Product Management & Product Marketing

The Product Management and Product Marketing Roles are some of the most strategically
important roles in an organization and when well executed, can help the organization consistently
deliver products and services that are successful in the market and result in increased revenue,
market share and profitability. ut unfortunately, these are also some of the most misunderstood
roles and too often are relegated to tactical duties and miss out on delivering the strategic value and
impact that they could deliver to the organization.
!ow do you ensure that your Product Management " Product Marketing team is consistently
delivering strategic value# !ow do you know if the structure and process you have in place are right
for your organization# !ow do you know if your team is doing all of the critical activities they
should be doing# !ow do you know if you have the right people in these roles#
Performing the Product & Market Management Assessment
The starting point is to do an Assessment of Your Product & Market Management Practices. The
following is a recommended approach for doing this assessment.
$. Choose a Framework% &n order to effectively assess your Product " Market Management
Practices, you must have a sound framework to serve as your reference point. This
framework must address all of the critical practices that Product Managers and Product
Marketers in a mature organization should be performing.
'. Perform Assessment% Perform an in(depth assessment of these practices in your
organization. This means assessing the depth and consistency of your organization)s
processes, tools, knowledge and deliverables as it relates to the framework. *ou will need to
interview everyone that is in a Product Management and Product Marketing role and the key
constituents that they interact with on a regular basis. The key constituents will typically
come from +xecutive Management, ,ales, Marketing, +ngineering-.evelopment, /lient
,ervices-,upport and 0perations. *ou obviously won)t be able to interview everyone within
these groups, but you should interview the key managers and top contributors in each group.
1. Rate Performance% Rate your organization)s performance against the framework. *ou)ll
need to rate each practice based upon the depth " consistency as evidenced by the
processes, tools, knowledge and deliverables. 2sing a scale of $ to 3 provides sufficient
granularity to distinguish those areas that are performing well and those areas that need
improvement.
4. Identify Gaps% ,ummarize the results and prioritize those practices where improvement will
have the highest impact on your organization)s success.
3. Define Training eeds% 5s you identify gaps, consider what training is necessary for the
organization to improve. &f only a few of your team members lack depth and consistency in
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their practices, you might want to have them participate in a formal product management
training program. &f you lack depth and inconsistency across the organization, then
conducting formal product management training onsite for your whole team and key
constituents at the same time is a great way to create a common understanding of the roles
and get everyone working from the same framework.
6. Create a P!an% More than likely, you)ll have identified a number of areas that need
improvement, but you cannot realistically work on all of these at once. This is where your
prioritization will guide you in identifying 7uarterly initiatives. *ou should choose one or
two practice areas to focus on each 7uarter. 8ork on improving those practices until you)ve
achieved your target depth and consistency of implementation. 5t that time, you can move
onto to improving a new practice area.
9. Define Metrics% 5s part of your improvement initiative, you should identify appropriate
metrics to track how your team is performing. These metrics should cover the range of%
strategic, financial, operational and activity(based metrics. Then monitor these metrics on a
monthly, 7uarterly or annual basis, as appropriate for each metric.
:. Re"iew Regu!ar!y% ;inally, conduct this assessment on an annual basis, making sure that
you are improving in all areas and not regressing due to lack of focus or attention. The
metrics will also help to keep you on track towards your improvement goals.
#ho shou!d !ead and conduct the assessment$
The head<s= of the product management and product marketing teams own<s= this responsibility and
one of their key ob>ectives should be improving the processes, tools, knowledge and deliverables of
the team and making sure these improvements have a positive impact on the organization)s key
metrics.
ecause doing an assessment is a time intensive effort and it is often difficult to break away from
the daily grind to conduct an assessment like this, an outside consultant is a valuable resource to
conduct the assessment and to guide the organization through an improvement program. 5nother
reason for using a consultant is to ensure fairness and ob>ectivity that is not influenced by pre(
conceived notions of the organization and the individual personalities.
#hat framework shou!d you use$
!ere are some 7uestions you should ask as you consider a framework for assessing your product
management and product marketing organization.
$. &s it complete in the definition of the product management and product marketing role#
'. .oes it emphasize the strategic aspects of the roles#
1. &s it applicable for companies of all sizes and industries#
4. /an the framework be supported by formal product management training#
3. .oes the framework cover the complete life(cycle for products and services, from
opportunity identification to development through launch, maturity and retire#
&n the rest of this white paper, we describe a framework that supports all of those 7uestions and has
proven useful in assessing the effectiveness of product management " product marketing
organizations.
