What is a Product Marketing Manager? Job Description and Salary

Your analysis and growth crew has been engaged on a brand new product for months and is placing priceless sources into its design and manufacturing.

They’ve fastidiously researched the market and the issue they need to resolve — and now it is time to let your product advertising and marketing supervisor work their magic.

I hate to let you know this, however with out advertising and marketing, your product (irrespective of how superb) won’t ever be discovered by the purchasers whose issues it’ll resolve.

This could result in poor gross sales, monetary failure and potential prospects who’re nonetheless affected by their unique issues.

A product advertising and marketing supervisor may also help keep away from this by discovering strategic angles to attach your product options to your prospects and their ache factors.

Just lately, I requested RJ Residing’s advertising and marketing supervisor, Nathan Oakley, to speak to me about product advertising and marketing and job duties. I requested him to explain a typical day as a product advertising and marketing supervisor. This is what I discovered.

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What’s a Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor?

I did not get into advertising and marketing by way of the standard school route. And in case you’re like me (otherwise you work in one other subject, like gross sales or customer support), you will not be acquainted with product advertising and marketing managers or their position.

By talking with Oakley, I discovered {that a} product advertising and marketing supervisor, or a PMM for brief, is a specialised marketer who takes possession of a product’s positioning, messaging and branding.

To get a greater concept of ​​their job duties, let’s check out this pattern product advertising and marketing job description.

Product Supervisor Job Description

A product advertising and marketing supervisor can be accountable for overseeing the creation and supply of promotional campaigns for key merchandise.

This particular person could have an in-depth understanding of the product’s target market and in-depth data of related product options.

Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor Expertise and {Qualifications}:

• Fundamental advertising and marketing and marketing campaign administration expertise.
• Mission administration expertise.
• Sturdy organizational and communication expertise.
• Potential to investigate related data and make knowledgeable choices.
• Potential to prioritize duties and duties throughout tasks.

Whereas I absolutely consider you are able to do any job with the fitting coaching and expertise, employers look for no less than a bachelor’s diploma for these roles.

Ideally, your bachelor’s diploma can be in enterprise administration, advertising and marketing, or a associated subject of examine.

Some employers may additionally search candidates who maintain superior levels and have extra intensive expertise in advertising and marketing, gross sales, or promoting.

Whereas not required, there are certifications accessible (such because the Licensed Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor distinction) that may assist higher put together product advertising and marketing managers for the duties they’re about to tackle.

I discover certifications to be a good way to proceed your schooling and acquire new expertise, particularly in case you’re trying to advance your profession or leap into a brand new position.

Your subsequent query about this position may be ‘How a lot does a product advertising and marketing supervisor earn? This can be a legitimate query that I had as properly, as a result of, as a former trainer, I’m all the time amazed on the wage ranges for different professions.

In response to PayScale, the common base wage for product advertising and marketing managers within the US is $99,814 per yr, though this will range relying on the corporate and expertise stage.

Key Tasks of Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor

As with wage, the duties of a product advertising and marketing supervisor can range from firm to firm. Nevertheless, I discovered that there are a couple of key duties which might be common to the position.

1. Market analysis

When diving deeper into the position, the very first thing I checked out was market analysis. A product advertising and marketing supervisor is accountable for understanding the target market and market traits.

It is their job to get contained in the buyer’s thoughts, perceive their ache factors, after which determine how your product can enchantment to them.

2. Positioning and Messaging

As soon as your product advertising and marketing supervisor has a transparent concept of ​​how your product may also help your best buyer, they may work on creating clear product messaging and positioning.

Ideally, your product positioning and message will make your product stand out from the group. So, it is vital that your PMM does their analysis.

3. Develop your go-to-market (GTM) technique

What’s a marketer and not using a advertising and marketing technique?

Simply as your content material marketer is tasked with creating and guaranteeing the success of your content material advertising and marketing actions, your product advertising and marketing supervisor can be accountable for creating and executing product launches with different crew members.

4. Gross sales means

You would possibly assume gross sales enablement is the area of your gross sales division.

And whereas that could be true, it is useful to accomplice with a product advertising and marketing supervisor to equip your gross sales groups with the instruments and coaching they should successfully promote your merchandise to prospects.

A product advertising and marketing supervisor may also help your gross sales crew create scripts and gross sales sheets to assist their efforts.

5. Efficiency evaluation

Whereas chatting with Dennis, he advised me that efficiency monitoring is essential to his position as properly.

“Monitoring efficiency can be a should — I all the time be sure that to evaluation our analytics quarterly to fine-tune our campaigns, which has helped us cut back our value per acquisition by practically 20%,” says Dennis.

Ultimately, I’d say that conserving every little thing collectively is connecting with each the market and our viewers.

So, if you wish to understand how your product resonates together with your prospects, ask your product advertising and marketing supervisor.

