Product Managers (PM) and Product Marketing Managers (PMM) are often seen as interchangeable roles, but they serve distinct functions within an organisation. Understanding the differences between these two positions can help companies hire the right talent for their needs.
Product Manager: The Visionary
A Product Manager (PM) is responsible for the overall strategy, development, and lifecycle of a product. They act as the product’s champion, ensuring that it meets the needs of the market and delivers value to customers.
Key Responsibilities:
- Product vision: Defining the product’s long-term vision and strategy
- Roadmapping: Creating and managing the product roadmap
- Feature prioritization: Deciding which features to build and when
- Product development: Overseeing the development process
- Customer feedback: Gathering and analysing customer feedback
- Cross-functional collaboration: Working with engineering, design, marketing, and sales teams
Product Marketing Manager: The Communicator
A Product Marketing Manager (PMM) is responsible for promoting and positioning a product in the market. They bridge the gap between the product team and the marketing team, ensuring that the product is effectively communicated to customers and the market.
Key Responsibilities:
- Product positioning: Developing the product’s positioning and messaging
- Market research: Understanding the target market and customer needs
- Go-to-market strategy: Planning and executing the product launch
- Demand generation: Creating marketing campaigns to generate demand
- Sales enablement: Providing sales teams with the tools and resources they need to sell the product
Key Differences:
While PMs focus on the “how” of building a product, PMMs take charge of communicating the “why,” “what,” and “when” to both potential buyers and internal teams.
Both PMs and PMMs need to discover and understand their customers and their needs/jobs. Additionally, PMs conduct user interviews, strategise, validate/scope problems, collaborate on solutions and designs, work with engineers to execute, ship the product, and track its performance.
PMMs, on the other hand, understand users, identify where users gather, craft differentiated messaging, collaborate with creative teams to develop digital assets and promote the product using relevant channels like blogs, landing pages, social media, etc., to reach the right audiences.
Hiring the Right Talent
When hiring for a Product Manager or Product Marketing Manager role, it is important to consider the specific needs of your company and the stage of your product lifecycle. Here are some tips for hiring the right talent:
- Product Manager: Look for candidates with strong technical skills, strategic thinking, and a passion for product development.
- Product Marketing Manager: Look for candidates with excellent communication skills, a deep understanding of the target market, and experience in marketing and sales.
- Consider the stage of your product: If your product is in the early stages of development, you may need a Product Manager with a strong focus on execution. If your product is mature and ready for market expansion, you may need a product marketing manager with experience in demand generation.
By understanding the differences between PMs and PMMS, companies can hire the right talent to drive product success and achieve business goals.