Differences of Product Marketing and Product Management
Product Management and Product Marketing, which are often confused terms, are separated with slight differences, although they are processes that go together. We can briefly define these two processes as two teams working for the same purpose but undertaking different tasks. This article will go over the differences and how they work together.
What is Product Marketing?
Product Marketing is the set of strategies created to introduce and adopt the product to the consumer. Analyzing the target audience before the product launch ensures product positioning for the target audience determined when the product is launched. Picking the right target audience and the right marketing strategy is fundamental in this process. When the wrong approach is applied to the wrong target audience, the product’s adoption and retention in the market become difficult. Therefore, product marketing is in a significant spot for brands.
In this process, efforts are made to find answers to questions such as: ‘Who is our target audience?’, ‘What strategy should we follow?’, ‘Which channel is the most suitable for this strategy?’
A Successful Product Marketing Sample:
Air Force, one of Nike’s most popular models today, did not receive the expected popularity in the first years following its release, and the sales were not well. Therefore the company developed a different strategy to finish their stocks. They re-marketed the shoes as the “Limited Edition” to give people the feeling that they are buying a special series, and this method has made it one of the best-selling and beloved models of the Air Force. Today, however, there is a “Customize” feature for the Air Force, and they continue to keep the product’s popularity by letting people design their own Air Force.
What is Product Management?
In this process, efforts are made to find answers to questions such as: ‘Does the product meet the customer’s needs?’, ‘How much does the product cost?’, ‘How much profit does it bring?’
What are The Differences Between Product Marketing and Product Management
| Product Marketing | Product Management |
|---|---|
| Represents the voice of the customer, before, during and after lunch. | Focus on developing and defining a product. |
| Are responsible for the positioning and messaging of new products and features in line with market demands. | Are responsible for setting the product roadmap and the product vision. |
| Defines key value props of new and updated products. | Identify customer pain points to target and align product requirements accordingly. |
| Work closest with sales and product management. | Deliver technical info on new and updated products to product marketing. |
| Drives product adoption and advocacy. | Work closest with product development and product marketing. |
How do Product Marketing Manager and Product Manager work together?
Although the two parties have different responsibilities, they must work in coordination. Together with the market research of the product marketing teams, the product management teams understand the customer needs more clearly and make an outstanding contribution to the development of the product. The detailed information provided by the product management teams about the product is essential for the product marketing team to develop the right strategy to bring the product to market. At this point, I think that although both departments do different jobs and undertake distinct tasks, they are two teams that cannot be separated from each other. Since both processes form the basis of the product, it becomes difficult for the product to survive in the market with a missing piece.
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Author: İpek Mangtay
Date Published: Sep 30, 2021
