The key role of Product Management is driving new product development within a company.  Too many times start-ups and small companies create or decide to resell new products to the market without proper due diligence which ends up costing them more money in the long run.  Many companies launch a product that they just know will do well to find out there is not really a market for the product or does not have the required features and functionality needed for it to be successful, or maybe your first release of your product did extremely well, but you cannot figure out why the next release did not.

Product Marketing is one of marketing components that is overlooked in favour of other marketing functions such as Marketing Communications.   Though communicating your product message is crucial, making sure that you have the right product for your portfolio, selecting the right target market segments for your product, determining the right sales channels for the product and pricing the product appropriately for those markets and channels is key to the success of your product in the market.  Also part of Product Marketing is determining how you plan to introduce your product to those markets.

As start-up or small business you usually cannot afford multiple staff to provide all of the tasks required to manage the product life cycle.  All you need is to learn what needs to be in place to make a product successful, create a product plan that works for your business, and implement the processes that need to be in place between the staff you have based on their skills.   In many companies Product Marketing and Product Management are combined.   Product Marketing is product outward focused toward the customer whereas Product Management is taking information in from different sources such as marketing, development, and customers , and then being able to define product requirements and make sure the product is on track within the company.  Once there is a product, it is Product Marketing’s job to take the product and move it out to the market making sure all of the components are in place. 

Product Marketing and Product Management are really the gatekeepers between development and the market.  They are responsible for understanding the technology, the market, knowing the competition, and what will be required in creating and delivering a successful product. Both functions combined end up managing a product’s life cycle from product definition, through product introduction, and even product retirement.

Goal of Service 

• The goal of this service is to aid a start-up and small business in putting together the processes and plans needed so that these functions become second nature in your business going forward.  This can be done whether you are manufacturing your own products or reselling products from other manufacturers. 

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