Articulate the customer problem that a company’s product is trying to solve? For new products, this may not be so obvious, so take the time to explain it. For established products, it may be better understood, but still needs to be spelled out. Get this right and it will multiply the effect of every single marketing activity. Miss this, and your marketing messages will fail to connect and resonate. The key to getting this right is to get input from variety of sources including your sales teams and customers, potential customers, and even your competitors’ customers. I have found it particularly useful to talk to analysts and customers who don’t necessarily buy into your thinking. A discussion with “unfriendly” audiences proves insights that will provides valuable insights for crafting your product messaging and positioning.

The deliverables here are buyer and user personas that spell out details of the buyer's organization, the role of each of your personas, and their buyer's journey. This would include items such as what information they need to make their buying decision, where to reach these people, and when might they be ready to receive your messages. And finally, how to create the best persuasive argument for considering your solution. The more accurate and detailed the personas are, the more effective the marketing campaigns will be.

Competitive Intelligence (CI) is the purview of many different groups. But, given the fact that knowledge about competitors' products and strategies is essential to everything that product marketing develops, product marketing often takes the lead for CI activities. The key to successful use of CI is to regularly collect information from multiple sources, develop strategies to analyze it and position against it, and setting up processes and tools to disseminate this quickly and regularly to the sales teams.

Product positioning is about occupying space in your customers’ minds. It is a way for prospective customers to understand who you are and what you’re all about. Successful positioning creates a connection with potential customers that results in selling more products and services. A good example of this is how car companies have developed distinct positioning for themselves, from the most reliable, to driver friendly, to the safest or the fastest. This positioning allows them to differentiate themselves, and better connect with their target markets and segments.

Messaging is the task of communicating your product positioning and value propositions to prospective buyers. Once developed, messaging gets incorporated into every facet of company communications. So spend the time and make sure you get this right.

Starting with the goals and metrics for the company, product marketing articulates the product specific goals and KPIs to support the company targets. Depending on the company strategy and product life stage, the goal could be to maximize revenue and market share, or improve profit, to acquire new customers, or expand into new regions. It is important to have a shared understanding of these goals and KPIs among all responsible teams.

The product marketing strategy and initiatives will be dependent on the goals defined earlier. For example, increasing footprint probable means acquiring new customers. Increasing revenue could come from new customers and partners, but also through upsell and cross-sell. And, of course, you could have a different strategy or strategies for each market segment or geographic area.

These are the initiatives to work on once the strategy and goals have been agreed upon. Some of these are ongoing activities e.g. collateral, competitive analysis etc., while others may be driven by specific events such as the launch of a new product, or the signing of a new partner.