Don't Let Poor Product Marketing Ruin Your Win Rate and Deal Size

Today we are going to demonstrate how to increase pipeline attribution, customer loyalty, and customer lifetime value through product marketing. Our conversation today is focused on associating product marketing excellence with revenue contribution. It’s hard to execute a Marketing Strategy to grow revenue faster than your competitors. The Revenue Growth Diagnostic tool will help you assess your marketing strategy to pinpoint keys to your success.

Joining us today is Phil Montgomery the Chief Marketing Officer of Pulse Secure.  Pulse Secure provides secure remote access not only to your data center, but also to your cloud applications, from desktop and mobile devices.  It’s the evolution of the secure VPN for the modern workforce. Listen as Phil demonstrates how to increase pipeline attribution, customer loyalty, and customer lifetime value through product marketing.

Why this topic? Product marketing teams that do not have revenue targets are considered overhead. They are not revenue contributors. Weak product value propositions, messaging and competitive positioning statements result in poor win rates and deal sizes. Underfunded, and understaffed product marketing teams translate to poorly enabled sales forces and disappointing revenue performance.

Phil is uniquely qualified to speak on this topic having spent his career in a combination of product management and product marketing leadership roles.  Phil has launched over thirty products, mostly software in the B-to-B infrastructure space and security spaces. In today’s podcast, Phil will share how to raise the level of performance of your product marketing organization.

Listen as Phil and I discuss his framework for executing world-class product marketing.  This framework includes the fundamental deliverable actions and the approach required for success.  Included in the discussion are tips on who to include as stakeholders in the process. Customer and prospects interviews, as well as sales staff need to be part of the process. 

If your products are not properly positioned, priced or packaged, no amount of white papers or collateral is going to help. Too often product marketing is only leveraged in a technical function that delivers white papers, webinars and delivers PowerPoint presentations to the sales field. Product Marketing should play a more strategic role. The role begins with understanding the buyer. They must understand the customer and if you’re a channel company, then they must treat your channel partners are customers as well.

Develop personas to document the understanding of the customers.  Begin with understanding the route to market and what the buyer’s looking to solve.  Develop the strategic elements of marketing that include compelling and differentiated messaging and positioning. Determine the pricing and packaging, and the final step is enabling the field.  Listen as Phil goes deep into each area required to increase pipeline attribution, customer loyalty, and customer lifetime value through product marketing.

The root of the product marketing problem often occurs because of weakened product value propositions in messaging and competitive positioning statements.  This can result in poor win rates and deal sizes. Underfunded and understaffed product marketing teams translate to poor enabled sales forces and disappointing revenue performance. Hopefully today we discuss how to make sure that that doesn’t happen to you.

Have expectations gone up and left you wondering if you can make your number? Here is an interactive tool that will help you understand if you have a chance at success. Take the Revenue Growth Diagnostic test and rate yourself against SBI’s sales and marketing strategy to find out if:

• Your revenue goal is realistic
• You will earn your bonus
• You will keep your job

If you would like to spend time with me on this topic, visit The Studio, SBI’s multimillion dollar, one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art executive briefing center. A visit to The Studio increases the probability of making your number because the sessions are built on the proven strength and stability of SBI, the industry leader in B2B sales and marketing.