Many companies in the high tech arena value the role of strategic marketing as the lynch pin to the success of the company and product strategy. This is one of the toughest roles in a marketing organization! Here are some tips for success in making sure your company is heading in the right direction.
Keep Your Finger on the Pulse of the Market
Read everything you can get your hands on, but don't ever sit back in an ivory tower and think this is enough! The failure of many companies has been at the hands of marketers who took analysts' predictions at face value, and didn't validate what the reports contained. Talk to customers, colleagues in other companies, and even your competitors to see where things are heading and why.
Keep a Running List of Market Drivers for All New Products
What is behind the expected demand for a new product? Does it make sense? Keep this list and ask yourself tough questions to make sure you really believe these drivers will create a solid and sustainable market for your new products. If anything doesn't make sense - go back to the validation process and ask questions of your customers, coworkers, and colleagues in other companies. Remember, if you don't believe in it, no one else will.
Create a Solid PRD and MRD for Each New Product
A written PRD or Product Requirements Document and MRD or Market Requirements Document are essential for the life and creation of any new product. The PRD should contain full product specifications, and should be driven from the MRD, which is market requirements determined by a full analysis of customer needs and wants. This should be created by presenting a "straw-man" product to your current and potential customers, and getting their feedback.
Don't be so set on your ideas that you fail to listen to the customers! This is a failing of many good marketers - but flexibility is the key to success. Your ideas are not the only ones, and in the final analysis, it is the ideas of those who plan to purchase such a product that count.
Know Your Costs and ROI
When making decisions as to which product to pursue with limited resources, a solid knowledge of which product will bring the highest ROI is critical. Some products may have a more limited market, but may be more cost effective to produce. Don't forget also that near-term revenue is critical to the life of your company. If a product is a permutation of an existing product and takes less resources AND will be brought to market sooner, its revenue contribution can often be used to fund other more complex development efforts.
Get Buy-in From Your Team
Any marketer is only successful when the team is behind him. Make sure your entire team knows the value of the product you are championing, and why it is necessary to the long-term success of the company. Evangelize your product, and back up your claims with solid data. Distribute your PRD and MRD to everyone who is involved in the process so that all the facts are at their fingertips.
Strategic marketing is a tricky role, but a very rewarding one when you see your products hit the market successfully!
