Building Brand Awareness in 2025
Increasing brand awareness is a top goal for B2B companies in 2025. But what is a brand? And how can you evolve it to meet your changing company...
2 min read
Michele Nichols Fri, Sep 01, 2017
The role of the product manager is increasingly important in industries like medical devices, where time to market is accelerating, and optics and photonics, where emerging markets are driving demand for product innovation.
While large organizations continue to have product management and product marketing teams, the most promising growth is in small to mid-sized companies in which the product manager covers both roles. On the plus side, this dual role lessens the gap between marketing and engineering; on the other hand, added responsibilities mean marketing often becomes a secondary priority.
Most product managers we’ve worked with began their careers with an engineering degree, and added a business degree in moving into management. These product managers are inherently the “CEO” of a product line and hold P&L responsibility, often for the first time in their career. They’re facing a rapidly evolving job description as well as a growing list of needs and deliverables.
Although pressures and pace can be a challenge, there are many marketing strategies that closely align with the product manager’s natural strengths.
Critical success factors for inbound marketing include:
Succeeding in these areas requires a measured approach. Read on to learn how to effectively manage your marketing workload as a project manager.
Product managers hold a fast-paced, high-pressure job. The following traps are both causes and consequences of this pressure:
Simplicity requires time and care, but will pay off in:
The first step in simplifying your marketing strategy is a thorough understanding of the markets and customers you’re targeting. Many growing companies do not have the means to quickly and effectively develop a cohesive, shared strategy. Bring in a consultant or facilitator if you need to. Cross-functional and leadership buy-in here will streamline your efforts at every step. It’s also easier for an outside marketing consultant to suggest that some activities stop or be retired.
Strategy is not a one-time event. We advocate for a brief, visual marketing strategy, tested and optimized throughout the year. Check out our strategic marketing calendar.
Here are some tips to make your workload more manageable while improving the effectiveness of your marketing:
Need help keeping your marketing and product launch activities on track? Download our Marketing Roadmap Planner:
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