Product Marketing is an exciting and varied role and it can be pretty different between one organization and another. However, there are still a few key skills that most great product marketers will have developed in order to be able to do their jobs well.
If you are looking to get into a Product Marketing role this blog will hopefully give you a bit of confidence, because you may well already possess a lot of the required skills already, and it should also highlight any gaps you need to work on.
So let's jump into it.
Qualifications for Product Marketing
One of the things that makes Product Marketing accessible is it doesn't require any specific kind of formal qualification. Whilst most Product Marketing roles will probably ask for some kind of degree in our opinion it is really not essential. It might help get you in the door of your first Product Marketing interview, but realistically there is no one degree that would give you an edge as a Product Marketer over another. (Psssst:If you are prepping for your first interview you should check out our PMM interview prep course)
This really is one of the great things about Product Marketing, because it's a broad discipline and different company to company it attracts people with all sorts of qualifications and experience. Which leads us nicely into our next section.
Experience required for Product Marketing
Now, this one is quite a hot topic. There are a few different schools of thought around what experience is required for Product Marketing but the good news is there isn't really a right or wrong answer. As with everything else Product Marketing, the specific experience required for a Product Marketing role is very dependent on the company and position.
Having said that there are typically two or three common paths.
Technical Background: Because Product Marketers are often expected to explain some extremely technical topics to often very technical audiences some Product Marketing roles will ask for a technical background. This is probably the least common type of Product Marketing role, but it definitely does exist. It's not uncommon to come across Product Marketers who started their careers in Engineering and then made the transition over. If you are in this position then congratulations, it can be a really great baseline for many Product Marketing roles and definitely can give you an advantage.
Product Background: Product Management and Product Marketing have a good amount of overlap, so it's no surprise that a good percentage of Product Marketers will have a Product Management background. This is probably the skill set that is the closest to Product Marketing. If you have this background you are in a very strong position. You have the Product bit down, now just to add some Marketing.
Marketing Background: No surprises here but many (maybe even most?) Product Marketers have a more traditional marketing background. Ultimately, a good well rounded grasp of marketing tools and tactics is going to be essential to mastering a Product Marketing role. Product Marketing involves a lot of story telling, so if you have a background in Brand that's good news. It can also be a real advantage if you have a good digital marketing skillset because as a Product Marketer you can get a lot of insight into your buyers and the performance of your messaging using classic Digital Marketing tools and tactics.
Product Marketing Career Path
A Product Marketing role opens up a ton of options for future career paths. We have said it before but because it's such a broad discipline it really does give you options. As an experienced Product Marketer you can move into anything from a Head of Product role to CMO. We have written a whole blog on this topic already so why not jump over there for a more detailed breakdown of what's possible.
Top Skills for Product Marketing
Communication
This ones kind of a "duh" but being able to communicate extremely well is probably a Product Marketers number one skill. They need to effectively convey their product's value proposition, features, and benefits to both internal stakeholders and potential customers. Strong written skills are vital for creating persuasive marketing content and delivering impactful presentations.
A Product Marketer also has to be super comfortable communicating at all different levels of business. Not only will you have to present your work regularly to your business, other team members and often senior execs it's not uncommon for Product Marketers to host and present webinars, keynotes and workshops.
Creativity
Sounds cliché but seriously, creativity is essential for product marketers. They need to think outside the box to develop unique strategies and campaigns that resonate with the target audience. Creative problem-solving skills help product marketers navigate challenges and come up with innovative solutions.
Being creative means having the ability to see opportunities where others see obstacles. It involves exploring new ideas, experimenting with different approaches, and taking calculated risks. Product marketers who embrace creativity and innovation can differentiate their products from competitors and capture the attention of customers.
Resilience
This one might seem a little weird but really I think it's super important. In a Product Marketing role (particularly in small companies) it's pretty well impossible to hide. You are going to be making big, impactful decisions and putting your work out there for the world to see on a regular basis.
And I am sorry to say, you are not going to get it right every time.
