The Human Side of Product Marketing

“Do you know what it really reminds me of? Tasty Wheat. Did you ever eat Tasty Wheat?”

A simple dialogue sparked by a bowl of porridge aboard the Nebuchadnezzar in the first Matrix film.
It’s one of those scenes that got stuck in my mind like the apartment scene from Pulp Fiction. At first it just seemed to be mindless, youthful entertainment; but decades later has proven to be full of wisdom and giving rise to introspection and thought about marketing in the seafood industry. 

But this is simply the starting point of my quest. The real juicy morsel is Tank’s matter-of-fact retort to shoot down Mouse’ bizantine inquiry: 

“It's a single-celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins and minerals. Everything the body needs.” 

To which, Mouse’ response:
“It’s not everything the body needs.”

This is where I roll up my sleeves, lean forward in my chair, and point my finger to make a point.

Whenever we have a conversation about successful businesses or powerful brands, we unequivocally find ourselves in a state of excitement, a sort of youthful innocence as we talk about ideas, our beliefs and convictions, desires; the abstract, the intangible. Whenever features are mentioned they are usually a launching pad that segues the conversation into a particularly memorable and meaningful moment that invigorated a heightened state or feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction. 

There is a concealed link between our products (and its features) and an emotional state; our product marketing strategy is the tool that sheds light on a hidden pathway that leads from point A to point B. We tend to think of point B as being the ephemeral interaction between a buyer and a product; the biblical consummation of the relationship between brand and consumer: once they put their silverware down on the plate and get up from the table, our journeys, once again, part ways. This completely utilitarian approach to product marketing sets us in disadvantage in the market as it positions our products as replaceable based on function rather than distinguished by value. 

We are not point B, we are a companion along the journey. 

Product marketing is not about monologuing our way into a one-time purchase, a lustful hunger that can be satisfied by proximity rather than choice. It is about pointing the light ahead on their journey, rather than shining a light on ourselves; proving that our product and all its features help them better navigate through the twists and turns of life towards that sought after end-state. 

In a Marketing Week article Mimi Turner, of the B2B Institute, joked that “if B2C marketers thought like B2B marketers, Coca-Cola would market itself as “brown, fizzy, and sweet”. Forget those cuddly polar bears, Coke just needs to let customers know that it’s 98% effective in reducing thirst.” 

I’m pretty sure most of us would buy Mouse’ B2C angle and “Tasty Wheat pitch” to Tank’s B2B take on survival porridge at a strategy session any day. 

One of the key elements to keep in mind is that not all consumers are looking for the same experience, not all consumers are on the same journey, not all consumers are searching for the same value, and not all consumers have the same point B; there is a necessary and healthy narrowing that our brand value, product features, and consumer needs provides us with that establishes our marketing guidelines. 

It is essential to unearth the golden nuggets of knowledge about what drives buying behavior and guides consumer choice: What is point B? What does it look like? What’s up there? Why are they going through the trouble of trying to reach it? This knowledge forms the pillars for our messaging strategy and helps us understand how to portray our products in a manner that will evoke that “it’s what I need” moment. 

The human mind links everything with emotions: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

By listening to our consumers and observing from their perspective, we have the opportunity to fine tune our product marketing strategy and become the de facto companion for the journey from point A to point B and beyond.

Because it’s just about “what the body needs.”