Top 5 Product Marketing Tips

Product marketing is a multi-faceted feat: one that requires a concrete understanding not only of your product but your target market as well. You might have a solid, high-quality product, but that won’t matter if you can’t get it to the people that need it most.

Distributors, target markets, your competitors – they’ll all play a part in your product marketing strategy. So where should you focus your efforts? Here’s our top tips.

1. Know your target market inside and out

If you’ve started a company in which your primary goal is selling a specific product, it’s likely you’ve given extensive thought into your target market. Knowing your client base is especially important when considering your marketing strategy, as you won’t be able to reach the people you want to buy your product if you don’t know who they are…at least not as successfully.

When it comes to defining who your target customers are, you’ll want to get as specific as possible. Considering aspects like gender, age and income is a good starting point, and further investigation into your customers’ interests and buying habits, including where they’re primarily hearing about products and where they purchase them from, will only improve your marketing strategy.

2. Know your competitors, too

While it’s imperative you understand your own product and target market, it’s arguably equally important to have a solid understanding of your competitors as well. Even if you’re of the mind-set that there isn’t anything on the market like your product, you’ll want to consider what customers might buy instead, or how they get around the absence of your product.

Spending time researching things like your competitors’ target markets, marketing campaigns, partnerships and turnover will allow you to pinpoint any shortcomings you might want to take advantage of, as well as success stories you can customise and implement for your own brand.

3. Partner with the right distributors

Choosing a distributor should not only be done on a product basis, but by what they can offer as far as marketing as well. Some distributors offer not just simple distribution, but product marketing divisions whose long-established relationships with retailers can help boost your products visibility.

It all depends on what specifically you’re looking for. Make a list of what exactly you might require from your distributor and conduct your research from there.

4. Zero in on the right channels for your product

It’s no use investing resources in a complex email marketing campaign if your target market doesn’t respond well to this form of engagement. The same goes for specific social media channels, as you won’t want to waste your time with Instagram ads if your clientele primarily use Facebook.

Again, this all boils down to understanding your target market. Once you do, you’ll know where to focus your marketing efforts and will be less likely to waste crucial budget on unnecessary channels. Plus, this’ll mean you can better throw your weight behind the right resources, ensuring that what you do, you do well.

5. Above all, get creative

In a consumer market saturated with millions of products, standing out will likely be your most difficult task. For that reason, you’ll want to get creative with your marketing campaigns, helping your product to get attention through the noise of competitors that consumers are faced with daily.

Create a gift guide, run a Black Friday promotion, explore relevant social media channels, hold a contest; as long as your budget has the room and you have the capacity, don’t fear trying something different. A little creativity where product marketing is concerned can go a long way.

Bio: This article was contributed by Daniel Hill, a creatively-driven product marketing specialist currently responsible for heading up Zagwear’s EMEA & APAC regions. His years of experience in branding, brand activation and promotional merchandise has seen him assist some of the world’s best-known brands with incorporating product-based marketing in their campaigns.