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The Compe!!ing Marketer Mode! for Product & Market %uccess&
The ultimate goal of any business is to achieve commercial success and continued profitable
growth. This success is dependent upon a company)s ability to consistently deliver commercially
successful products-services to the market. The proven approach for achieving this success is by
creating and delivering market(driven products and services. To do this, companies must
consistently do the following%
&dentify a /ompelling Market 0pportunity ? identify a problem that is significant enough
that many buyers are willing to pay money to solve it.
.eliver a /ompelling ,olution ? deliver a competitive solution in a timely manner that
solves the market problem.
uild a /ompelling Market .evelopment ,trategy ? create market messages and conduct
appropriate marketing activities that resonate with the buyers in the target market,
motivating them to solve their problem by purchasing the products-services.
There are '4 @ey Practices that have been identified that, when appropriately implemented, ensure
that companies have a consistent and repeatable methodology for delivering market(driven products
and services that lead to commercial success. The framework for these '4 @ey Practices is shown
below and is discussed throughout the rest of this white paper.
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Identify a Compe!!ing Market 'pportunity
The first goal is to identify a compelling market opportunity. 5t the end of this, you want to
construct and >ustify a business case and evaluate that business case against other opportunities
within your company. There are seven key practices to achieve that.
1) Articu!ate (usiness %trategy) 5 company needs a well(defined business strategy to effectively
guide the direction of the company and to make strategic decisions around products and
markets. 8ithout a clear business strategy, how do you know if an opportunity is a good fit for
your corporation# @ey elements of a well(defined business strategy include%
5 clear and succinct Aision " MissionB
.efinition of core competencies, target markets, company positioning " brand promiseB
&dentification of competitive advantages.
2) *a!idate the Market Pro+!em) efore pursuing a new market opportunity <new product, new
vertical market, new geographic market=, you should validate that you are solving a compelling
market problem. That means that there are many buyers with a problem big enough that they are
willing to pay to solve it. The key elements of market problem validation include%
Cook for market evidence that a problem existsB
;orm a hypothesis on what the problem is and which market segment<s= have this problemB
/onduct primary research where you speak to many potential customers to really understand
their problems and to understand what their needs areB
/onduct secondary research to identify key business trends and drivers and to ascertain
potential market size and growthB
&terate as necessary until the market problem is well understood and validated.
3) *a!idate the Product Concept) 0nce you have validated that a compelling market problem
exists, you now need to create a product concept and validate that the concept solves the market
problem. To validate a product concept, you do not need to actually build the product, but you
need to communicate the vision of the solution sufficiently in order that potential buyers can
visualize how the product will solve the market problem. The key elements of product concept
validation include%
/reate a product concept that maps to your core competencies and business strategyB
/reate a mockup of the product so that potential clients can visualize the usage of the
product. 5 mockup could be a presentation, story board, wire frames, non(functional
prototype, etcB
Present the product concept to potential users and receive feedback on the ability of the
product to solve the market problemB
&terate as necessary until the product concept is validated as useful in solving the market
problem.
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4) (ui!d Profita+!e (usiness Mode!) *our business model must answer the 7uestion of how will
you make a profit by selling this solution. The key elements you must evaluate and define
include%
.efine a .elivery Model that matches to the market problem and market needB
.etermine cost to sell " deliver your solutionB
.evelop your pricing strategyB
.efine how this results in a profit.
5) Assess Competiti"e ,andscape) efore pursuing a new market opportunity, you also want to
know which competitors exist and what they are offering. 5 good competitive analysis will
evaluate the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the top 1 to 3 competitors and will include
the following key elements%
/urrent offerings, target markets, strategy " positioningB
/ompetitive strengths " weaknessesB
Market shareB
5n identification of substitutes " potential new entrants.
6) -ustify the Market 'pportunity) efore pursuing a new market opportunity, you need to
summarize your work and >ustify the investment in the business opportunity by showing that it
is a profitable opportunity for your company <The usiness /ase=. The key elements of a well
written usiness /ase include%
.escription of Market Deed " 0pportunityB
/ompany fit ( does it fit your business strategyB
.efinition of Product /onceptB
Market ,trategyB
Market size, revenue potentialB
&nvestments re7uiredB
Risks " impactsB
Profit potential.
7) Prioriti.e Market 'pportunities) &n most cases, a company has multiple opportunities to
pursue, all which have a valid and profitable business case. These can include new products,
new vertical markets, new geographical markets, etc. Rarely can a company pursue all of these
opportunities, so they must prioritize these opportunities based upon how they support their
corporate ob>ectives and then decide on which ones to invest in. @ey elements of prioritizing
and selecting the best investment opportunities include%
.efine ranking criteria for all opportunitiesB
.etermine available budget to invest in new opportunitiesB
5ssign executive team to review and make decisionB
Manage trade(offs of budget and opportunity.
