Compared to other marketing roles, it seems that the title of the Product Marketing Manager is not straightforward enough. It is harder for people to recognize specific responsibilities. Besides, people often confuse this role with that of the Product Manager.
Product Manager Vs. Product Marketing Manager
First of all, let us compare these two roles. Usually, the product manager stays very close to the engineering team. This position should be the right person to define the nature of the product, e.g., What is the product? Why should we build this product? What is the differentiation compared to similar ones on the market? , etc. By answering all these questions, the product manager should communicate with the engineering team to build the right product with the right timing.
Meanwhile, another role is a more market-facing person. This position should communicate all these fantastic features into appealing selling points to the whole marketplace. This person should understand the product, market, and general audience. Also, both the managers should work together closely and help each other understand the product better and change from the market needs.
Since the product marketing is helping to translate the concept into messages which are more acceptable by the final consumers, this guy needs to do much cross-departmental communication. The responsibility varies from different corporates, and it could cover the intersection among product management, sales, and other marketing functionalities. Nowadays, we have 7Ps such as product, price, price, promotion, packaging, positioning. Although the product marketing manager conducts the overall marketing strategy, the product manager and sales team should also share insights during the decision-making.
Cross-departmental Collaboration
In a word, the marketing manager needs to work closely with the product manager and the sales team daily. Here is the general breakdown of how they collaborate.
Cooperation with product manager:
-Vision statement
-Product development
Cooperation with the sales team:
-Pricing
-Positioning statement
-Message
-Sales guide
Role’s responsibility
-Competitor analysis
-Target audience research
-Buyer Persona
-Launch plan (including digital marketing, content strategy, and other overall marketing strategies)
-Feedback analysis report