Product marketing is all-pervasive, being a function that balances product, marketing, and sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The product marketing manager\u2019s responsibilities go beyond product development and involve customer behavior, product positioning, customer feedback, and marketing strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a product marketing manager, you are a storyteller who knows the target customers, creates a go-to-market plan<\/a> for new products, and finds ways to interact with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus, successful product marketers share some essential skills\u2014they know how to build habit-forming products in niche and crowded markets using rapid customer feedback, product-led growth, data analysis, and competitive intelligence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a list of the 10 best product marketing books with practical advice, real-world examples of creating products users love, and new customer engagement methods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This list includes everything from scientific advertising to product marketing manager responsibilities and concepts like web usability and story brand concepts to customer data. <\/p>\n\n\n In The Influential Product Manager, Ken Sandy teaches you how to behave at every stage of the product life cycle, combining his 20 years of experience and growth stage knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The author divides product marketing lessons into easy-to-implement templates and principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the beginning of the product development process<\/a>, focus on improving your understanding of the problem and uncover all possible outcomes. Before taking on a single approach, create mock-ups for all alternatives and test them with customers and internal stakeholders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The author\u2019s most practical advice is to continually test throughout the design, development, and implementation phase\u2014even if it\u2019s on a few target customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He proposes that all product management templates should have five critical elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProduct managers own the problems (the \u2018why\u2019 and \u2018what\u2019), and engineers own the solutions (the \u2018how\u2019 and \u2018when\u2019) \u2013 but it is only by collaboration that you can develop and build the best ideas.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Ken Sandy<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book builds onto Adam Nash\u2019s concept of feature buckets in product management. Sandy proposes that a good feature release should have some of the following factors: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Influential Product Manager<\/em> is an in-depth playbook that\u2019s perfect for both those new to product management and those who want to have an even greater impact on product at their company. This is my new go-to resource for how to be an effective strategic partner throughout the product development life cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most highly rated product marketing books, Product Marketing, Simplified, is a practical guide to product marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Srini Sekaran presents solid frameworks for customer segmentation and persona building in product marketing. The book defines the customer journey and shows product marketers how to create the correct personas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The author weaves real-life examples of habit-forming products, customer behavior at every stage of the lifecycle, product positioning<\/a>, pricing, and packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you\u2019re an enterprise or a consumer marketer, this book provides a primer for customers\u2019 purchase decisions. The goal of this practical guide for aspiring product marketers is to show how to connect the dots between disparate tasks within product marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An interesting take here is to subtly encourage customer behavior by making it easy for them to play out their instinctual compulsion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Appeal to the customer\u2019s instinct, offer flexible payments, and make it easy to learn about your product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus, he shares product development process templates<\/a> to plug and play as per your go-to-market plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cArt and creativity revolve around the ability to effectively connect with others. Product marketing encompasses this narrative as well.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 Srini Sekaran <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI purchased this book in preparation for a new job and was immediately impressed with how easy it was to digest. The book is thoughtful, informative, and well-written, and provides a solid foundation in product marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Lucas Weber was a product marketing manager who searched the internet to learn about marketing strategies for selling high-tech products. At that time, the product marketing books and research journals offered little help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Weber wrote The Product Marketing Manager: Responsibilities and Best Practices in a Technology Company to share his learnings through trials and errors on the job and real-world examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The book explains the challenges of other teams who work with a product marketing manager. What do such roles entail? Addressing the unique problems of the product marketing team in an entertaining read, Weber combines anecdotes and interviews with his colleagues and industry experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He teaches the essential skills needed to become a product marketing manager and new ideas and inspiration for seasoned product marketers. The author warns that everything else fails without a proper strategy for sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe must identify values where there appears to be none.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Lucas Weber<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe author\u2019s practical experience in product marketing makes it a very insightful read. There are mentions of both successes and failures, which can help aspiring product marketers. Even if your title is not product marketer, and you are involved in other roles such as content marketing or growth marketing, you can find many best practices to learn from. Especially helpful where marketers are juggling between multiple responsibilities and the organization has not created a formal product marketing position.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n April Dunford starts Obviously Awesome and discusses how she used to position products at her technology company\u2014a form the marketing team would fill when launching a new product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This would answer the why, how, and what of the product. However, this strategy was boring and ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s when she started building frameworks around crafting product positioning so your customers love your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using an eight-step sales pitch structure, she demonstrates exciting examples of how habit-forming products break through the clutter in a crowded market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She further outlines two traps of contextual positioning. Most product marketers focus on what the development team has built but don\u2019t focus on how the product transforms or changes in the target market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Successful businesses constantly evolve their product with changing market and consumer trends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is one of the best product marketing books because Dunford has worked with some of the best startups for over 25 years, helping them position products better (or right).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Product marketing managers wanting a lean product playbook to win more business should read this book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile we understand that context is important, we generally fail to deliberately choose a context because we believe that the context for our product is obvious.