Q) Is a product marketing manager (A) is a Product manager
Scenario 1(Intersection points for both the parties are very low (Dissonance)
A: Hey Q here are a bunch of product document go through it use it for your campaign
Q: Half of this document is not of any use, we can’t understand half of it and by the way, this will not going to yield any result my audiences are looking for something else
A: What is that something else
Q: hmm … Good question our sales team will answer those
Scenario 2 (Enough Knowledge transfer is there between the team (Resonance)
A: According to the market trend report we got it from your and sales department we found out there are some of the new functionalities we can work upon, can you help me with numbers (How big on the term of revenue we can get if we have this feature ready)
Q: Sure A, let me dig those numbers and present it to you by tomorrow morning, and thanks for the heads up on the features.
A: No problem, let’s work on next quarter road maps and those FAQs shared by sales folks also.
Q: Let’s do this launch with a kick-ass video also will work on it together: Game on
After going through both scenarios, you yourself experience the difference. There is a big point we all miss when we talk about these big things: that we all are human. A good communication, competitive environment actually translates to company culture.
These 2 departments are the most looked out for in any company as sales folks are always outside these 2 departments can create an influential engine that can run for decades.
Both this team needed to be constantly aligned for delivering a world-class product with world-class packaging over it. These 2 functions work together for making got to market strategies and also create a base for all functions happening in the organization. These strategies help in maximum market penetration,
Any product can’t succeed over a long [period of time unless and until both this teamwork together. Small steps for building that relationship can be a simple FAQ of the product that both this team can create together, Demo video that can translate product vision as well as market fitment.
Authored article by Barun Mallick, Product Marketing Manager, KEKA.
