top of page

Product Marketing Manager - Technology

"I love my job because I get to work with almost everyone who has a role in bringing cool new products to market. For example, the product designers ask me for insight on what features our product should have; the manufacturing people need guidance on the cost limitations to build our product; and the salespeople need support in translating the features into benefit statements they can sell to our clients. Positioning our products in the marketplace and crafting messages that drive demand are some of my favourite parts of this role that’s both technical and creative."

Salary Range:

$97,400 - $121,900

The Tip

Be different and do one thing every year that causes people to ask, “So, why did you do that”?

Priority Knowledge & Skills
Strategic Marketing

  • Develop & execute a positioning strategy

  • Develop & execute a brand strategy

  • Conduct a competitive analysis

  • Conduct an environmental scan

  • Develop & apply a segmentation strategy

 

Research & Insight

  • Demonstrate empathy & curiosity

  • Leverage contextual knowledge

  • Ability to analyze data

  • Leverage research to support consumer insights

  • Presentation & report-writing skills

  • Use analytics tools

 

Product management

  • Measure return on investment (ROI)

  • Develop & execute a product strategy

  • Manage a budget

  • Develop & execute a pricing strategy

  • Manage projects

  • Manage product life cycle

Sales & Channel Management

  • Conduct sales presentations

  • Develop & execute a distribution strategy

  • Leverage e-commerce

  • Develop merchandising strategy

  • Leverage co-operative marketing

 

Communications & Branding

  • Develop & execute a media plan

  • Sponsorship & community investment

  • Leverage earned media

  • Leverage event & experiential marketing

  • Leverage influencer marketing

  • Develop a promotional strategy

  • Knowledge of media psychology

  • Apply marketing within a CSR framework

 

Content Curation & Design

  • Apply visual design fundamentals

  • Conduct content research & curation

  • Develop original content

  • Apply creative production processes

  • Develop content schedule & plan

Building Block Experiences
Education & Learning:

  • Bachelor of Anything (e.g. psychology, marketing, engineering)

  • Applied marketing programs

  • Master of Business Administration (marketing)

  • Professional Project Management (PMP) certification via the Project Management Institute

  • Regularly listen to a range of product marketing and product management podcasts

 

"I find that the blend of technical and business education offers me an enormous advantage because I straddle engineering and marketing. I think great product marketing managers need to know how to ask the hard questions—whether it be to the engineering team or sales team."

​

​
Employment Experiences:

  • Retail sales specialist

  • Sales coordinator for enterprise software

  • Enterprise support specialist for an enterprise software company

  • Business development manager for a small startup

  • Marketing manager in a start-up

  • Product marketing manager in a start-up

  • Product marketing manager (following the acquisition by a global company).

 

"This pathway provided me a background in selling and customer experiences essential to understanding a product’s marketing needs. To succeed in this job, I needed diverse experiences in sales, marketing and technology. It was key that I was proactive in mapping out the knowledge and skills I would need, and how to go out and get them."

​

​

Community Experiences:

  • Organize events for a technology association

  • Mentor junior staff

 

"Volunteering creates great opportunities for me to build relationships and diversify my contextual experiences."

​

​

Contextual Experiences:

  • Travel whenever I can

  • Attended a technology camp in California

  • Attended a start-up weekend in Waterloo

 

"I was intentional in trying to identify unique contextual experiences that expanded my knowledge and skills."

​

​

Relationships:

  • Had both marketing and technical mentors to guide development

 

"My mentors were critical to keeping focused and on-track. Diversity is important."

bottom of page