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 April Dunford<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dunford spells out the five components of effective positioning: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell-written and easy-to-follow book on positioning. A must-read, especially if you are into marketing tech products. Goes beyond theoretical constructs and offers an actionable framework to arrive at the ideal positioning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The # 1 bestseller in Business Research and Development, Marty Cagan\u2019s Inspired explains how effective product management contributes to designing, building, and scaling successful tech products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The author gives valuable insights into how the best tech and successful companies, such as Apple, Tesla, and Facebook, conduct product launches and how to structure successful product organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Though this product marketing book was written in 2008 when no distinct product marketer job role existed, it is a valuable resource for understanding the psychology of tech products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Product market fit, regardless of the company\u2019s stage, requires proper structuring of product teams, a relevant marketing campaign, and strategic value regarding business context and direction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA product manager is working tirelessly, leading the product team to combine technology and design to solve real customer problems in a way that meets business needs.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Marty Cagan<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Cagan, the best product teams work because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMarty has captured each area of impact for a product organization and from the perspective of various people: Product manager, designer, stakeholders, leads, and delivery manager, which makes this book relevant for everybody in a product company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your team has struggled with failed products, Nir Eyal\u2019s Hooked provides you with a four-step process (called the Hooked Model) to build habit-forming products your customers will love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best part is that the book details the behavioral techniques social media platforms use to keep users hooked and coming back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what do these companies do differently? They offer first-to-mind solutions. They associate themselves with a problem or need so strongly that their target audience reaches out to them automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, \u2018search\u2019 today is organically associated with Google, or the need for \u2018feeling good\u2019 instantly takes people to Instagram. Eyal shows readers how to build such associations and apply the \u2018Hooked Model.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany innovations fail because consumers irrationally overvalue the old, while companies irrationally overvalue the new.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Nir Eyal<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a great book for those wanting to learn what makes a great product. It helps to bring out many of the concepts that we see in our real life but are not able to put a name to e.g. triggers, actions, rewards, investments. It\u2019s a great companion for one who is looking to build a product and will serve as a checklist to see if you have covered the most important things with your product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steve Haines, the founder of The Product Management Executive Board, asks product marketing professionals to think strategically to advance in their careers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In The Product Manager\u2019s Survival Guide, the author shares a step-wise blueprint for succeeding as a product marketer and how to build minimum viable products (MVPs) through practical tools<\/a> and techniques. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The book has techniques to earn empowerment, deploy and release products, and metrics to assess product performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a product manager, you will learn to go beyond features and functions and become a product expert and a customer advocate. Whether you\u2019re a beginner looking for product marketing debunked tips or a seasoned leader, this book has everything you need to contribute consistent positive results to your business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dive deep into the creative aspects of product management while mapping out the customer journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen product management isn\u2019t properly organized, aligned, or scoped, people have to work harder to achieve the same goals and build successful strategies.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Steven Haines<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI made the jump from a career in the military, to sales, and recently to product management. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone in the product management world! Steven does an excellent job detailing first-hand examples from his career and supporting them with tactics and guidelines that can be used by the reader immediately. He also provides many useful templates and tools which I plan on incorporating ASAP. My only regret is I didn\u2019t read it sooner!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wes Bush was inspired to write this book when he blew $300 on writing a white paper for a SaaS product. When he helped launch a free premium product from 0-100k users, he realized a surprising truth: most people were wrong about selling software. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Product-Led Growth, Bush proposes a product-led strategy and provides practical tips for saving development costs and following a proper strategy for SaaS product launch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He breaks down complex technology product marketing concepts into interesting charts and tables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, product fillers are like Coke served with French fries. Mainstream customers will always check out the big fillers, so a bundle helps drive uptake in a higher average revenue per user (ARPU). <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAbility debt is the price you pay every time your user fails to accomplish the key outcome in your product.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Wes Bush<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWould advise every Saas founder read this book before starting his venture ~ many portions may look theoretical. And then again after two years since the product launch read this all over again~ you will find every word will make absolute sense. Too good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially published in 1988 as The Psychology of Everyday Things, Donald Norman describes the psychology behind good and bad design while proposing design principles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Though The Design of Everyday Things touches upon disciplines such as ergonomics, design practice, and behavioral psychology, this book has a firm place among product marketing books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding cognitive psychology is among the many aspects of product marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Building on the premise of customer\u2019s expectations and needs, the author makes a strong case for how product design bridges communication between the object and the user. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While innovators blame themselves for product failure, the surprising truth, as the book suggests, is that products fail when the design lacks intuitive guidance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The author urges designers, product marketers, and product marketing managers to embrace the power of constraints and design for error. A good design\u2019s most significant brand message is it doesn\u2019t need an explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Donald Norman<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n10 Best Product Marketing Books to Add to Your List<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. The Influential Product Manager: How to Lead and Launch Successful Technology Products<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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2. Product Marketing, Simplified: A Customer-Centric Approach to Take a Product to Market<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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3. The Product Marketing Manager: Responsibilities and Best Practices in a Technology Company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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4. Obviously Awesome<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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5. Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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6. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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7. The Product Manager\u2019s Survival Guide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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8. Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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9. The Design of Everyday Things<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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