One of the most important customer groups for the product marketer is the revenue generation team … the team members who turn your positioning and messaging briefs (PMB) into compelling communications to prospects, customers and influencers.
Unfortunately, too many product marketers provide the PMB and sales plays and then just figuratively walk away and hope that their work will transfer forward into strong demand and sales enablement communications. We don't think hope is much of a strategy. To that end, in addition to our product marketing methodologies, we draw on a seven-phase program designed to help load our demand gen and sales enablement teammates for success.
We see these phases as:
1. Revenue Generation Staging Activities – Gathering the necessary data points for solid plan design and decision making.
2. Top of Funnel Lead Acquisition – While much of this work flows from the demand generation experts, product marketing can lend significant insight through buyer personas and potential engagement trigger points.
3. Mid-Funnel Nurturing and Qualification – Again, product marketing's research into the features, attributes and benefits which most resonate with the buyer personas can help progress prospects through the buying stages.
4. Sales Enablement Resources – Product marketing guidance can be critical here from customer stories to competitor insights and use case ROI Calculators.
5. Customer Onboarding – Moving a first-time customer to a lifetime repeat customer is one of marketing's most important tasks and the product marketer's insights can be of immense value.
6. Creating Customer Advocates – Clearly through customer engagement product
marketers discover strong candidates for both advocate and reference programs. But beyond that, product marketing insights can provide strong guidance for structured programs designed to mobilize happy customers into a powerful word-of-mouth marketing force.
7. Demand Gen Team Training Playbooks – Similar to Sales Plays for the account executive teams, product marketing should invest in creating playbooks that quickly get demand gen (especially outbound calling teams) quickly yet fully prepared.
When one looks at revenue generation marketing through this lens, it's easy to quickly see the importance of a strong investment and engagement by product marketing. The extra sales and marketing guidance detail provide will pay many dividends through more focused and effective prospect and customer engagement.
When one looks at revenue generation marketing through this lens, it's easy to quickly see the importance of a strong investment and engagement by product marketing. The extra sales and marketing guidance detail provide will pay many dividends through more focused and effective prospect and customer engagement.
Shared by Tracy Slogger with permission