- What is Product Marketing?
- Advantages of Product Marketing
- What is Brand Marketing?
- Advantages of Brand Marketing
- Deciding what works best for your business
- Conclusion
Product Marketing and Brand Marketing are two faces of the same coin. And when it comes to marketing, I find this statement indisputable. The distinction between the two is considerably straightforward – products are objects that can be sold for money, while brands are the embodied persona of the companies that sell them. Despite working towards the common goal, i.e., to build an image of an organization in the market, you will often see both the departments in a company knocking horns with each other with regards to what deserves the highlight or I should rather say, the bigger chunk of the budget.
If you’re one of those people who remain confused about what is the difference between the two of them and how each one of them contributes towards the business, I’ve got you covered. Mentioned below are the details of Product Marketing, Brand Marketing and how they are different from each other. Have a look.
What is Product Marketing?
Product marketing is all about deciding the product positioning and messaging, launching the product and making sure that the salesperson/customer understands what the product offers. Moreover, it involves understanding the specific audience of the product on a deeper level and consequently developing a messaging that appeals to the audience. In a nutshell, product marketing focuses on every step that people take to deciding whether or not they’ll purchase a product. Without it, your product will not achieve the maximum potential with your target audience.
When it comes to the best product marketing strategy, the advertisement that grabbed a lot of attention is the VW Bus by Volkswagen, which is known for its hippie vibe and the Sound of Silence playing in the background (conveying that the electric cars are silent).
Mentioned below are some of the advantages of creating an effective product marketing strategy
- Emphasizes the benefits of the product/service: As said earlier, product marketing will be all about the product, its features, how it can create an impact in the customer’s life and what makes it different from its competitors.
- Helps in providing a better understanding of your customers and competition: Since the advertisement is product specific, you will know over time whether the product is liked by the target audience or not. It also attracts new customers, especially when a company adds products with new benefits. Finally, it assists in making an effective strategy when it comes to targeting buyer personas.
Also Read: What are Marketing Mix Elements? Definition or Meaning of Marketing Mix?
What is Brand Marketing?
Do you remember that time when Coca Cola initiated their—Share a Coke—campaign by replacing their signature cursive branding with the names of their customers? After seeing them, many of my friends started looking for coke at almost every outlet, only to get the tin can with their name. Also, Coca Cola’s overall sales increased by 3%. Well, this is what Brand Marketing is all about.
Brand Marketing, in a way, is about highlighting your brand while promoting the product or service. Its main task is to link the brand’s identity value and personality with the audience through communication. By employing an efficient brand marketing strategy, your company can design brands that go far beyond showcasing product features and display brand values or intangibles. If done right, these campaigns elicit an emotional response from your customers, which will help with building loyalty and resulting in repeat business. When in comparison with product marketing, Brand Marketing is a more practical approach because it helps in building an emotional connection between the brand and the product.
Mentioned below are some of the benefits of Brand Marketing that set it apart from Product Marketing
- Customer Recognition:
Never undermine the power of familiarity. While shopping, if your customer recognizes your brand by its packages/colours/images of a brand that they recognize, they’re more likely to grab that product than the sea of others that are surrounding it. Why? Because it’s eye-catching and familiar. Brand Marketing is ideal for uniquely positioning yourself in a crowded space, especially if there are too many competitors involved.
- Helps in building up sales effectively and customer loyalty over time:
When a customer experiences an exceptional service after purchasing product//service, they might end up becoming your brand loyalist and pick your product/service time and again. And by seeing your promotional campaign over media or digital channels, they will reorganize their association with the brand and feel more happy and confident about their purchase decision making.
- Competitive Edge
The organization often faces tough competitions from the existing players as well as new start-ups wherein they are offering a similar product/service in the market, and target audience/market is also similar. However, with the help of brand marketing, you can carve a distinguished identity in the market, which highlights the unique selling propositions and product’s differentiating factors.
A brand marketing is what you need and the product marketing strategy is what you want: Deciding what works best for your business
When it comes to deciding what works best for your business, there is no specific answer. It all depends on the company. But the older an organization is, with well-defined products or competition, the more likely they are to depend on brand awareness. On the other hand, for start-ups, it is necessary to work on product awareness. However, some companies fall in between these two extremes. Some start-ups come with certain products/services that already have a lot of competition in the market, so they need to work on differentiating themselves from those that already exist. For them, brand marketing is as necessary as product marketing. Also, older companies might have to work on product marketing to define their new product.
Conclusion: It takes two to tango
By now, you must be aware of the fact that both—Product Marketing and Brand Marketing—should co-exist for a well-rounded marketing strategy. There should be a complete balance of both, wherein the personality of your company and the value you offer users is present no matter what type of campaign you run.
For those of you still wondering how to take their company’s marketing strategy to the next level–I have a suggestion: apply now for the Executive PG Program in Product Management—a 6-month program—and specialize in brand and product marketing strategies and management. If you wish to know more about it, you can click here to see the complete details of the program. Moreover, if you think that there are some points that I have missed in the blog, do let me know by commenting in the comment box. You can also share your feedback about the comment box. Looking forward to hearing from you!
