3 Product Management Principles Marketers Should Live By

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I recently had the chance to talk with our new VP of Product, Dave Coburn.  He’s a proven leader with incredible, practical, know-how when it comes to managing product and technology teams. I sat down with Dave to talk about his role at RingRevenue and his vision for the future from a product standpoint.  Little did I realize I would walk away with some valuable insights that reminded me what marketing should be all about. Here are three of RingRevenue's product management principles that every marketer should live by:

1. Be Agile

RingRevenue is committed to agile software development which means our engineering team is incredibly “business minded and customer focused” as Dave explains. Our developers are not only open to client feedback about our call marketing platform, they also view everyone at RingRevenue as a part of a cross-functional product team that has valuable input. And as true practitioners of agile software development, we are always just weeks away from new software updates.  

Being agile means being action-driven, flexible and totally in sync with the customer - what better way for a marketer to market? Technology has made it easier than ever for marketers to understand customers’ needs, wants and behaviors. Because of advanced online analytics, you can see exactly what messages and campaigns resonate and which ones fall flat. In the digital age marketers have the ability to quickly adapt based not only data-backed insights, but real time events - hello Oreo with their timely Super Bowl blackout Twitter campaign.

Good, agile product management also takes advantage of everyone in a company and marketing teams should do the same. Your co-workers are a huge resource with a unique perspective and insight. Use them to better understand your marketplace, customers, and product. In this age of content driven marketing, you can even use them for content production. No marketing team should be an island.  


2. Offer True Value

Understanding your product’s value is critical for product management. This comes down to knowing the difference between features and benefits. A big part of Dave’s responsibilities involve defining the product and validating it in the marketplace. Our call tracking, attribution, and real-time analytics don't mean anything unless they are easy to use, improve marketing performance and ultimately make a positive impact to our clients' bottom line. Dave ensures RingRevenue's call marketing solution offers real benefits and solves real problems. All the bells, whistles and cutting edge innovation won’t matter if there’s no real value.

The same should be true of your marketing. It’s easy to get caught up in all the things your business does, but the only thing your customers care about is themselves. How does your offer directly impact them? How does it improve their situation?

Your marketing should not only focus on your business's value, it should be valuable in its own right. Today inbound marketing is essential and depends on assets you can provide your audience in the form of informative or entertaining content such as blog posts, ebooks, infographics, videos, case studies and the list goes on. 


3. Have Vision

Developing a product is hard. Constantly innovating and updating it is even harder. What I learned from Dave is that a strong vision should guide you through this process.  Understand the market landscape and where it is heading. Know where you are and want to be positioned.  For RingRevenue, our primary goal is to help our clients reach call-based revenue goals, so all of our technology innovation and updates sit firmly within the context of that goal.  

Having vision is one of the building blocks of great marketing too, but it’s easily overlooked. Marketers can get caught up in the daily grind of content, social media, event planning, and advertisements that they forget what the real mission is. Ask yourself, what do your customers need, what do they need and not know it, and what will they need in the future? Your marketing should address those needs while forging your identity and establishing connections. By keeping the big picture in mind, you will ultimately push your business forward.  

Now that you know the philosphy behind our product, don't you want to use it to enhance your own marketing? Call us at 888-675-2007 or request more information today!