Product knowledge is precious within teams—especially in technical industries like engineering. But, too often, this knowledge stays siloed, leading to missed connections between marketing and sales efforts and, ultimately, lost opportunities. This challenge prompts many business owners to ask: Do we need a dedicated product marketer to fix this?
We’re excited to share insights from James Igglesden, product marketer, and entrepreneur, who offers practical advice for integrating product marketing principles into your team’s current activities—even if you don’t have a dedicated product marketing resource.
Make sure to listen to the full podcast here.
James’ Key Insight: Product Marketing is About the Entire Ecosystem
James emphasises that product marketing goes far beyond just packaging or pricing. It’s about ensuring that every aspect of your product—from its messaging and sales tools to the way it’s adopted by customers—works together. It’s the strategic process of aligning a product’s development, messaging, and sales assets with the needs of the customer.
"A failure in product marketing happens when the sales team doesn’t use the assets you’ve provided. A good product marketer ensures tools are practical and help shorten the sales cycle," James explains.
But what if your team doesn’t have a dedicated product marketer? James highlights that you can still get better at product marketing by focussing on four key areas:
1. Deeply Understand Your Product and Its Value
To succeed in product marketing, every team member needs to understand not just what your product is, but also what problem it solves for your customer. This deep understanding ensures that everyone is aligned on how to communicate the product’s value clearly.
James advises teams to start by asking: “What are we actually trying to do, and who are we selling this to?” This helps ensure that your product is positioned effectively for the target market.
“I think the challenge is building a group of people, be it a sales team or a marketing team, who understand what the goals are around product, and do they understand what they're selling and to whom they're selling it. And I think that's the first approach I take is what have we got, what are we actually trying to do and how are we trying to do it and can we scale that?”
Real-world example: While working for a dental supply company, James noticed that their bulk dental matrix systems didn’t always meet the needs of their customers—the dentists. By engaging directly with dentists, he learned they only needed a few key pieces from the set, which led to repackaging the product into smaller, higher-priced units—resulting in increased sales and customer satisfaction.
2. Equip Your Sales Team with More Than Just Brochures
One of the most common mistakes is handing the sales team generic brochures or product sheets, which often end up unused. Instead, James suggests focusing on developing tailored sales tools that resonate with both the sales team and the customers. These could include training programs, demos, and cheat sheets that clearly communicate the product’s value.
"You know it’s a failure of a product marketer when you hand the sales team a brochure and they throw it in the back seat of the car,” says James. “The best tools are those that shorten the sales cycle and increase lead conversion.”
By creating practical tools that are directly aligned with customer pain points, your sales team can drive conversions more effectively.
3. Simplify and Clarify the Customer Journey
A key part of product marketing is simplifying the buying journey. Review your sales funnel to identify where friction exists, and then work to streamline the process for your customers. Whether it’s improving product descriptions or enhancing digital sales tools, small changes can make a big difference.
Real-world example: At the dental supply company, James realised that by simplifying the product line and reducing noise, they could make the buying journey easier for their customers. This change led to a massive improvement in sales results.
"We learned that we could eliminate the less essential pieces in our offering,” says James. “Simplifying the journey helped us improve sales and customer satisfaction significantly. It’s all about making the journey as seamless as possible.”
4. Test, Learn, and Adapt Constantly
James emphasises the importance of adopting a test-and-learn approach to product marketing. Even if you don’t have a formal product marketer, you can still test different product features, messaging, and marketing strategies and then refine them based on customer feedback.
"Fail fast," James advises. "The sooner you learn from what works and what doesn’t, the quicker you can optimise and see results."
Building Trust Through Product Marketing
At the heart of this approach is the principle of trust. Product marketing is not just about generating sales—it’s about creating a relationship of trust between your business and your customers.
To build that trust, ensure that your product messaging is clear, your sales team is well-equipped, and your customer’s journey is seamless. By doing so, you demonstrate that you truly understand your customer’s needs and are committed to helping them succeed.
“In Product Marketing, you're telling a brand story, building trust. Apple is a fantastic, well-trusted, well-loved brand. Their marketing team seldom put a foot wrong in talking about their ‘why’. It's all about making sure that what Apple does for any product category is consistent and inline with their values and their brand.”
Steps for Teams to Get Started with Product Marketing
- Assign a Lead
Designate someone within your team to take ownership of product marketing. They don’t need to be an expert—just someone who can ensure your product is well-positioned and the right tools are in place. - Collaborate Cross-functionally
Product marketing isn’t a one-person job. Get input from sales, product development, and customer service teams to ensure all aspects of your product are working together. - Focus on Sales Enablement
Work on developing practical tools for your sales team that address customer pain points. This might include product demos, presentations, or tailored sales scripts. - Develop Customer-Centric Messaging
Create messaging that centres around the value your product delivers, rather than just listing features. Remember, customers are buying solutions, not products.
By following these steps, even teams without a dedicated product marketer can still see significant gains in product positioning, sales enablement, and—most importantly—building trust with customers. Whether you're looking to streamline your customer journey, align your sales and marketing, or expand into new markets, these actionable steps will help you succeed.
Make sure to listen to the full episode on your platform of choice.
Talk to us today and get a free marketing review, and learn more about how BlueOcean can help your B2B business with product positioning or sales enablement.
