What is a product marketing strategy?
Launching a new product into the market can prove to be a big fiasco in the absence of an appropriate product marketing strategy. It involves a series of efforts that are undertaken to get the products into consumers’ hands. The product marketing plan generally begins with a concept or idea and then moves into different stages of development including pricing, testing, and creating a sales plan. Every department in an organization must be a part of developing the product marketing strategy as each team is capable of providing inputs/suggestions that may be overlooked by the other.
Why is product marketing important?
Today’s dynamic market demands modern organizations to have a team that is dedicated to solely keeping a close watch and understanding the market and buyer needs. This knowledge can then be leveraged by companies to execute strong sales and marketing strategies. Product marketing strategy helps to understand the needs and behavior of buyers in a particular market in relation to the company’s offerings. On a more tactical level, a product marketing plan is tasked to work with internal teams to ensure readiness and thereby conduct successful product launches.
Key elements of a product marketing strategy
A successful product marketing strategy involves six key elements, this includes –
Product
Developing a strong product is one of the most vital and first steps involved in building a product marketing strategy. It is essential for organizations to ensure that the target customers are kept in mind while developing a product and it aligns with their needs. Customers expect to meet some need or solve a problem when they purchase a particular product. Understand what these needs/problems are and identify if the company’s product has the ability to meet their needs. Down the road, finding answers to these will also help determine the right communication strategy for promotion activities. Each product feature should be aimed at solving a common business challenge.
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Audience
Products are developed based on customer preferences and needs. Similarly, while developing a product marketing strategy, the organization must make efforts to understand their audience better. Information must be gathered about the audience including- age, gender, education, and marital status. This can be done through direct interviews with the customers or by setting up a phone call to learn more about them. This helps companies to form a narrative and create buyer personas. Companies can use this data to market to one buyer persona at a time rather than sending out common messages to the mass audience.
Communication
One of the most essential steps in a product marketing strategy is to communicate with the audience. Customer intelligence experts from Infiniti Research suggests that a good majority of customers feel emotionally connected to a brand when they stay connected to the brand in the form of messaging. An important point to bear in mind here is that the product messaging should be in the form of a narrative as they are relatable and resonate with the audience. The product’s unique selling proposition and the value offered to the users can be used as a key tool to craft an effective story.
Team work
Product marketing strategy cannot be formulated single-handedly formulated by a single person or team in the company. It requires the collective efforts of the entire organization. However, bringing multiple teams on the same page is a challenging task. Teams across the organization should be educated and informed about their role in the product marketing strategy. Having a product roadmap can prove to be highly beneficial here. This helps to align all the teams and internal stakeholders in the company by providing them a summary of the product marketing strategy and guiding them in each step of the process.
Promotion
Selling a new product isn’t easy. Strategic promotion is the right way to get customers to buy a new product. The company’s promotion plan must be aimed at getting the message out to the right audience at the right time. Furthermore, it is also critical to choose the right channels of communication. Analyze and identify the platforms on which the company’s target audience spend the maximum time. The product marketing strategy should ensure that the products are promoted through channels that make the most sense for the brand and audience.
Choosing the right product marketing strategy is a highly critical task. Are you equipped to meet the challenges coming your way? If you are not sure, request a proposal to know how Infiniti’s solution can help your business to be prepared!
Track results
The last step in the product marketing process and one of the most critical aspects of a product marketing strategy is to analyze and track the results. Once the product marketing strategy is implemented and the product has hit the retail shelves, the next step is to understand how successful the product is in the market. The metrics to track here include website form submissions, email clicks, reach, and conversions. The gaps in meeting customer demands can be identified in this stage and necessary changes can be made by the brand in the nick of time.
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