At nexus-security, we frequently discuss business marketing strategies. However, in this post, we’ll delve into the art of marketing your products.

Product marketing, while intricate and multifaceted, can be effectively utilized by small businesses. By adopting proven strategies employed by larger corporations, small businesses can tap into new customer bases and execute successful product-focused promotional campaigns. Let’s explore this further.

What Is Product Marketing?

Product marketing is the strategic process of introducing and promoting goods to their intended markets. It encompasses defining the message of advertising campaigns, selecting appropriate promotion channels, determining campaign reach and target audience, and establishing the product’s sales approach. In essence, product marketing encompasses all aspects of positioning, promoting, and selling a product.

Product Management vs. Product Marketing

While “product management” is often encountered in business contexts, it’s not synonymous with product marketing. These terms represent distinct business functions.

Product marketing typically falls under the marketing department’s umbrella, either as a specialized team or integrated into the core marketing team’s responsibilities. In contrast, product management is a broader, more strategic process encompassing a product’s entire lifecycle, from research and development to the point of sale. Product marketers often report to product managers.

This diagram, illustrating a typical product team structure in a software startup, effectively highlights the difference:

Image via Openview Labs

The 7 P’s of Product Marketing Strategy

Product marketing professionals often rely on the “seven P’s” framework:

• Product
• Pricing
• Place
• Promotion
• Process
• People
• Physical environment Let’s explore each “P” and its application in your business and product marketing endeavors.

Product

Naturally, if you’re interested in product marketing, you likely have a specific product in mind. However, “product” can have varied interpretations depending on your business type. Consequently, not all seven P’s are universally applicable.

For instance, a hardware store might consider a new power tool line as a product, particularly the individual tools within that line. In contrast, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup might view its software offering as its product. At nexus-security, our core product offering is our PPC management platform, nexus-security Advisor. As a SaaS company, the seventh “P” – physical location – isn’t relevant since our product lacks a physical presence.

Regardless of your offerings, you can leverage the seven P’s to promote your products or services. Even service-based businesses like landscaping or catering companies can position their services as products using these principles.

Pricing

Pricing, a crucial aspect of the seven P’s, demands careful consideration from all businesses.

Product pricing involves more than simply setting a figure that seems acceptable to customers. Marketers must analyze prevailing market conditions, including industry health, demand levels, and competition.

Understanding your customers is paramount. Are they willing to pay your asking price? Do you have a substantial customer base? Additionally, consider your competitors’ pricing strategies, production costs, unique selling propositions, business models, and pricing points.

This market research and competitive analysis are vital for shaping successful product marketing initiatives. Additional complexities might arise from factors like third-party vendor pricing, external production costs, and international currency fluctuations.

Place

While easily confused with “physical environment,” “place” in product marketing refers to product distribution—the strategy for getting your product into your customers’ hands. This stage varies significantly across businesses.

For example, a software startup might opt for online distribution. In contrast, a hardware store launching a new power tool range might choose selective distribution, relying on intermediaries to sell through specific retailers.

Focusing on physical products, there are three primary distribution types:

• Exclusive distribution
• Selective distribution
• Intensive distribution Exclusive distribution, often employed for luxury goods, involves selling through a very limited number of retail outlets and intermediaries. This exclusivity is woven into the product’s marketing message and distribution channels.

You won’t find a Rolex for sale just anywhere…

The second type, selective distribution, is commonly used for products like power tools and appliances, sold through specific retailers rather than every possible outlet.

Lastly, intensive distribution aims for maximum market penetration, making the product available virtually everywhere. A classic example is Coca-Cola, readily available in a wide range of stores.

Coca-Cola – the masters of intensive distribution.

Promotion

While all the seven P’s are important, “promotion” holds particular significance for marketers.

In product marketing, promotion goes beyond advertising placement. It encompasses how a product is presented to its target market, including brand awareness, demand generation, lead acquisition, product differentiation, and overall product messaging. It shapes public and target audience perception of the product and brand.

For most digital marketers, paid search and paid social media advertising are primary promotion methods. Paid search excels in boosting brand awareness, generating leads, increasing sales, and expanding reach. Paid social advertising offers precise audience targeting, crucial for product marketers. We’ll delve into leveraging these channels later.

Process

The “process” in product marketing, much like individual initiatives, varies greatly between businesses.

The product marketing process encompasses the entire campaign pipeline, typically divided into strategy and execution stages. For startups and businesses without physical products, this process might involve pre-release, release, and post-release phases.

