As a businessman, you certainly understand that a product is one of the core components in running a business. Without a product, what will you sell to consumers later? For this reason, it is very important to make quality products and market them optimally to consumers.
Then, what is product marketing or product marketing? As the name implies, product marketing is a product marketing process carried out by a company or brand. The target of this marketing activity is the target audience and consumers as a whole.
Many articles out there explain that product marketing is a complicated activity. In fact, the key to success in doing product marketing is very simple, namely by combining product development, customer relationship management (CRM), and also sales.
Want to know more about the meaning, the various pillars that must be implemented, benchmarks for success, and also the challenges that you might face when doing product marketing? Keep reading this product marketing article until it's finished, okay!
What is the meaning of product marketing?
Sourced from the Drift page, product marketing is a process of marketing products to consumers so they want to buy products. The product itself can be in the form of goods or services provided by the company.
So, when we talk about product development, what will be the main focus is to develop the product as well as possible. Sales are more focused on selling a product, and CRM is more focused on communicating existing products so that sustainability can be maintained.
Each member of the marketing team has a responsibility to ensure that the products they market are in accordance with the target market, so that they are not only purchased, but also can be used properly by consumers.
What are the 4 pillars of Product Marketing?
There are at least four main pillars in product marketing that must be carried out by the marketing team so that product marketing can be maximized and the results are also as expected. The four main pillars of product marketing are as follows:
1. Market Research
The first pillar that must be carried out in product marketing is market research, and this is the basic foundation of product marketing.
Why? Because without in-depth market research, it will be difficult for you to reach the right market segment, reach them, etc. The most important variables in market research are the subject of the product, for whom it is intended, and by whom it is used.
2. Define Specific Market Criteria
If you have finished doing market research, another important step in product marketing is to determine specific consumer criteria.
In this case, you have to find out who your target market is and how you can provide the products they really need and want.
3. Define Product Personas
Then, you have to make product characteristics based on the consumer characteristics that you have found in the previous stage.
This stage is also known as the stage of forming a product persona that is more focused on consumers. The following are some things you should pay attention to:
- The main message you want to convey
- How to deliver these messages
- Channels that you must use, such as social media, etc.
- Jump straight into the market.
So, forming a product persona will help you build characteristics based on the customers you already have.
4. Product and Market Fit Analysis
In this stage, the product marketer must go directly to the field and carry out an analysis regarding the suitability of the three previous steps. If it is appropriate, then there will be continuity between the product and the market that was specifically targeted from the start.
Why is Product Marketing Important for Business?
Now that you understand what product marketing is, you'll want to know why it's important to your business. As previously explained, products are a basic component of running a business and must be managed properly.
While not the only indicator for business success, products are what consumers will pay attention to. If you sell a product that is not good, it is very likely that consumers will switch to another product or brand.
You also need to pay attention to the importance of marketing this product based on the components discussed in the previous section. Make sure that you make a quality product that meets consumer needs. For that, you need to know in advance what the audience needs and wants.
Next is the sales process that you can do with various marketing strategies, including digital promotions. In this day and age, digital marketing is an inevitable necessity for businesses.
Your task doesn't stop once the product is sold, where you need to build and maintain good relationships with consumers. Pay attention to any criticisms and suggestions given by your customers for business improvement. In addition, interact with customers so that they feel attached to the product and brand.
What are the 6 product marketing strategies?
As we already know, marketing is currently divided into two main forms, namely online and offline. Previously, every marketer or businessman had to market their products offline because there was no qualified technology to do online marketing.
Marketing that is done offline certainly has drawbacks, such as being able to reach only a few people, costs tend to be more expensive, and requires more time and effort. Along with the development of technology, marketing can now be done online, and many large companies have even used it.
Marketing activities carried out online are claimed to be more effective and profitable. Why? Because it is able to reach all people in the world, and the costs that must be incurred are relatively more affordable. Then, what are the types of product marketing? The following are several types of product marketing.
1. Paid Ads
Many large companies have used paid advertising as a marketing strategy. By using this advertisement, the product will be displayed by the service provider.
As for the price itself, it must be adjusted to the conditions agreed upon by the advertising service provider and the company that wants to place an ad.
Several types of paid advertising that are currently very popular are Pay-Per-Click (PPC), pay-per-impression (PPI), and banners. This paid advertising is the right way for companies whose products want to be known more widely by the public.
2. Transactional Marketing
Achieving sales targets is one of the most common problems in every company. To overcome this problem, you can try to do transactional marketing by giving discounts, attractive vouchers or promos, etc. By using this method, you can increase the attractiveness of your audience to make transactions.
3. Social Media Marketing as a Product Marketing Strategy
Until now, there are almost 3 billion active users of social media. This figure certainly exceeds the population of a country. This figure is also very extraordinary and can be a very good opportunity for marketing
For this reason, marketing product marketing through social media can be a powerful way and costs tend to be lower. Every company business scale can use social media as a marketing strategy.
4. Product Marketing Interactive
So, for interactive product marketing, a company will involve the participation of consumers when carrying out the marketing process. By applying this method, consumers will more quickly find out the latest information from a product or service. Thus, consumer demand for a product will also increase.
5. Product Marketing Content Marketing
This content marketing technique can be done by small companies or large-scale companies. The content created must be interesting and consistent, and must remain relevant. Thus, consumers will be very interested in making purchases.
6. SEO Product Marketing
Content that is implemented by SEO in it will be able to occupy the very first position in search engines. Thus, it is easier to attract the audience.
How would you measure the success of product marketing?
There are three indicators of success in carrying out product marketing, namely customer satisfaction, retention curve, and growth/revenue rate. The following is an explanation of the three.
1. Customer Satisfaction
In determining customer satisfaction, there is a tool called the net promoter score (NPS). NPS is able to display the level of customer satisfaction with the products you use, so that it can be used as a benchmark for the success rate of the product itself.
2. Retention Curve
Retention curve is data in which it is able to determine whether within a certain period of time consumers continue to use products from your brand or not.
This assessment is used for products that are already available on the market, not for products that have just been released. Here's how to calculate it:
Number of consumers who continue to use the product: number of consumers x 100%
3. Growth/Revenue Rate
The last benchmark of success in product marketing is the growth/revenue rate. Several components that must be taken into account in it are the number of consumers and the number of products used.
All of these components will be collected in GMV (gross metrics value) or ARPU (average revenue per unit). Later, this calculation will determine the performance of a product.
Closing
As a businessman or marketer, you must be able to encourage consumers to want to make a purchase. In addition, you also have the responsibility to ensure that the products you offer are not only purchased, but also continue to be used by consumers.
So, you have to make sure your customer lifetime value (CLV) remains large, so you can still make a profit. This is the most difficult challenge in carrying out product marketing. So, it can be said that acquiring new customers is easier than retaining old customers.
For that, you have to stay focused on every process that is carried out from a consumer perspective. One of the most important things to pay attention to is market research because from this you can learn the habits of each of your consumers.
Apart from that, you also have to make the right marketing budget, because product marketing still requires the right marketing budget. You must be able to manage and record it in the company's cash flow statement so that later it can be used as material for consideration in setting business policies in the future.