The success of your product depends on the right marketing strategy to bridge the gap between your product and your customers. This usually takes a lot of time that a business owner might not have.
This is where fractional product marketing can help to take the burden off you as a business owner while still leveraging the right marketing outcomes to drive the success of your product. In this article, we will introduce you to fractional product marketing, what it entails, its benefits, and how you can use it.
What Does Fractional Product Marketing Mean?
Once a product is released, a company needs to put a team together to help market the product so it reaches the right people. The marketing of a product is not the work of the business owner alone. It involves various processes as well as various departments, though the main area leading this initiative is often product marketing.
Building a product marketing team from scratch involves processes such as hiring and training personnel which can be resource-intensive, especially for a growing business. A business owner in this position may need to reach out for fractional marketing support and this is where a fractional product marketing manager comes in to help.
Fractional product marketing is an effective alternative to hiring a team to handle your company’s product marketing needs. It involves having access to expert, top-level solutions to marketing problems when and where you need them without the burden that comes with full-time employment. A fractional product marketing team does the job of a full-time team for a fraction of the time and cost it takes a full-time team to implement. This team is often headed by a fractional product marketing manager.
What are the Duties of a Fractional Product Marketing Manager?
A fractional product marketing manager takes charge of all the marketing activities to ensure that a product makes it to the market and grows sustainably. Below are some of the responsibilities of a fractional product marketing manager:
- Market Research:
Product marketing starts with in-depth research of the market or industry in question. Before launching a product, you must first evaluate how viable the product is by analysing potential customers. This helps to give insights into what product features to develop to ensure a product-market it. This is one of the key responsibilities that your fractional product marketing manager helps perform.
- Product Positioning:
Another essential responsibility that your fractional product marketing team helps with is positioning your product in the right way. You can have great products in the market that customers may not be aware of, and this can affect how a business makes a profit. However, if you employ the services of a product marketing expert, they can set a tone for how customers should view your product.
If done right, customers can easily spot what makes your product different from others and this can help generate awareness and sales.
- Marketing Strategy:
Coming up with an effective marketing strategy requires the effort of an entire team. A fractional product marketing manager, on a part-time basis, helps to ensure that every member of the team works collaboratively to come up with a strategy and a roadmap for execution. This will include pre-launch, launch, and post-launch plans.
- Launch & Sales Strategy:
Another duty a fractional product marketing manager can help you with is to plan your business’s product launch. Working with product experts enables the development of launch plans based on your marketing strategy, which in effect, drives sales.
- Review Product Performance:
Following the launch and sale of your products, another essential aspect of product success that involves fractional product marketing is reviewing product performance and reviewing customer feedback. This allows you to measure and determine the success of your campaign and product in meeting the needs of your customers. It will also help you make improvements in product development, strategy and overall marketing effectiveness.
Benefits of Fractional Product Marketing for Your Business
As a business owner, here are some benefits that your business derives from investing in fractional product marketing:
Cost Benefits
Let’s look at the rough costs of having a full-time product marketing team for your business. This could include essential personnel, such as the product marketing manager, product marketing director, content managers, and many others. The first outlays go into the hiring or recruitment process, followed by training and onboarding. Then there are other costs to consider like bonuses, benefits, salaries, office space, and many others.
You can circumvent all of these costs by simply allowing fractional product marketing experts to take charge of this department.
Expert Solution
Another benefit of hiring fractional marketing services for your business is that you get access to seasoned professionals at an affordable cost. The fact that you are paying less than you would with a full-time team does not mean there is a compromise on the quality of service you receive. The fractional product marketing officer you hire has a high-level of knowledge and experience gathered from working for various companies over time.
Flexibility & Scalability
Compared to an in-house marketing officer, your contract with a fractional product marketer can be easily adjusted as time goes on; this is another fractional marketing advantage. If you find that after a while, the product marketing expert you hired does not align with your company’s goals, you can easily part ways and find a replacement.
Fresh Business Insights
If your business has been doing things the same way in terms of marketing, fractional product marketing can be the change that could positively impact your business and improve sales. Hiring a fractional director of product marketing, for example, brings in fresh ideas and new insights into your company. They see things that could have otherwise have been ignored or unseen.
Bottom Line: Fractional Product Marketing for Business Growth
Fractional product marketing is a cost-effective, efficient, and fast answer to any business that needs expert solutions to take their products from its development stages to the homes of their customers. While traditionally, businesses hire these marketing experts to work full-time, not all businesses have the resources for this full-time commitment.
A fractional product marketer takes charge of all activities that help to bring a product to the market, increase its sales, and maintain the company’s growth. The work of a product marketer begins before the launch of the product and continues even after. If you are a business owner looking for expert solutions and fresh ideas when it comes to marketing your products, it is time to find a fractional marketing management solution that provides access to unmatched marketing expertise.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is fractional product marketing?
Fractional product marketing involves all the activities that lead a product from its development to launch and beyond. These activities include hiring an experienced leader (like a fractional product marketing manager) or a team to carry out your marketing plans on a part-time basis.
The team carries out actions from market research to launch strategies, and even post-launch reviews all to ensure the success of the product.
How do you know your business needs fractional product marketing services?
Fractional product marketing services are available for all kinds of businesses at different levels of growth. However, if you are running a business on a budget or with little resources available, fractional marketing services could be the most appropriate for you, as it is designed to help small and growing businesses stay afloat when they cannot afford to hire a full-time team for their marketing needs.
How can I find the right fractional product marketing manager for my business?
The right product marketing manager for your business is specific to your business’s goals and needs. While there are many experts offering fractional marketing services, some are more specialised than others. Before choosing a fractional product marketing manager for your business, ensure you effectively communicate your business goals, desires, and objectives so you are on the same ground.
You can choose from a pool of options by searching online websites, freelance platforms, or talking directly to any agency who specialises in marketing management services.
Fractional product marketing vs. fractional product management?
Both product marketing and product management roles are under the general heading of product development. Fractional product management focuses on the activities of part-time or contractual resources to create, develop, and build a product that meets customers’ needs. Fractional product marketing, on the other hand, involves all the activities that marketers partake in, on a part-time basis, to bring the product directly to its intended audience or customers.
