4 minute read
In this article, we define the difference between product marketing and product management. We’ll outline the distinct responsibilities of product marketing managers and product managers and identify the necessary skills for these roles.
If you’re new to product, you may be wondering whether there’s a difference between product marketing vs. product management. In reality, product marketing and product management have overlapping responsibilities and scopes, so it can be easy to mix them up. However, the roles are distinct and serve two different purposes. Understanding how these roles differ, overlap, and work together is essential to launching successful products.
Ready to learn the difference between product marketing and product management? Read on or use the links below to jump to a section.
- Difference between product marketing and product management
- Similarities of product marketing and product management
- Product marketing roles and responsibilities
- Product management roles and responsibilities
- Product marketing vs. product management skills
Product Marketing vs. Product Management
The main difference between product marketing and product management is product marketing is responsible for marketing products, while product management is responsible for creating new products.
Product marketing managers and product managers have similar job scopes. In fact, in some organizations, their job responsibilities can overlap. These roles differ in their focus on stages within the product lifecycle.
Product marketing managers execute promotions of current products and plan promotions for upcoming products. Their KPIs focus on market growth, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and lifetime customer value (LCV).
Product managers ensure that upcoming products are delivered according to plan and develop future products. Their KPIs focus on delivering new products (such as speed to market, featured delivered, and adherence to product roadmaps) and user-based metrics like customer satisfaction.
Product marketing managers and product managers must collaborate to develop and successfully market upcoming products.
Similarities Between Product Marketing and Product Management
When new products are ready for launch, product managers might take the lead on planning and executing the launch, but everything will be in close collaboration with the product marketing manager. This includes developing launch plans, working with cross-functional teams, and managing the rollout of new features and functionality.
When new products are ready for launch, product marketing managers and product managers work together to plan and execute the launch. This includes developing go-to-market plans, writing product positioning and messaging, and creating sales enablement materials.
Depending on the size of the company, product marketing managers and product managers may work closely together to successfully launch new products. These responsibilities may overlap. In some cases, a company may have a product manager but no product marketer. Regardless of the organizational structure of product strategy, it is essential to understand the different responsibilities in product management and product marketing. Fulfilling these responsibilities helps support successful product launches and healthy product life cycles.
Distinct Roles and Responsibilities
Although product marketing managers and product managers have some similarities, they have distinct roles and responsibilities to help move their products out of development and into the market. Let’s explore product marketing and product management’s different responsibilities.
What Does Product Marketing Do?
Product marketing focuses on achieving the business goals for current products and planning for upcoming products. Product Marketing Managers work with the product management team and other teams like sales, engineering, and customer success to develop and execute go-to-market plans. Their responsibilities may include creating product positioning, messaging, and sales enablement materials like presentations, print collateral, and website content.
Product marketing also interfaces with customers and prospects regularly. This team collects feedback to improve current products and inform the development of new products. Additionally, product marketing managers track and analyze market trends to identify opportunities for their company’s products.
Product Marketing Responsibilities
Product marketing focuses on successfully launching and marketing new products and preparing for upcoming products. These responsibilities include:
- Develop and execute go-to-market plans
- Write product positioning and messaging
- Create sales enablement materials
- Analyze market trends
- Manage product launches
- Interface with customers and prospects
What Does Product Management Do?
Product management teams are responsible for delivering upcoming products and creating a vision for future products. Product Managers often work with the product marketing team and other functions like sales, engineering, and customer success to develop product strategy and define the product roadmap. This includes prioritizing features and managing the product life cycle.
Product management also conducts market research and analyzes competitor products. It uses this information to identify market problems and opportunities, and it develops strategies for differentiating its products in the market.
Product management teams often collaborate with product marketing to gather customer feedback and analyze data to identify new product opportunities for their market.
Product Management Responsibilities
Product managers focus on preparing for upcoming products and researching and developing future products. These responsibilities include:
- Develop product strategy
- Define product vision and roadmaps
- Prioritize features
- Manage the product lifecycle
- Conduct market research
- Analyze competitors
Product Marketing vs. Product Management Skills
As you can see, product management and product marketing are distinct roles, but they must work closely to achieve common goals. To do that, product marketing managers and product managers need distinct skills.
Product marketing uses market research and data to empathize with and understand customers’ needs and desires. Then, they use marketing expertise to promote the product to the right audiences using a mix of appropriate channels. Their goal is to coordinate a successful launch that drives sales.
To accomplish this, product marketers need skills like:
- Empathy
- Communication
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Strategic thinking
- Marketing
Product management uses market research and data to identify gaps in the existing product market. Then, they use product expertise to build products that fill those gaps while keeping their teams productive and delivering products on time and under budget. Their goal is to build great products that support growth and revenue for the company.
To accomplish this, product managers need skills like:
- Customer research
- Data analysis
- Planning
- Communication
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Strategic thinking
As you can see, product marketing and product management are distinct roles. As such, they have different responsibilities. To accomplish their goals, product marketers and product managers may use some of the same skills (like communication, cross-functional collaboration, and strategic thinking) but need distinct skill sets to complete essential job functions.
