10 Ways to Boost Your Product Marketing

When it was discovered that revenue was more important than lead volume and that the number of marketing qualified leads (MQL’s) that turned into actual sales started to decline, an opportunity arose for product marketing to take on a more dominant role.

There are several ways that product-marketing professionals can boost their product marketing.

But what are the most effective methods of doing so?

This article will outline the 10 main, important ways to boost your product marketing to gain the appropriate advantages for your business or organization.

1: Importance of Closed Deals 

Product marketing can help drive success. Attention should be focused on conversions rather than merely on generating leads. Generating leads is obviously crucial for an organization, but if these leads do not translate into closed deals then the organization does not benefit.

2: Collaborate with Other Departments

In order to improve, collaboration must take place. Product marketing professionals should no longer work alone to achieve a desired outcome. Teamwork is crucial.

Gartner describes this by stating that “Any new idea emerges within the context of established ideas. To gain attention amid well-known, well—understood ideas that have their subscribers, a new idea or approach needs a way to both differentiate itself and attract attention”.

By working with other employees from different departments or divisions, greater results can be achieved and increased synergy can be accomplished throughout the entire organization. Product marketers should work together with sales and product management in order to improve the segmentation, win/loss analysis and sales enablement throughout the entire organization.

3: Engage Your Audience Online & Offline

Organizations have the opportunity to, as Jason Boies  says, “bring their offline experiences into their online social channels”. Organizations can ask their customers to upload photos of themselves with their product in order to help generate user-driven content. Users can share their photos in order to receive points and awareness gets created among online circles about the product, representing a big win for the organization.

4: Allow Fans to Blog 

Allow your customers, fans or followers to contribute content to your businesses blog. Not only will these individuals feel excited about being able to contribute, but your organization will be sending the message to the entire customer base that their voices and concerns are heard.

As well, individuals who publish posts for a company will be more likely to share their posts with their networks. When your friend or someone you know writes something, you are more likely to read it and pay attention to it. Once again creating an increased awareness and buzz about the products.

5: Initiate Customer Contests to Garner Excitement 

There have been several online campaigns that involve customers and reward their involvement through discounts, free products or prizes. By encouraging customers to partake in these contests, businesses can create free publicity, generate awareness and create buzz about their products all through their customer’s actions. Random Acts of Kindness, as best demonstrated by Zappos, can be instant satisfiers and can go a long way in improving product marketing.

6: Ensure Your Product Meets Customer Demands

You must ensure that their product is doing what they promised. Information of all types is readily available online and feedback is being exchanged constantly. Businesses should ensure that their products are delivering on their guarantees. This could entail a fair price or a high quality product.

7: Create an ‘Experience’ 

Storytelling, an experience, authenticity and uniqueness add tremendous value to your product. By creating an actual, enjoyable experience around your product, both offline and online, an organization is creating something intangible that really connects with your customers and creates a positive buzz. Not only that, but it will greatly elevate your product and brand experience in the process.

8: Be Involved in Social Media!

In order to boost product marketing, businesses should be involved in social media. Facebook, for examples, affords a business a tremendous opportunity to communicate with their customers. Facebook enables interaction and inspiration with the brand, the organization, but also with peers. Once again creating awareness and action associated with a certain product or organization.

9: Constantly Innovating and Improve

If an organization is standing still, essentially they are going backwards. Businesses should be constantly innovating and improving. Innovation shows that you are interested in the consumer’s satisfaction and well-being. Businesses should be sure to question their product with the end-user in mind, in order to learn a thing or two that they may not have realized otherwise. An essential part of the innovation process is involving the users. This will allow them to feel heard, valued and appreciated, which will result in increased loyalty to help further build and grow your brand.

10: React Quickly to Customer Queries  

The quicker you react towards your consumers, the more likely you are to have a a positive relationship with them. The more you communicate with your consumers, the better you will understand their expectations, wants and needs. Fast action shows that an organization actually listens to their customers and truly cares about them.

Businesses should always continue to learn more about their customers and potential consumers. According to Gartner all businesses should “Align objectives, develop a strategy and build a marketing IT road map via the marketing operations director and these teams”.

If product-marketing specialists follow these steps, then they will boost their product marketing approach. It is important to listen to their customers, involve them in the process, reward them and always continue to innovate. As well the 7 P’s of marketing should always be considered in regards to improving product marketing, these are: price, product, place, promotion, people, physical environment and process.