Head of Product Marketing
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The Head of Product Marketing demonstrates a market-driven ethos inspired by a deep understanding of the consumers and coupled with an ability to translate this information into data-driven and compelling product solutions and proposals.
The strategic thinking of the Head of Product Marketing is well balanced by an equal commercial focus and an ability to lead the development and deployment of products and marketing campaigns inclusive of; product branding, consumer segmentation, productpositioning, and product messaging.
The Head of Product Marketing works collaboratively with cross-functional product departmental heads, quality regulation departments, sales, as well as external partners. This is for the purpose of developing clear, concise, and effective communication that will facilitate cooperation between internal functions and drive differentiated product marketing strategies that leverage strong consumer, market and competitive data.
Objectives and Responsibilities of the Head of Product Marketing
Leadership/ Supervisory Role: The Head of Product Marketing plays a leadership and supervisory role for the entire product marketing department; directly overseeing key personnel such as the Product Marketing Manager and the Senior Product Marketing Manager. He ensures that the functions of these positions are executed efficiently and effectively. Having more experience in the marketing field, the Head of Product Marketing also plays a mentorship role for junior marketing personnel guiding them in their duties when necessary and ensuring that they are constantly growing professionally in order to adopt his position in future.
Technology: Technology plays a big role in consumers’ lives today and technological methods of marketing are fast replacing traditional methods. Technological marketing methods are replacing traditional marketing methods and they are not only becoming more popular but also more effective than traditional methods. For example, Social Marketing has grown to become a widely accepted practice in today’s product markets.
The Head of Product Marketing is, therefore, tasked with leading and overseeing digital marketing strategies in order to maximize and enhance the business’s consumer reach, customer engagement, and satisfaction.
Strategy: The Head of Product Marketing leads the marketing department in the development of the product’s competitive differentiation, product positioning, product messaging, and go-to-market strategies, as well as ensuring that the Senior Marketing Management is always aligned with these, which ensures that all product departments adhere to a unified market-driven strategic path.
At this capacity, the Head of Product Marketing is also responsible for overseeing creation of market collateral, developing marketing metrics and systematic approaches for obtaining comprehensive consumer, market, and competitive analyses that support strategic organizational decisions and product marketing tactics.
Collaboration: The Head of Product Marketing is also tasked with collaborating with other departmental heads in the performance of his functions. The reason for this is the creation and development of a team that facilitates effective marketing strategies, consumer materials, messaging, and sales communications.
The Head of Product Marketing, at this capacity, is also charged with establishing effective relationships with cross-functional partners in order to drive commercially effective, timely, and on-time product strategies, product budgets, and product launches. The Head of Product Management also collaborates with other product department heads on the identification, quantification, and assessment of external-partner opportunities that will drive accelerated product growth through product and commercial capability innovations.
The Head of Product will proceed to work with the investors and approved external partners in building relevant marketing content for the various demographic audiences as well as inthe creation of different marketing formats for these demographics.
Consumer Relations: As the heading marketing, it is absolutely imperative that the Head of Product Marketing sufficiently understands the consumers. In order to do this, the Head of Product Marketing cannot solely rely on the information relayed to him by the Senior Product Marketing Manager; he has to make direct contact with the consumers and understand their trends and behaviors. The Head of Product Marketing, at this capacity works to ensure that the unmet consumer and market needs drive the business’s product initiatives.
Product Evangelism/Advocacy: In the course of his interactions with the consumers, the Head of Product Marketing also plays the role of product advocate; the Head of Product Marketing will advertise the value, usability, and benefits of the product to the consumers. In addition to this, the Head of Product Marketing will push and lead various internal product campaigns at various stages in the product’s lifecycle that are geared towards the product’s message, demand generation, consumer retention, internal communication of strategies, and so forth.
Required Qualifications of the Head of Product Marketing
Education: A suitable candidate for the position of Head of Product Marketing will have a Master’s degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Engineering, Information Technology, Psychology, or any other related field. A working experience of the equivalent will also be acceptable for the position.
Experience: A candidate for the position has to have had at least 10 years of practical experience as a Senior Product Marketing Manager. In addition, the candidate must have had this experience in a large and complex commercial setting performing tasks related to marketing, sales, or any other marketing-related functions. The Head of Product Marketing needs to have a proven and successful track record in direct strategic and tactical product development activities such as product launches.
Communication Skills: The role of the Head of Product Marketing is a highly interactive and collaborative one. The Head of Product Marketing will be required to interact and make regular presentations to the Director of Product Management, business stakeholders, heads of product departments, junior product marketing managers, and external partners.
For this reason, the Head of Product Marketing needs to possess impeccable verbal and written communication skills in order to be able totranslate complex marketing and investment concepts in terms that these diverse audiences can understand and relate to.
Leadership Skills: As the Head of the Marketing department, the Head of Product Marketing should exhibit leadership qualities that will gain him the trust of junior marketing personnel making them willing and ready to follow in his directives, hence, promoting efficiency in the department.
The Head of Product Marketing has to demonstrate confidence in himself and in others, an ability to inspire others to constantly improve and sharpen their performance and skills, and an ability to keep his team calm and composed during times of uncertainty or immense pressure.
Analytical Skills: A suitable Head of Product Marketing will also need to have proven analytical skills. As the Head of Product Marketing and the supervisor of the Senior Product Marketing Manager, who also plays an analytical role, he will need to have a superior ability to implement and monitor marketing programs. He will need to be able to oversee market research conducted by junior marketing managers, develop high-value marketing tools, set and monitor key marketing metrics, drive sales and partnership enablement,and identify customer and market needs.
Software: Like the Senior Product Marketing Manager, the Head of Product Marketing will need to make regular presentations and deliver reports to the Director of Product Management, business stakeholders, junior product marketing managers, and external partners. For effective delivery and conveyance of the information in these reports and presentations, the Head of Product Marketing will need to deliver high-quality visually and verbally engaging presentations. As such, a candidate will need to be proficient in Fireworks, Visio, Dreamweaver Illustrator, and Photoshop computer softwares.
Ms Office: The Head of Marketing must be proficient in Ms Word and the Ms Excel analytical tools. He must also demonstrate expertise in the use of PowerPoint in order to create engaging content for reports and presentations made to the Director of Product Marketing, the business stakeholders, and collaborating department personnel.
Interpersonal/People Skills: The position of Head of Product Marketing is a position of leadership, collaboration, and high level interactions. To facilitate smooth, efficient, and, effective performance of duties and functions by all parties in the cross-functional setting, the Head of Product Marketing will need to possess strong and excellent interpersonal skills; for example, impeccable problem solving skills and an ability to work and motivate others in a group/team setting.
On the other hand, a candidate for the position has to have excellent people skills that will enable him to relate to every individual in the collaborative setting. People skills will also make the Head of Product Marketing relatable and likeable which will lead to the development of trust and respect with the junior marketing personnel as well as collaborating product department personnel, making it easy for them to follow in his directives; therefore, inspiring effective execution of duties in the product marketing department personnel as well asin collaborating personnel as well.