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De!i"er a Compe!!ing %o!ution
The second goal is to deliver a compelling solution that addresses the compelling market problem.
8ithout a clear process for defining and building the solution, the resulting solution will 7uite likely
miss the mark. There are six key practices to make sure you get the right solution.
8) Define C!ear Product *ision & %trategy) 0ne you have identified a compelling market
opportunity, understand the problems that you need to solve for the target buyers and users and
have defined a product concept, you need to establish how you are going compete in the market
and then create a long(term vision and plan for the solution that supports that strategy. This
helps you communicate the vision internally and to the market place. @ey elements of a good
product vision and strategy include%
.escription of the market <trends, opportunity, needs, competition=B
.efinition of how product competes <positioning, value proposition, differentiation=B
Mapping of product strategy to business strategyB
.efinition of the product <or product line= vision and growth strategyB
!igh level roadmap.
9) %o!icit Market Re/uirements) *ou must solicit market re7uirements on a continual basis as
the market needs evolve. *ou must continue to focus on problems that your target market needs
to solve and not on features-functions. That is, you can)t define the solution until you know
what problem you are solving. The keys to doing successful solicitation of market re7uirements
include%
,olicit needs from all buyer and user typesB
,olicit from all internal stakeholders <those that sell, implement and support the solution=B
2se various methods, to include% 5dvisory councils, customer visits, user groups, sales
feedback, focus groups, observation, etc.B
.efine a process for how market feedback is validated and prioritizedB
.o this on a regular basis.
10) C!ear!y %pecify the %o!ution) To ensure you get a solution that meets the market needs and
is competitive, you need to clearly specify the solution so that
engineering-development-manufacturing delivers the right solution. @ey elements of a well
specified solution include the following documents%
Market Re7uirements .ocument <MR.= ( describes the market needs, without defining the
solutionB
2ser Personas ( describes profiles of the typical usersB
Problem ,cenarios ( describes situations-context of persona)s need<s=B
Product Re7uirements .ocument <PR.= ( defines the functionality of the solution necessary
to meet the market needs-re7uirements.
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11) Manage %cope & %chedu!e) &n order to deliver the right solution capabilities on schedule,
you must manage the trade(off between all capabilities that you want to develop for the solution
and the amount of time it takes. The key to this is prioritizing re7uirements and then negotiating
the release plan with engineering-development-manufacturing so that you get a suitable solution
in a practical time frame. The key elements to successfully negotiate and achieve a good release
plan include%
.efinition of minimum feature set necessary to deliver value to meet the market need <often
called the minimum viable product=B
+stimation of how soon you need a solution to meet the market need <based upon market
trends " competitive threats=B
/riteria to prioritize re7uirementsB
5 repeatable process to negotiate scope v. scheduleB
5 process for managing scope changesB
/lear ownership of scope decisions <typically a product manager=.
12) 0nsure #ho!e Product Readiness) &n order to make your solution fully usable and to solve
the complete market problem for the Ema>ority marketF, you need to ensure the 8hole Product
is ready. The 8hole Product, being the total effective solution in the eyes of the buyer-user, may
be more than >ust the core product that youGre developing and producing and you often need to
provide supplementary services or have partners provide complementary products or services to
deliver the full solution. The key elements of the 8hole Product that need to be ready at launch
include%
/ore Product <the solution that you are developing, delivering=B
Packaging ? documentation, training, implementation " support services and other internal
infrastructure to make the solution deliverable and supportableB
5ugmentation " &nfrastructure ? typically 1rd party tools, applications, systems and
infrastructure that augment the offering and make it more usable and competitive.
13) Test Market Readiness) efore launching your product-service to market, you should test
the product)s ability to solve the market problem by conducting market testing. This typically
includes testing of product functionality by market users but can also serve as an opportunity to
test your marketing strategy and tactics. The key elements of test market readiness include%
Test that the product functions as planned within the planned usage environmentB
Test that product solves the buyers) and users) problem<s=B
Test the market strategy, including messages, channel, marketing tools, marketing
techni7ues.
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(ui!d a Compe!!ing Market De"e!opment %trategy
*ou)ve identified a compelling marketing opportunity and delivered a compelling solution that
solves the market problem, but you now must inform your target market that you can help them
solve their problem. *ou do this by building a compelling market development strategy. There are
seven key practices for building an effective market strategy that leads to effective marketing and
sales execution.
