How Good Product Management Makes Marketing Easier

When I have lead product management teams at technology companies, I made it clear to the rest of the marketing team that my job was to make a product that markets itself. I told the sales team that my job was to make them rich. This is a foreign concept to most market-facing divisions. How can product strategy decisions made earlier on translate into tangible sales and marketing wins? They are used to fighting with product management executives feature by feature, then working independently to come up with ways to differentiate their solution in a crowded market. However, strong executive teams know that the most successful products and services have marketing baked into the product plan. Apple Has Done It Again The go-to example is Apple’s iPod, iPhone, and iPad products. While their technology and features are in line with competitors, their signature design and comfortable interface set them apart. Well, Apple has done it again. They have given themselves a big marketing boost, not by running more ads or through channel relationships, but through product management. Consumer Reports, one of the most trusted authorities on B2C products, recently recalibrated its ratings of tablets after reviewing Apple’s new iPad. What does this mean? The new iPad is such a standout product that they had to create a new category for it. Since Consumer Reports could not create a category...

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