An example product marketing process workflow Continuously optimizing the process phase is key. Startups often gain valuable insights into their product marketing process after launching a new product, identifying areas for improvement in future launches. The same applies to businesses with physical products, where distribution methods, target audience refinement, and messaging can be adjusted for greater effectiveness.

“Process” in product marketing also encompasses the customer’s journey to purchase. Online retailers prioritize optimizing the online shopping cart experience to minimize abandonment rates.

This principle extends to physical stores. Product presentation, sales assistance, and the nature of the sales process itself (consultative or transactional) all factor into the “process” stage of product marketing.

People

Product releases don’t just magically happen. They involve the dedication and effort of various individuals, from product managers and engineers to manufacturing and sales teams.

For small businesses, the “people” aspect of product marketing can be challenging. Limited resources might hinder hiring experienced professionals for product launch tasks. However, smaller businesses can leverage their agility to their advantage.

Regardless of your business size or product, understanding the personnel requirements for your product marketing pipeline is crucial. Consider whether you need to hire, delegate responsibilities, outsource tasks, or even require a complex pipeline.

Physical Environment

Have you ever entered a grocery store for a few items and ended up spending way more? This is no coincidence. Many stores, particularly supermarkets, utilize psychology to encourage shoppers to overspend.

“Physical environment” in product marketing goes beyond the point of sale. It encompasses the consumer’s shopping experience and brand perception related to the store or retail space.

Of course, physical environment isn’t relevant for all businesses or products. For instance, Coca-Cola’s in-store presence varies. While elaborate displays are common, bottles are often simply sold near checkout counters.

The irony is not lost on me. Photo via Jack Zalium

The 4 Big Questions of Product Marketing Strategy

Having explored the “seven P’s,” remember that not all are applicable to every business or product. Let’s distill these principles into four fundamental questions relevant to all:

• What are you selling?
• Who is your target audience?
• How will you reach them?
• How much should the product cost?

Let’s examine these questions within a digital marketing context to understand how product marketing can benefit your business.

The Product

If product marketing piques your interest, you’re likely aiming to improve your existing product marketing or promote a new line. Even without a physical product (e.g., SaaS or service-based businesses), you can identify your offerings and build from there.

Remember, people seek solutions, not just products. This principle applies universally, from a bottle of Coca-Cola to the latest iPhone.

Apple understands this principle perfectly. Your marketing message should highlight how your product or service solves customers’ problems. Apple doesn’t merely sell phones; it sells a lifestyle. If you offer a service, emphasize how it makes customers’ lives easier by saving them time and effort.

For more inspiration, check out our post on epic product marketing examples, which includes several Apple campaigns.

The Target Audience

Understanding your ideal customers is as crucial as the product itself. This is where data becomes invaluable.

If you haven’t already, establish a process for defining your ideal customers. Creating buyer personas is an effective starting point.

Detailed outlines of your ideal customers enable you to target individuals matching those criteria. This is particularly powerful with Facebook and Twitter advertising, both offering granular targeting options.

Expanding Your Reach

Once you understand your target audience, you need a strategy to reach them. While numerous marketing channels exist, we’ll focus on three: paid search, paid social, and email marketing.

Paid search, utilizing platforms like Google and Bing, leverages user intent. When a user searches a keyword related to your business, your ad appears. They click, and potentially become a customer. While the customer journey is rarely linear, this illustrates the basic principle behind pay-per-click advertising. When done right, it’s also incredibly cost-effective.

On the other hand, paid social media advertising excels in reaching individuals who haven’t actively expressed interest in your offerings. identity-based marketing is central to paid social’s power. Leveraging your target audience data, you can target lookalike audiences based on various factors like income, education, homeowner status, and interests.

If you can think of a demographic, Facebook probably lets you target it.

PPC and paid social are two sides of the same coin. PPC attracts interested customers, while paid social helps you discover potential customers.

Product Costs

Depending on your product, cost might be a central or negligible part of your marketing message. Apple rarely emphasizes pricing, focusing instead on the desirability of its brand and lifestyle.

Conversely, if your product is common or easily obtainable, price can be a competitive advantage. Discount retailers like Walmart exemplify this by consistently offering products at the lowest possible prices, a message central to their brand identity.

No retailer leverages purchasing power like Walmart. Image via International Contractors

Ultimately, the role of pricing in your marketing depends on your product and target audience. Does it differentiate you? Will it resonate with your ideal customer’s desire for solutions?

While product marketing can be complex, deconstructing its principles into individual components simplifies its application in your business.