There are a lot of key takeaways from Elizabeth's article on product marketing that directly align with good business planning practices.
Who are we really, product marketers
We’re the kids who started lemonade stands, traded and bartered in the elementary school lunch room, and were the first to sign up to help.
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We’re insatiably curious and always ask why.
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We’re students of business and business models.
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We’re relatively obsessed with technology. Our less tech-savvy friends generally turn to us first for “tech” help.
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Our parents have no idea what we do for a living.
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We eventually want to start our own companies, we just haven’t figured out the perfect idea yet.
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We love to see and use data to drive our initiatives.
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We’re scientists. And artists. We were either engineers or English majors. Or maybe both.
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We’re generally pretty tired of marketing buzz words and wish things like “synergy” would evaporate into the ether.
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We’re happiest working in a group of super scrappy, smart, ambitious and fun people who like to get sh*t done. We work hard and don’t have time for a$$holes.
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We’re not into short-term “growth hacking.” Sure, we work in sprints, but we’re in it for the long haul. We’re looking to build sustainable businesses.
What value do we bring to organizations and why are we “must haves” to drive business growth?
You’re itching to get product market fit as quickly as possible because your investors are pressuring you, or you’re pressuring yourself to get revenue so you can raise your Series A; you know that funding for dreams doesn’t really happen anymore. But without a product marketing strategy — how exactly are you going to market? Who needs your product and how can you convince him that he does? — you’re entering the Appalachian Trail without a map, or boots, or socks. All the money that you’re about to spend on copywriters, or your nephew who knows a bit of HTML, or paid search or Facebook ads, you might as well light on fire. Even if you do get a response, how will you know if they’re really the customers you want and can retain (e.g. drive more value to your business)?
Someone with product marketing skills is a key executive hire for your team as you think about taking anything to market. Ideally, this person is on staff BEFORE you finish building anything so you can assess the market and develop a product or service that will solve a problem that someone will actually pay for — otherwise, you have a shiny new thing, but not a business.
According to a CB Insights report that analyzed 101 essays from founders who had failed startups,
“The number-one reason for failure, cited by 42% of polled startups, is the lack of a market need for their product.
That should be self-evident. If no one wants your product, your company isn’t going to succeed. But many startups build things people don’t want with the irrational hope that they’ll convince them otherwise.”
PRODUCT MARKETERS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING MARKET NEEDS FOR PRODUCTS AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY.
Friends, 90% of startups fail. By following the logic above….let’s say 40% or even 30% of startups fail because they didn’t understand the market they were trying to enter and built a product no one wanted. Guess who could have helped them with that? Yes, a product marketer.
Now think about how much more economic value we could create for our communities by employing product marketers early in the development of our businesses. Could we keep 5, 10 or even 15% more startups in business? How many more jobs could we create? According to the latest data from the Small Business Administration, small businesses account for about 45% of total GDP in the US. If we were able to affect that by 1% we would make a significant impact in the economic health of our local communities.
Also shared on LinkedIn Pulse.
