Product Marketing Processes are an Essential Part of Your Success!
Q: What is a product marketing specialist?
A: A person or organization that implements and manages product development processes that make an intelligent connection between:
- your target customer's needs and wants
- valuable application of your technology
- strategic opportunities
Q: Aren't these "processes" burdensome for a small company?
A: No. The importance of nailing down a product definition based on real customer needs, then regularly reviewing progress is essential to any product development program and will have a direct impact on sales. Naturally, product development processes must be scaled to match the size of the organization, but they should be kept as efficient as possible no matter how large the design & marketing teams are. (Lessons have been learned from letting too many cooks in the kitchen!)
Q: Why do we have such a hard time selling when our engineers have made the coolest product you've ever seen?
A: Perhaps you short-circuited the product marketing process? Did you get caught up in the excitement of a new technology without truly exploring how much customers need it or how likely they are to purchase it? Here's a short list of essential product planning activities you can skip to help make your product nearly impossible to sell:
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Business planning with a clear vision, a marketing strategy, and realistic/tangible goals
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Product planning with a 360º view of the target customer, unique value propositions, market sizing, trends/competition analysis, and a realistic forecast
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Concept testing with real customers (not internal personnel)
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Alpha/beta testing & feedback process
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Effective marketing launch coordination
