Another very common confusion when we talk about product marketing is the area of product management. Who says they are the same things, but in fact, they are completely different. Mainly because, for a long time, they were the responsibility of a single person.
However, in companies that want to be successful in a product launch, you can think of complementing both areas. The objective of product management is more connected to its conception. She will develop an idea to address a market pain. Or even reach a target audience that, until now, has not been impacted.
On the other hand, the marketing team is the fuel area for operational management. She is the one who will give all the insights of the existing pain in the clients and will awaken the idea of what can be developed. In addition, he will be responsible for preparing the work environment for the product team.
In other words, companies that manage to include the marketing team in product development are much more likely to be accurate at launch. Market analyzes that will correspond to the expectations of product development and support in support that will boost sales .
Precisely for this reason, at the beginning of the article we mentioned that product marketing integrates the commercial and management teams. He will accompany both in all their stages and will support each one to perform successfully.
What is the lifecycle of a product?
To be successful in the area of product marketing, it is necessary to understand how the cycle of any good that is marketed occurs. Be something tangible, like actual products, but it could be a service, it could even be a physical asset, like a mall, for example.
Everything takes time to mature in the market. That is, when he is, in fact, successful and his sales do not depend on such deep investment for support. Check out how the life cycle works and see how the marketing area we are approaching works in each of them:
Phase 1: Introduction
The first, in fact, is the one that most explores the assumptions of strategic marketing planning . It is necessary to prepare the environment for the launch and, for this reason, it is the responsibility of this area to carry out an in-depth analysis at this initial moment.
It is at this moment that you will unleash the success of your new product. For this reason, it must be well performed and all performance must be closely monitored.
We no longer consider it as an introductory phase when the product begins to perform organically. That is, when your growth gains a certain constancy in your results.
Phase 2: Growth
As the name implies, it is the stage where your launch begins to grow. At that moment, it is possible to identify which are the first results in sales that will supply the investment made.
And this is mainly because the demand is increased. At the same time, we see the beginning of the product’s popularity in the market. Consumers become promoters and help even more in expanding results.
Phase 3: Maturity
It’s the long-awaited moment when we launch a new product. Maturity means that sales have reached the peak projected by the management team and is popularly accepted by the target audience.
It tends to be the most durable and can last for years and years, depending on the appeal of your product. However, it is also at this moment of saturation that a great challenge is considered: discontinue or innovate your product?
The marketing team works together with the management area to understand what should be done at this time. That is, considering the consumer market.
Phase 4: Decline
As seen in the last phase, this is the moment when the sales rate starts to drop. This is normal and regardless of the quality of your product. Most of the time, it occurs due to saturation or even changing consumer habits.
At that moment, we will understand if there is a need to design a new solution or even remove the product from the scene. However, again, this should be done after evaluating your target audience.
What is the importance of product marketing?
Although we have explained very well what the product marketing team really is, we need to delve into its importance and what are the results generated in a company.
For a business to succeed in its strategies, it is important that it obtains such results as:
Competitive highlight
At the beginning of the text, we talked a lot about the competition and how challenging the process of standing out is. A few years ago, the price was the dictator of sales success or not. However, this is no longer a reality.
A series of factors are reasons for a consumer to decide to buy from you or not. Depending on the sense of urgency , he may be more willing to pay more for it.
However, it is necessary that the offer is compatible with their demands and it must be offered in the right way, at the right time and through the right resources and channels. Otherwise, any investment in developing a new product could go down the drain.
Therefore, the work of product marketing will be to understand what needs to be done to overcome the competition’s challenges. This means that from the value that will be sold to the way it will be communicated, everything can be impacted and be responsible for differentiation.
Personalization
Still on the positioning of your product in the market, we have customization . At the launch stage, this can be extremely enriching and dictate how your audience will receive the news and whether it will become a consumer or not.
For this reason, the tone of voice, colors, channels are clear examples of how the product will be presented. Everything will be defined according to the market evaluations that will be carried out by the product’s marketing team.
Product support
It is not enough just to launch the product and wait idly for sales to occur naturally. Even if you did a good job in the early stages of your project, you need to ensure that sales are sustained.
But after all, what does that term actually mean? This is the moment that crosses growth with maturation. Good sustaining work can extend the maturity period.
What’s more, if a product is facing challenges to become popular in the market, even with a reasonable growth rate, marketing will work on mechanisms, be they promotional, communication, channels, the right content to ensure that your audience is reached .
What are the stages of Product Marketing?
As we’ve seen in a product’s lifecycle, the first step is introducing it to the market. But what are the works carried out to guarantee penetration in the public? It is, without a doubt, one of the main tasks performed by the marketing team.
We can consider 5 well-defined steps that will be essential for the performance that the launch will have:
Consumer profile development
We know who your target audience is in the first moment. Only after that, we will understand if the solution to be developed is in agreement. The buyer’s profile must be compatible, otherwise we may be doomed to failure.
Positioning and message
Positioning is important when we want to reach certain audiences. So, at this stage, we answer some extremely basic questions, but essential for the development area: what does the product do? What are the pains treated? Who will consume? How will it be consumed? How does it differ from the competition?
Having the answers in hand, we were able to think about which jobs should be done for a launch.
Creating a launch plan and content
And then, we come to the main job of any marketing: the launch and communication plan . Marketing leads goals , deadlines and ways that will place the product on the market.
It is extremely important that all these definitions are fulfilled as planned. Otherwise, even the way the product will be received in the market can be influenced.
Content marketing is another aspect that arrives at launch. He will dictate the presentation of the novelty to consumers. The channels are understood, if it will be something visual or not, if it will have interaction, everything must be defined for a good presentation to the market.
Team preparation
There is no point in having good planning if at the main time, the launch, the company’s team is not prepared. For this reason, there is a great deal of contact with product marketing with the sales team . For example, depending on the launch expectation, there may be a great demand to be met, so the service , sales and customer success team must be prepared.
Launch
Last but not least, your product launch. Even after the start, communication plans really put into effect, there is some initial follow-up. If it is necessary to carry out any adjustment, it will be through analysis and monitoring of indicators that will dictate this need. With everything working fine, we understand that the product is officially in the introduction phase.
How to make a Product Marketing strategy?
Some good practices can be essential for those who are in charge of product marketing. We separate some of them that can be applied to anyone who wants to succeed at any stage of the life cycle.
Study the target market
Even if we consider the phase of understanding your market inherent, this must be applied in all stages involving the marketing team. Depending on the volatility of the product, an audience can quickly change their habits. Therefore, one must know his behavior as well as his desire. With this alignment in hand, you can make any necessary adjustments over time.
Reinforce the differentials
To stand out from the competition, you must always contemplate what differentiates your product has to offer. For this reason, marketing must emphasize, at all times, how the target audience will be served with the offered solution. Social networks , for example, come in as a great partner to highlight the positive points.
Measurement of results
As with any type of marketing, we cannot do without result analysis. It is through them that we measure the effectiveness of the work and, even, the proof that it was really necessary to develop the product.
For this reason, have tools at hand that allow you to monitor, in real time, the performance of your products. In addition, we must always understand which are the indicators that will dictate performance.
In conclusion, product marketing is much more than selling a good. This area works long before your offer hits the market and is directly linked to the initial stages of project development. For this reason, it is essential to have a good marketing plan, which makes all the viability of success in the business. And for that, it’s important to count on a company that can support you in developing the future success in sales of your business!
