Product Marketing vs. Product Management: Key differences between the two

What is product marketing?

Product marketing is the activity that establishes, develops, and conveys a product’s positioning, value, and marketing plan. The product team and product marketers work together to understand a product’s features, target market, and rationale for value. After that, they develop and put into action a positioning plan for the product in the target market that will best serve user needs, corporate objectives, and overall aims.

What is product management?

To understand what is product management, one must comprehend that a product is guided through every stage of its life cycle by the organizational function of product management, ensuring that the product is manufactured on schedule, within budget, and fulfilling its goals. Product managers may collaborate cross-functionally with several teams to complete their product. To establish and manage the strategy for their product, product managers must have a thorough awareness of their target market, business models, and strategy.

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What are the similarities between product marketing and product management?

There are certain similarities between product marketing and product management. Listed below are some of the similarities between the both:

• Product marketers want customer data to mold the positioning of their products, such as utilizing a poll. Similarly, for product managers to make educated roadmap decisions, they require user and product experience insights that show how customers interact with the product.

• A solid knowledge of how their products function is also required of product managers and product marketers. They need to know how to express the value it offers, how it solves problems, and what characteristics it has.

• Both positions require knowledge of the market, user psychology, consumer behavior, and how to develop goods that enable people to succeed.

• To determine how well the product fits into customers’ processes, product marketers will survey product-market fit. It is helpful for positioning to include an open-ended question in the poll that asks what makes your product different from the competitors. Product managers also make decisions using a variety of data points.

Differences between product marketing and product management

The following table shows the differences between product marketing and product management:

Product Marketing	Product Management
Product marketing is concerned with determining the product’s positioning and value to make sure that it satisfies the needs of the target market, as well as the company’s objectives.	Understanding client demands is a crucial component of product management, which is subsequently used to create and deliver products.
Product marketing works on creating market demand, messaging, and positioning to help drive adoption.	A product manager collaborates closely with the product team to establish the vision for what is developed.
Product marketers ensure that their product is packed and presented efficiently to create new or ongoing revenue for the company. Their KPIs often emphasize client retention and market expansion.	Product managers ensure that the final product is developed on schedule, in accordance with consumer demand, and line with business goals. Their KPIs typically concentrate on the pace at which new goods are brought to market, customer satisfaction, and the product’s life cycle effectiveness.

How to choose between the two roles?

There are many areas where product management and product marketing are similar and distinct simultaneously. Before deciding which role is best for you, consider the essential competencies and attributes of each position.

Job Roles

Role of a Product Marketer:

• Develop and implement go-to-market strategies
• Develop messaging and positioning for products.
• Produce sales support materials
• Examine industry trends
• Coordinate new product introductions
• Interact with clients and potential clients

Role of a Product Manager:

• Establish a product strategy
• Establish product roadmaps and visions
• Set feature priorities
• Manage the lifecycle of the product
• Carry out market analysis
• Examine competitors

Qualifications required

Product Marketing:

The minimum educational requirement for product marketing managers is a bachelor’s degree in business administration or marketing. In addition to a certain amount of expertise in marketing or similar topics like sales, brand management, or advertising, certain companies might favor candidates with a master’s degree.

Product Management:

Product managers often hold an MBA, a relevant certification in product management, and a degree in a technical subject like engineering or computer science. By networking inside the companies looking for their knowledge, one may pursue a product management position in non-tech fields as well. You should be adequately prepared to seek product management positions if you have an MBA and a degree in the area in which you want to work as a product manager. 

Experience needed and salary details

Product Marketing:

Depending on the company, product marketing manager positions may require three to ten years of experience. The average annual salary in product marketing is ₹ 10.0 LPA.

Product Management: 

There is no particular amount of work experience needed to start a career in product management, but professionals must have a higher degree, like an MBA. The average salary of a product manager is ₹ 16.0 LPA.

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You can also read Best marketing jobs & careers to pursue in 2023.

Conclusion

When it comes to a company’s customer success, product managers and marketers are complementary. Although product managers and marketers will likely have similar characteristics, it is crucial to know the differences between the two positions and understand the distinct advantages of each job. Each viewpoint is valuable and essential to the success of any organization.