14) Define Targeted Market De"e!opment P!an) &n launching a new product or entering a new
market, you must focus your market development efforts on the market segment<s= that offers
you the best opportunity for success and create market messages that resonate with those
buyers. 0nce defined, this Market .evelopment Plan guides the rest of your marketing and sales
activities and must be clearly communicated to the rest of the company. 5 well(defined market
development plan will include the following key elements%
8ell defined target market segments%
.escription of buyer, influencer and user personas for those segments and their
challenges-goals-needs <that your product can solve=B
/lear messages to communicate to each target persona. These are based upon your
positioning and should include the Aalue Proposition <what benefit your solution delivers to
the target persona= and the .ifferentiation <why should they buy your solution Ev. othersF=.
15) 0sta+!ish 0ffecti"e Channe! %trategy) *our channel strategy is defining the best way to
reach your target market. This is dependent upon how your customers want to buy your
products-services and your overall business model. @ey elements that must be evaluated and
defined include%
.ecision on the best sales model to use ? .irect, &ndirect <channel partners=B
The re7uired profile-skills of your sales team or channel partnerB
!ow you manage potential channel conflictB
The sales methodology to adopt and use to train your sales team <or channel=B
The right sales tools to support your sales strategy.
16) A!ign & Create Marketing1%a!es Too!s) *ou need to ensure that your marketing " sales
tools support and align with your market " channel strategy and that your tools help buyers
reach the buying decision. 8hen evaluating this, you should consider the following key
elements%
8hich marketing-sales tools are re7uired for%
o .ifferent market segmentsB
o .ifferent buyer, influencers and user personas in each marketB
o To help move them through the buying process based upon their needs " concerns at
each stage of the buying process.
234 Create & Manage ,aunch P!an) 5 Caunch Plan is a defined set of activities to ensure that all
key elements of the solution and company are ready for the launch and that you have defined
marketing and sales activities that will make an initial impact on sales. ;ailing to execute a
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proper launch can severely impede the future success of the product and damage the reputation
of your company. The key areas you must address and manage in the launch plan include%
Product Readiness <ensure whole product is ready=B
Marketing " /hannel Readiness <market plan established, marketing-sales tools ready and
sales channel enabled=B
/ompany Readiness <all infrastructure, support, production capability, etc=B
Caunch strategy <defined marketing " sales activities to achieve initial sales=.
18) 0na+!e Channe! 5%a!es 0na+!ement4) To ensure that your sales channel can effectively sell
to your target market, you must prepare them via a sales enablement process. This makes sure
that the sales channel is selling to the right buyers, uncovering needs your solution can solve
and communicating the right messages. @ey components of sales enablement includes%
+ffective sales tools <+xecutive level presentation, product backgrounder, needs discovery
guide, message driven demo, etc.= that enable the sales team to identify needs and
communicate the key messagesB
Process to enable <train= and test the knowledge <certification= of your sales channel.
19) Generate Awareness) 8hen launching a new product or going into a new market, you must
create market awareness <EbuzzF= around the need, why it)s important to solve that need and
how to solve it. 5wareness programs are often effectively done via speaking and writing
engagements of various forms that establishes the market need and your company)s ability to
solve the need. Typical key elements of awareness programs include%
Product evangelism, such as speaking engagements at tradeshows, conferences " other
trade events as well as webinarsB
Public relations to get 1rd party validation via trade >ournals, newspapers and other forms of
the pressB
5nalyst relations to share and validate your message with analysts and get them to speak "
write about itB
Proper marketing-sales tools to support this, such as white papers, presentations, press kits,
blogging, etc.
20) Feed & Manage %a!es Funne!) ,tarting with the launch of a new product, you must
conduct market activities that continuously " effectively feed your sales funnel and manage the
leads through the funnel until they result in sales. To accomplish this, key elements include%
.emand generation strategies that move well 7ualified leads into the sales funnel <e.g.,
webinars, direct mail, telemarketing, advertising, trade shows, conferences, internet
marketing, social media, etc.=B
,core, 7ualify and prioritize leadsB
/onduct marketing programs and sales activities that move them through the funnel until the
sale is completeB
+valuate funnel metrics <conversion rates, time to sale, cost of leads, etc.= and identify
opportunities to improve on these.
