Product Marketing vs Sales Enablement

This article will discuss product marketing vs sales enablement. It will give you an idea of what separates and overlaps both terms. So, keep on reading below to know.

Product Marketing vs Sales Enablement

Product marketing refers to the process of planning, implementing, and managing the overall marketing strategy of a product or a service. This involves creating a market for a product/ service by developing and promoting it to the target customers. In short, Product Marketing is responsible for the visibility and growth of a product.

This includes:

• Brand Development. Defining customer target groups, customer requirements, product development based on customer requirements, etc.
• Communications. Identifying the right media channels and determining their effectiveness. This is in terms of getting customer requirements and feedback that impacts directly to product development, etc.
• Distribution. Deciding the right channels from where customers can get the product, pricing strategies, distribution strategy, etc.

Product marketing is concerned with managing the whole process of a product from its creation to its ultimate disposal.

Then, sales enablement is one of the most important aspects of sales. Because it helps in supporting the sales team in every possible way. Further, it is a set of tools and activities that help sales teams to perform better. This is by providing them with credible data and information whenever they need or want.

Further, sales enablement provides support to sales teams through sales training programs. Those that give them insights about new products, new trends in the market/ industry, and more. As well as support them in improving their sales skills in both on-the-job training and off-the-job training (sometimes both). 

Further, it also provides necessary resources like lead identification tools used by the sales team for generating leads. It also provides performance tracking tools & techniques for measuring sales performance. This includes dashboards, reports, metrics management techniques & other similar techniques that help in improving sales performance.

Do You Need Both?

So, do you need both product marketing and sales enablement? The answer is, yes. This is because they both are different and have different purposes. And, they both play a vital role in the success of the whole sales process.

Product marketing focuses on product development and is responsible for the product’s growth and visibility. On the other hand, sales enablement helps to support the sales team in their efforts to make sales. That’s why, without both of them, it will be hard to sell a product.

Then, it is beneficial if companies separate both terms, and assign a different person/ team for each. Because this will help them to focus on their roles and responsibilities. This will help the product to reach its full potential by having a well-designed marketing strategy and sales enablement strategy.

Further, product marketers must be aware of sales enablement strategy too. This is because they will be responsible for developing the product based on customer requirements, which will later be used by sales to make sales. So, it is also necessary that product marketers are aware of all the sales enablement tools and techniques that support the sales teams in their efforts.