This means you really need to be able to deal with criticism and corrections without letting it knock your confidence too badly. It's not easy either, but you must keep your head up. Getting things wrong is literally part of the process for Product Marketing. You are the one who is supposed to be advancing the organizations understanding of the customer base and that means you are going to have to experiment and try stuff. That stuff doesn't always work. Oh well. You still learnt. Let's move on.
Teamwork and Collaboration
Product Marketing is often described as the "glue" in a business. In order to perform this function well you really gotta be good at collaborating. You will be working closely with cross-functional teams, such as product management, sales, and design. Product marketers should be able to collaborate, listen, incorporate inputs and influence in order to ensure everyone is moving in the same direction.
As a Product Marketer you will often be in situations where you are not the expert, because you work across so many different disciplines and engage with different teams it's important to understand when to get help. You must leverage the collective knowledge and expertise of the team to drive successful product launches, create great content, build go-to-market strategy etc. If you like to work alone Product Marketing might not be for you.
Research
Product marketers need to conduct extensive market research to understand customer needs, market trends, and competitor offerings. Research and analytical skills help them gather data, draw insights, and make informed decisions about product positioning and targeting.
Market research involves a variety of techniques and methodologies. Product marketers may use surveys, interviews, focus groups and even tools like Google Analytics or HotJar to gather information about customer preferences, pain points, and buying behaviors. They may also analyze market trends, industry reports, and competitor strategies to identify opportunities and threats in the market.
Once the data is collected, product marketers use analytical skills to interpret the findings. They analyze customer demographics, psychographics, and buying patterns to segment the market and identify target audiences. This segmentation helps them tailor marketing messages and strategies to specific customer groups, increasing the chances of success.
Writing
What's the point having an awesome Product if you can't tell people why it's great. Product Marketing hinges on the ability to convey a product's value, benefits, and unique selling points to a target audience. Well-crafted written content, whether on websites, blogs, social media, or sales collateral, is the medium through which this communication occurs. A Product Marketer must be adept at articulating complex product features and benefits in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner to engage potential customers. Clear and compelling writing helps create a connection between the product and the audience, fostering understanding and trust.
Writing as a Product Marketer also often goes beyond just writing about the product, thought leadership articles and even research reports are pretty common Product Marketing outputs. This type of content not only attracts potential customers but also contributes to the overall reputation and perceived value of the product and the company.
Writing well allows you to turn all your awesome ideas into actually awesome things. Even if the writing part isn't the end output. Often writing is the input to a process (a brief for a blog, a message hierarchy, etc.) and if it's not good the output wont be either.
Project management
Project management is like the secret sauce for a Product Marketer. It's what keeps the wheels turning when you're getting a new product ready for launch. When you're gearing up to introduce a product, there are a ton of moving parts – things like figuring out how to talk about the product, planning your marketing campaigns, and making sure everyone knows what they're doing.
Having project management skills means you can make sure all these pieces fit together seamlessly. You avoid messy delays, missed deadlines, and costly mistakes. It's like creating a step-by-step plan to make sure your product launch goes off without a hitch.
But project management isn't just about keeping things organized; it's also about being the go-between for different teams. You're the one who makes sure everyone's on the same page, from the folks developing the product to the marketing and sales teams. It's like being the glue (I know, I said it again) that holds everything together. Whether you work in a start-up or a massive enterprise, being a pro at project management lets you stay on top of what's happening, navigate complex problems, and keep diverse teams all moving in the same direction.
Prioritization
Product Marketers spin a lot of plates. I don't think I have ever had a single day as a Product Marketer were my to-do list contains less than 10 different tasks. The types of task can also vary from, writing a feature release email to designing an entire go-to-market strategy for entry into a new vertical.
This volume of work combined with variety of work is why a Product Marketer must be a master at prioritization and time management. And let me tell you it's really hard! So prepare to be ruthless, say no and probably still struggle through a few long days and late nights. Thankfully though, it's worth it.
What next?
Well, that's it. Those are what I think are the top skills for a Product Marketer. The truth is there are loads more but also that there are not very many must haves. As I have mentioned many times, every Product Marketing role is different, and if you have mastered the core skills there will be a role out there for you.
Want to nail your interview? Check out our course. Or if you have just got the job but don't know where to start, our first 90 days course should solve that problem.
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