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Process and Portfo!io Management
There are four more key practices that help you manage your product delivery process and the
overall profitability of your portfolio of products-services. These include%
21) Manage Product ,ife Cyc!e Profita+i!ity) 5s products-services go through the product life
cycle <introduction, growth, maturity, decline=, market conditions and buyers change and each
stage re7uires different strategies to maximize the profitability of the product and to extend the
life cycle. @ey elements of doing this include%
.etermining where the product is in the lifecycleB
5nalyzing the changing market conditions and buyer profiles-needs in each stageB
5d>usting the product or product line to effectively compete in that stageB
5dapting the market strategy to the buying motives for that stage of the life cycle.
22) 'ptimi.e Product Portfo!io Profita+i!ity) 5s your company grows and evolves, you need
a methodology to manage the product portfolio, helping you make decisions on where to and
how to invest your limited resources in current " new products-services in order to maximize
portfolio value. @ey elements of doing this are%
2sing appropriate tools <e.g., /H matrix, H+ matrix, ,80T, etc.= to analyze the balance,
alignment " competitiveness of your product portfolioB
2sing appropriate tools <e.g., prioritization, optimization, etc.= to determine which product
investments will best support the business strategy, create balance and result in maximum
portfolio value.
23) Measure %uccess 5Metrics4) The key to improving is being able to measure critical factors
of your strategy and operations and to ad>ust and improve upon these. The key elements to do
this include%
.efining measurable metrics at both the strategic and operational levelB
Measuring and tracking metrics on a regular basis <weekly, monthly, 7uarterly, yearly, etc.=,
as is suitable for the metricB
.etermining where improvement is needed and make the appropriate corrective actions to
your strategies and tactics.
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24) Manage In"estment1Risk Decisions 5Decision Checkpoints4) There are many activities
that a company must accomplish to take a product from conception to launch. 5s it moves along
the product delivery timeline, a company)s investment and risk increases significantly. .ecision
checkpoints are placed at critical points of the process to evaluate if the company should make
the next level of investment in a certain product-service, helping to ensure that the right
opportunities receive the right level of investment. The key elements to do this include%
5t a minimum, ma>or checkpoints should occur at the business case <before investing in
product development= and before launching the productB
5s the product moves through its life cycle, you should have a checkpoints to make +nd(of(
Cife <+0C= decisions <e.g., retire or divest of the product=B
+ach checkpoint should include a defined set of deliverables which will serve as a basis of
the decision and the authority level for making the decision.
Free %e!f6Assessment & Consu!ting Ca!!
To help you start through the assessment process, /ompellingPM offers a free online self(
assessment, which includes a thirty minute consulting call to review your assessment and make
recommendations.
To re7uest a link to the free self(assessment, please contact us via our website%
http)11compe!!ingpm7com1a+out1contact6us1
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Product & Market Management 08ce!!ence
;or a complete assessment process, /ompellingPM offers the Product & Market Management
!ce""ence service to help companies improve the strategic value and the execution of the product
management " product marketing roles. This service is delivered by identifying areas for
improvement via a formal assessment process and then improving these areas via formal training,
workshops and coaching.
The Product & Market Management !ce""ence services are delivered in four stages%
Assessment
The goal of the assessment phase is to evaluate and understand the depth and consistency of
implementation of Product Management " Product Marketing best practices throughout the
organization and to identify areas of weaknesses that can be improved. .uring this phase,
/ompellingPM evaluates processes, tools, deliverables and market and product knowledge.
Training
/ompellingPM has partnered with ':I Hroup to offer the #$tima" Product Management &
Product Marketing% <0PM= training program. The 0PM training program trains participants in
the full role of product management and product marketing across the complete product life(cycle
and has proven effective across all industries. &t is based upon the industry standard framework
defined by the 5ssociation of &nternational Product Marketing and Management <5&PMM= and the
training begins the preparation for taking the exam to receive the prestigious 5&PMM certifications%
/ertified Product Manager </PMJ= and /ertified Product Marketing Manager </PMMJ=.
Imp!ementation
The Product " Market Management +xcellence &mplementation involves an &mplementation
8orkshop where all relevant players participate and create a specific plan for the 7uarterly focus
initiative. .uring the 7uarter, progress is reviewed on a regular basis as part of the &mplementation
/oaching. The 7uarter is ended with a final review of the initiative.
Performance Monitoring
/ompellingPM will work with the executive team and product management-marketing team to
identify metrics by which the product management " product marketing roles can be evaluated and
improvement tracked. 8e continue to support the process of evaluating these metrics on a regular
basis.
For more information9 p!ease contact us "ia our we+site)
http)11compe!!ingpm7com1a+out1contact6us1
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