As a result of they’re accountable for monitoring metrics to find out product efficiency, your PMM might refine advertising and marketing methods or change product positioning.

What does a product advertising and marketing supervisor do?

After I discovered concerning the core duties of a product advertising and marketing supervisor, I assumed, “What does a product advertising and marketing supervisor do?” So, I assumed I would ask Oakley concerning the specifics.

Whereas their job title might not clearly say “Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor,” that is precisely what they do.

Oakley advised me that they’re accountable for making a story about their merchandise that can entice potential prospects to purchase them. They then accumulate buyer suggestions after a product launch.

In different phrases, when the product is being ready for launch, the product advertising and marketing supervisor (or crew) can be concerned in educating the general public concerning the worth and advantages of the providing in order that they will convert potential prospects into rabid followers.

In response to Oakley, you’ll want to be good at analyzing folks. “Since you’re working straight with the product, it’s a must to be good at strategic considering and understanding folks and their wants,” he stated.

I additionally discovered that the position of PMM goes past understanding folks and the way they may use your product. As a substitute, you’ll want to think about how they transfer by way of the gross sales funnel to think about your product.

This implies PMM will give attention to three ranges of the gross sales funnel:

1. acquisition Deliver consciousness to your product by way of content material akin to social media, copywriting and blogs. This requires the product advertising and marketing supervisor to find out what kind of marketing campaign to run, create a finances for advertising and marketing efforts, create a undertaking plan to map out when this content material can be revealed, and oversee a crew that creates the specified content material. will do
2. preoccupation Constructing belief and creating conversations with potential prospects by way of occasions, campaigns and particular calls to motion.
3. Conversion and retention. Convert potential prospects to paying prospects for one-time purchases and maintain current prospects loyal by way of subscription fashions or add-on purchases (when applicable).

It is value noting that from one firm (or marketing campaign) to the following, the duties and expectations positioned on a product advertising and marketing supervisor can range.

How does a product advertising and marketing supervisor differ from a product supervisor?

With related titles, it could typically be obscure the completely different roles accessible inside an organization.

Many individuals typically confuse product advertising and marketing managers with product managers, and though there are similarities, the roles carry very completely different duties.

A product advertising and marketing supervisor and a product supervisor each present a voice for the product. However the distinction is who they’re speaking about from

A product supervisor is concerned within the manufacturing part of a product. They communicate internally on behalf of the product, speaking with engineers and builders about its options and performance.

A product supervisor focuses on answering the query, “Does this product resolve the issue we wish it to unravel?”

However, a product advertising and marketing supervisor is accountable for speaking to the skin world.

Though these people will play very completely different roles, they may typically work collectively. Each product managers and product advertising and marketing managers ought to have a robust understanding of purchaser personas and share the analysis they’ve finished to assist others.

Turn out to be a Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor

Since Oakley has labored in each these roles, I requested if he may share some suggestions with me on grow to be a product advertising and marketing supervisor.

They each recommend you can grow to be a product advertising and marketing supervisor in two methods: getting a advertising and marketing diploma with internship expertise and upskilling.

Examine advertising and marketing or enterprise to achieve expertise.

Oakley means that the best technique to get into product advertising and marketing is to finish a bachelor’s diploma program.

“To get into product advertising and marketing, it is best to start out with a bachelor’s diploma in enterprise or communications, adopted by an internship in digital advertising and marketing, branding or gross sales. This gives you a stable basis to get your foot within the door,” he added.

Whereas having a bachelor’s diploma is useful, Oakley stresses the significance of steady studying as a result of the advertising and marketing subject is ever-changing.

He advised me, “By no means cease studying or upskilling within the business. So be sure you educate your self on content material and business data so that you could thrive in your position.”

Excessive effectivity and conversion in product advertising and marketing.

You may transition into product advertising and marketing after gaining advertising and marketing expertise, even when your expertise is in digital or content material advertising and marketing.

When hoping to transition into the sector, it is all the time greatest to start out issues off with expertise in areas like digital advertising and marketing or model administration. You will construct analytical and communication expertise alongside the best way.

There are numerous on-line programs you may full to accumulate and strengthen your expertise. Nevertheless, Oakley recommends you employ LinkedIn Studying.

Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor: A priceless crew member

I discovered that constructing a product is simply half the battle.

To succeed together with your product launch, make your product extremely worthwhile and guarantee it will get into the arms of the folks you need to assist, you want somebody on the advertising and marketing helm.

And thru my chat with Oakley, the significance of getting a devoted product advertising and marketing supervisor on the crew grew to become much more obvious to me.

Product advertising and marketing managers mix their experience in advertising and marketing and psychology that can assist you discover the most effective place in your product. Whenever you select the fitting product advertising and marketing supervisor, they may deliver you the fitting prospects.

Editor’s observe: This submit was initially revealed in January 2022 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.