A startup can build excellent technology and still struggle if nobody understands or needs it. Inbound marketing closes that gap by connecting the company with its target market and turning what it learns into product direction. Here, inbound marketing is closely identified with product management, while outbound marketing handles communications, branding, and attracting attention. section 24.1.1 section 24.1.2
The market-aware product manager
A product manager who comes from the target vertical may already understand its vocabulary, working environment, partners, and professional network. That knowledge helps the manager identify customer needs, explain them to engineers, and reduce the friction of entering the market. section 24.1.2
Effective inbound marketing, treated as product management, involves:
- Working closely with prospective customers and the broader target market. section 24.1.2
- Identifying customer needs and the business objectives a product or feature should fulfill. section 24.1.2
- Defining what success looks like and rallying the product team around that vision. section 24.1.2
- Translating between customer language and engineering language, including what not to build. section 24.1.2
Table 24.1 Marketing communications
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Website
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The website needs to articulate the company's purpose, vision, and differentiation simply, quickly, impressively, and clearly. We always want the website to be the best place for people to go learn about the company so people who seem interested (and maybe want to apply for a job or download a white paper) are asked to register. They are put in a database for further marketing communications to keep “touching” them over time and keep them engaged and interested.
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Hiring
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Attracts people to apply for jobs, which involves a handoff to HR (under the CFO)
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Collateral
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To support sales, build the brand, and foster a sense of “thought leadership,” marketing creates sales decks, brochures, and white papers.
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Use the marketing communications table to compare inbound product work with adjacent activities such as websites, hiring, collateral, and demand generation. section 24.1.1
The practical lesson is uncomfortable but useful: inbound work cannot be treated as optional just because outbound communications are easier to staff or outsource. It is essential to establishing the minimum viable product and product–market fit. section 24.1.2 section 24.5
