Product marketing involves marketing a product to potential and existing customers, while product management involves developing goods and services for sale. It is the first step in reaching a specific consumer market and involves the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. The manufacturer considers the nature of the product, the target consumer groups, and means of distribution to determine pricing, where to sell the product, and how to educate consumers. It is a necessary element of a comprehensive, focused, and logical marketing campaign.
Product marketing is a term applied to any of the tasks associated with the process of marketing a product to potential and existing customers. This contrasts with product management, which is concerned with the steps used in developing goods and services for sale and with organizing the production process that culminates in the finished product. Product marketing is often the first step in reaching a specific consumer market and assessing that market’s level of interest in the product.
Within the overall marketing process, product marketing is seen as the first of what are known as the four Ps of the marketing process. Along with the product, all concepts of price, place and promotion are involved in creating an effective and focused advertising campaign. Much of the work involved with product marketing really lays the groundwork for the rest of the marketing process. This is because most of the data needed to determine a marketable price, identify viable places to sell the product, and how to reach the right consumers is collected during the product’s marketing stage.
When developing a product marketing strategy, the manufacturer will consider very specific questions to successfully start the process. One consideration is the nature of the products that will be offered as part of the campaign. Once the nature of the products has been established, the next step is to determine which consumer groups are most likely to purchase the products. In situations where there is more than one viable group of targeted consumers, it is not uncommon to develop a hierarchy, based on the anticipated scope of interest or the size of the target group.
Product marketing will also address the means by which products will be made available to consumers. This means evaluating different options for distributing the product, including using online resources. As the data is gathered in a coherent and logical format, it is possible to solve the problems of how much to charge for the product. The collected data will also provide important clues as to where to sell the product and ultimately how to educate consumers about the product’s existence, as well as entice the desired consumer groups to commit to a purchase.
Depending on the manufacturer’s culture, the process can be seen as a follow-up to the product management cycle or as the first phase of the overall marketing process. Various ideas about how product marketing fits into the larger scheme of operation are adopted in different industries, although the general tasks and concepts associated with the product marketing process can be identified using other terms. In any incarnation, this phase of the marketing strategy is only successful when each necessary element is logically considered and provides the information that will help make the marketing campaign comprehensive, focused, and logical.
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