How to Hire a Product Marketing Manager

Why hire a product marketing manager?

A smart product marketing manager is a calculative risk taker and an excellent implementer of the most profitable outbound strategies for product promotion. They lead the product marketing campaigns to boost brand building and sales activities. A great product marketing manager will: 

• Develop successful product marketing and positioning strategies by analyzing market trends and studying competitors’ products
• Craft captivating messages in the form of engaging SEO content, attractive landing pages and gripping ad campaigns
• Collaborate with design, acquisition, product, content and sales teams to build outbound marketing strategies and implement them

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance product marketing manager

Companies may consider hiring a freelance product marketing manager to advertise their products prior to launch and gather consumer feedback shortly after the launch. This could be an ideal choice for companies that don’t frequently develop and launch products.

Businesses that are consistently designing, testing and launching new products should consider hiring a full-time product marketing manager, as well as a product marketing management team. Not only can this be cheaper than paying for a freelancer, but it can also greatly improve revenue and help the company respond to concerns posed by consumers. 

What are the ranks of product marketing managers?

Employees in the field of product marketing can have a few different titles. The jobs are organized into a clear chain of command. These titles include:

• Product marketing specialists: Product marketing specialists are in charge of assessing the community to find out what will sell. They conduct research to discover what the community needs, develop a plan for marketing the company’s product and manage online advertising techniques. This can include writing and posting copy, improving SEO elements and launching pay-per-click campaigns. 
• Product marketing managers: Product marketing managers take on a supervisory role in the department. They communicate goals to the specialists, assign responsibilities to each member of the team and analyze the results of their marketing efforts. 
• Director of product marketing: The director of product marketing is in charge of the whole department. They’re responsible for developing short- and long-term goals, making major marketing decisions and pricing the company’s products. 

Where to find product marketing managers

To find the right product marketing manager for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Promote from within. Conduct interviews with the product marketing specialists in your company. Assess their skills in the field and their leadership skills to determine if they’d be a quality candidate for the management position. 
• Search for freelance and full-time candidates online. Some potential candidates may be advertising themselves online to find work. Examine these candidates’ past work and make contact with them to set up interviews. 
• Post help wanted signs. Posting help wanted signs can increase community awareness of the job and attract applicants. 
• Post your job online. Try posting your product marketing manager job on Indeed to find and attract quality product marketing manager candidates.

What are the ranks of product marketing managers?

Employees in the field of product marketing can have a few different titles. The jobs are organized into a clear chain of command. These titles include:

• Product marketing specialists: Product marketing specialists are in charge of assessing the community to find out what will sell. They conduct research to discover what the community needs, develop a plan for marketing the company’s product and manage online advertising techniques. This can include writing and posting copy, improving SEO elements and launching pay-per-click campaigns. 
• Product marketing managers: Product marketing managers take on a supervisory role in the department. They communicate goals to the specialists, assign responsibilities to each member of the team and analyze the results of their marketing efforts. 
• Director of product marketing: The director of product marketing is in charge of the whole department. They’re responsible for developing short- and long-term goals, making major marketing decisions and pricing the company’s products. 

Writing a product marketing manager job description

A thoughtful job description can help boost the likelihood of finding qualified product marketing manager candidates. A well-written product marketing manager job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your product marketing manager job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on product marketing manager jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Marketing 
• Product manager
• Marketing manager
• Product marketing manager
• Product marketing
• Senior marketing manager
• MBA
• Marketing specialist
• Marketing communications
• Product management

Interviewing product marketing manager candidates

Product marketing manager candidates should be tested on their marketing skill set, problem-solving abilities and application of unique product marketing strategies. They’ll be confident answering questions regarding: 

• Development of product marketing strategies
• Importance of web analytics tools in understanding market dynamics
• Recent implementation of a successful product marketing strategy and how it was unique

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of product marketing manager interview questions for examples (with sample answers).