Marketing is part of almost every business in every industry. From promotional emails sent to existing customers to social media ads boosting your brand’s visibility, there are literally hundreds of marketing methods out there to help your business reach its targets.
And while marketers are busy looking for the next best online marketing method to take the digital era by storm, there’s a long-standing marketing method which can be an integral part of your strategy for 2023 and help your business hit its goals: product marketing.
A proven marketing staple, product marketing can help your brand:
- Gain exposure
- Boost visibility
- Increase lead generation
- Create loyal customers
- Encourage brand advocacy
And much, much more…
If product marketing sounds like the solution to help your brand reach its goals in 2023, you need to create a strategy which can help it to perform. In this blog post, we share our expertise to bring you some of our top tips for creating a killer product marketing strategy for 2023.
Tip 1: Be Goal-Oriented
Business isn’t all about making money, but when it comes down to it, any action a business takes needs to provide a return on investment (ROI) before too long in order to be sustainable.
A lot of the time, this is why businesses set goals and targets. If you’re carrying out an action, making a decision, or completing a project, it needs to be done with measurable goals to aim for.
So, when it comes to creating a successful product marketing strategy, you need to know exactly what it is you’re aiming for. This isn’t to say that profit must be a direct result of your actions, but there should be some positive outcome that results in ROI down the line.
Your goals might include:
- Increasing customer leads and conversions
- Improving brand visibility
- Promoting a new product
- Boosting customer loyalty
Whatever your goals, it’s important to define them clearly right off the bat. With definitive targets in sight, you’ll be able to build a strategy that does everything possible to reach them.
Tip 2: Be Customer-Centric
Goals are one of the most important things to prioritize when it comes to creating a product marketing strategy, but there’s one other thing which is up there as a vital element to consider, and that’s the customer.
Whether you’re a B2B or B2C business, your product marketing efforts must reach, engage, and satisfy the target customer, whether they be existing or new prospects.
According to a survey conducted by Promotional Products Association International, 79% of respondents said they research brands after receiving promotional items from them. With the potential to make an impact with more than ¾ of those who receive your products, you can see why keeping customer interests should be at the center of your entire strategy – it’s critical to your campaign’s success.
Your customers aren’t two-dimensional, and your approach to giving them what they want shouldn’t be, either. The time it takes to create an in-depth product marketing strategy should be used to ensure you cross the T’s and dot the I’s when it comes to understanding your customers’ needs.
From a detailed consumer profile to understanding what products could prove useful, knowing the target consumer inside-out from day one will bring you a step closer to achieving the best possible results with product marketing.
Tip 3: Be Consistent
Whether product-based marketing is a completely new venture for your business or something you’ve dabbled in previously, one thing’s for sure: Consistency is key.
From branding and messaging to product quality and merchandise type, consistency in all areas is what will help your target audience identify your product as belonging to your brand, remember your particular messaging, and make a meaningful impact.
When we say, “be consistent,” we don’t mean that you should create the same product or ad campaign over and over for every marketing effort — not only would this be extremely boring, your prospects would learn to turn a blind eye too. What we do mean is that you need to include telltale indications that show the consumer that the product comes from your brand.
Implementing these consistencies from the moment you begin your strategy for 2023 will ensure they’re always in the forefront of your mind with every decision made, from materials used to create your product to the design and branding choices.
Tip 4: Be Reactive
All the tips we’ve mentioned so far are important, but this one is especially so as we move into 2023. Marketing is an ever-growing field, with every business out there looking at ways to elevate their brand. In this crowded space, finding your niche and grabbing the attention of your prospects is harder than ever.
As such, it’s important to make sure you don’t box yourself in with a rigid strategy. Now more than ever, trends come and go quickly. As such, ensuring your strategy leaves room for you to make changes where necessary is critical to its success.
Being reactive is key. From admitting when one element of your campaign hasn’t produced the intended results to grabbing the reins with both hands if something proves especially effective, monitoring results and taking the appropriate steps in response to them is vital if you want your product marketing to succeed in 2023.
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.
