Question 1

What is product marketing, and why is it important?

Accepted Answer

Product marketing is the promotion and sales of a specific product or service to consumers, an ongoing process continuing throughout the product lifecycle. Successful product marketing seeks to maximize customer lifetime value by not only finding the right customers but retaining them over the long term. This is especially important in the era of digital products, where you can quickly lose users if you fail to keep them engaged on an ongoing basis.

As with marketing more generally, successful product marketing starts with knowing your customer. Market research often combines qualitative analysis from customer surveys and interviews with data-driven customer analytics, which is an increasingly powerful approach with today’s wealth of data on buying behavior and product usage. These findings can be used to divide potential customers into groups as part of a market segmentation analysis, which can then be used to create personas that capture how different customers find and use your product.

Product marketing teams use this information to formulate a marketing strategy that starts with the product launch, which may use digital, broadcast, or other marketing channels depending on the best way to reach your target customers. After launch, a marketing plan may include elements including subsequent advertising to find new customers, e-mail nurture sequences to keep current users engaged, and promotional offers for different market segments. Throughout this cycle, savvy product marketers may use A/B testing and extensive customer analytics to continually refine their efforts.

Question 2

What careers can I have with a background in product marketing?

Accepted Answer

Product marketing teams bring together a variety of skills, as this field brings together product development, marketing, and sales. Software developers must be able to work with product marketing teams to incorporate customer insights into app functionality and user experience (UX). Graphic designers are needed to help develop a visual brand identity for products that will appeal to target customers. And digital marketing specialists and copywriters work to analyze and optimize communications around launch as well as ongoing nurture campaigns.

Advertising and marketing managers are responsible for determining overarching product marketing strategy and coordinating the work of these teams to ensure that marketing plans are executed successfully and on schedule. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, professionals in these managerial roles earned a median annual salary of $135,900 in 2019. Advertising and marketing managers may have a bachelor’s degree from a wide range of subjects, ranging from journalism to computer science to visual arts.

Question 3

Can I learn about product marketing by taking online courses on Coursera?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely! Coursera has partnered with top-ranked universities such as the University of Virginia, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and IE business school to offer a variety of courses and Specializations in product marketing and related subjects. You can learn remotely on a flexible schedule, enabling you to fit this valuable online education into your current work or family life. And, with significantly lower tuition than on-campus programs, learning online with Coursera is a great deal that practically sells itself.

Question 4

What skills or experience do I need to already have, before starting to learn product marketing?

Accepted Answer

Before you start to learn product marketing, it’s important to have a background in consumer behavior, promotion, video production, public relations, or writing. That would help you on the creative side of product marketing. You might also have a tech-oriented background in data science, as much of today’s online product marketing is analyzed from online clicks, search results, and social media likes and follows. Having a background in sales, strategy, public relations, and media could also help you to learn product marketing. Other skills that might be useful before learning product marketing could also include an agreeable personality, good listening, and solid presentation skills. Becoming interested in product marketing means you might be enthusiastic about learning how products can evolve through marketing over the lifespan of a brand. This enthusiasm might apply to all kinds of products, from lawnmowers to apparel products.

Question 5

What kinds of people are best suited for roles in product marketing?

Accepted Answer

The kinds of people who are best suited for roles in product marketing are those who might have a creative take or a fresh outlook on products and online shopping, and those who know the tastes of target demographics for individual products. People who work in product marketing usually have the ability to gauge consumer preferences from online and offline sales and use the data from these sales to evolve or tweak their products to respond to consumers. These marketing professionals often also have extensive knowledge of the product’s benefits and can communicate these well to consumers, vendors, and manufacturers.

Question 6

How do I know if learning product marketing is right for me?

Accepted Answer

If you are a person who loves to help develop the look and feel of a particular product, whether in software or in manufacturing, you may be a good fit for a role in product marketing. This type of role involves a mix of creative energies and analytical fundamentals. Product marketers may have brilliantly creative ideas for a product, but at the same time, need to balance those creative pursuits with the analytical insights gleaned from the data collected about the product. Learning product marketing may be right for you if you love how products get created, how they benefit the target audience, and what product additions can make the original product even more valuable.

Question 7

What are the benefits of taking an online Product Marketing course?

Accepted Answer

Online Product Marketing courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Product Marketing skills. Choose from a wide range of Product Marketing courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.

Question 8

What Product Marketing courses are best for training and upskilling employees or the workforce?

Accepted Answer

When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Product Marketing, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Product Marketing

What is product marketing, and why is it important?‎

What careers can I have with a background in product marketing?‎

Can I learn about product marketing by taking online courses on Coursera?‎

What skills or experience do I need to already have, before starting to learn product marketing?‎

What kinds of people are best suited for roles in product marketing?‎

How do I know if learning product marketing is right for me?‎

What are the benefits of taking an online Product Marketing course?‎

What Product Marketing courses are best for training and upskilling employees or the workforce?‎

Other topics to explore