Learning Bytes

Top 10 Attributes of a Product Marketing Manager

"Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better than we found them, more able to get where they’d like to go."

Seth Godin

What is Product Marketing?

product marketing lies at the intersection between product, sales and marketing.

Product Marketing is the process of bringing a product to market and overseeing its overall success. Product Marketers are focused on understanding and marketing to both prospects and customers. They drive demand and usage of the product, which often includes writing, positioning and messaging.

The Product Marketing process doesn’t end at the pre-launch and launch stages, and is a continuous effort to promote and shape the product to meet the customers’ needs across all stages of its lifecycle.

Typical Day for a Product Marketing Manager

PMMs have to routinely carry out the following functions on a day-to-day basis:

● Communicating product changes to customers and clients.
● Balancing the team’s vision for the product and the needs of the customer.
● Pricing strategy and product positioning strategy for the product.
● Conducting customer interviews to get insights.

DeliverablesSome of the deliverables that a Product Marketing Manager is responsible for:● Creating buyer personas● Positioning and messaging strategy that attracts and converts prospects● Sales enablement● Competitive market analysis and intelligence● Go-to-market strategyTop Traits to look for when hiring Product Marketing Managers:Strategic PlanningLooking at the big picture should be an inherent quality as a PMM has to align various verticals together for the successful launch of a product. Some mindsets and skills that one should have are:

● Creativity and problem-solving skills
● Prioritizing from a business point of view
● Being an advocate of the customer
● Flexibility
● Analytical skills

Sales EnablementThe PMM serves the vital function of enabling the sales team with a messaging strategy that helps convert prospects. To do this efficiently, a PMM must:

● Acquire competitive intelligence
● Develop Product Documentation including whitepapers
● Develop Solutions Briefs
● Develop Product Datasheets
● Conduct Product Demos
● Train the sales teams

EmpathyA PMM has to working well with all areas and verticals of the company and listen to customers. Empathy is the biggest a skill that a PMM must have. Empathy should be nurtured, and should be an actively sought skill in a Product Marketing Manager.This blog has been compiled from the Webinar by Jessica Marie, Director of Product Marketing at Vera Security. She is an expert in enterprise tech industry, focusing on cybersecurity – specifically data security, security management platforms, and application security. She is also well versed in Big Data/Machine Intelligence and DevOps. An alumnus of Stanford University, Jessica is an excellent strategic product marketer with the disposition of a team leader.

Divergent Empathy for contradicting cultures is the key to growing global products in India. Product marketing is key and you can know more with our series of free IPL webinars every Tuesday.