A product marketer is defined as a marketer whose role is to bring a product to market. A product marketer manages all aspects of a product’s positioning, messaging, and launching in order to drive both demand and usage of the product at hand.
One of the most classic examples of product marketing is Coca-Cola.
Having originated as a pharmaceutical product to remedy headaches and fatigue, Coca-Cola switched gears to instead focus on soft drinks after a taxation problem in the late 1800s.
Thanks to strong product marketing, Coca-Cola solidified its brand positioning early and the products remained unchanged for decades (albeit with some funky brand extension, Vanilla Coke anyone?). Coca-Cola’s product marketing is so strong, in fact, that over 95% of the global population considers the Coca-Cola brand instantly recognizable.
To use a more contemporary example, product marketing is also essential for SaaS platform success. Here, a Product Marketer will help maintain a good product-market fit and work to better understand the target user’s changing needs.
The answer to the question, “How much does a Product Marketer get paid?” you need to consider the country and region that the marketer is working in and the level of expertise involved.
With that being said, however, the median salary of a Product Marketer in the United States as of 2022 is $137,483.
The day-to-day activities and responsibilities of a Product Marketer center around promoting a product’s value to the company’s ideal target audience.
More specifically, this generally includes creating and managing advertising budgets, running marketing campaigns, creating content for distribution, and strategizing ways to connect with prospective buyers.
While product marketing is a form of marketing, they differ in terms of both their job descriptions and the associated responsibilities.
Marketing, for example, is an umbrella term for attracting prospects, creating brand awareness, and creating demand for a chosen product or service. Product marketing, on the other hand, is specifically aimed at the product at hand: it doesn’t end after the customer acquisition stage and, instead, includes positioning, generating demand, and onboarding new customers long-term.
A Product Marketer typically follows a product throughout its entire lifecycle, from conception and throughout the customer usage journey.
Product Marketing can also be something of an umbrella term. Some of the most common job titles within the sector are:
Product Development Specialist
Product SEO Specialist
Product Differentiation Specialist
Product Market Research Specialist
Product Promotion Specialist
And Product Variety Specialist
Depending on your existing educational and vocational background, different ways to become a Product Marketer include going to university to receive a relevant degree, starting out as an entry-level Product Marketer, or starting out as a marketer working on product-adjacent tasks and working your way up.
Seniority levels as a Product Marketer are entry-level, intermediate, and then specialist-level.