Mastering New Age Product Marketing: A Blueprint for Indian Startups

Introduction

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the role of product marketing has become more critical than ever, particularly for startups and hustling businesses in India. Traditionally, product marketing served as a link between product development and sales, ensuring a product’s market fit and driving its adoption. However, the new age product marketing function goes far beyond this. It now plays a strategic role in the overall success of a product and a company, encompassing product development, customer success, and sales alignment.

This article delves deep into the new age product marketing function, how it fits into the Indian startup ecosystem, and how businesses can leverage it to succeed in a highly competitive market. We’ll explore its various components, real-world examples, and relevant statistics to make the case for adopting a modern product marketing approach in India.

What is New Age Product Marketing?

New age product marketing is an evolved function that not only bridges product development, sales, and customer success but also actively shapes product direction. It includes strategies that involve real-time customer feedback, data-driven decision-making, and close collaboration with other departments such as marketing, sales, and customer success.

In India’s startup ecosystem, where speed and agility are crucial, product marketing helps entrepreneurs quickly iterate on their products based on market feedback, making the product more customer-centric. It also plays a pivotal role in scaling operations, entering new markets, and building a strong brand presence.

Key Pillars of New Age Product Marketing

The new age product marketing function revolves around four core pillars: Product, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success. Let’s break these down:

1. Product

• Market Fit: Ensuring the product-market fit is one of the primary responsibilities of product marketing. For example, Indian startups like Zomato and CureFit focused on hyperlocal market needs by tailoring their offerings, making their products highly relevant to specific demographics.
• Influence on Roadmap: Product marketing uses data and customer insights to influence the product roadmap. A clear example is the rapid adoption of UPI-based payment systems in India, which forced fintech companies like PhonePe and Paytm to pivot their product roadmaps based on market demand.
• Customer Feedback for Product Development: Leveraging customer feedback allows businesses to refine their products. Consider the evolution of the Swiggy app, which initially started with basic food delivery but added features like in-app chat and live tracking based on user feedback.

2. Marketing

• Crafting Messaging and Positioning: In India’s competitive startup market, positioning can make or break a brand. A successful example is Ola, which positioned itself as a cost-effective and convenient alternative to traditional taxis, capturing the urban audience.
• Managing Product Launches: Product marketing ensures smooth and effective product launches, employing a mix of digital marketing, influencer strategies, and PR. Cred, an Indian fintech company, is a great example of using aggressive digital campaigns to build buzz around new product launches.
• Producing Marketing Content: Content marketing has been a game-changer for Indian startups, with companies like Dunzo and UrbanClap using engaging content to drive customer engagement and retention.

3. Sales

• Sales and Marketing Alignment: Product marketing aligns the sales team with the ideal customer profile. A company like Freshworks aligns its product marketing with sales by focusing on SMBs and tailoring its sales efforts to this segment.
• Using Sales Data to Refine Strategies: By closely monitoring sales data, product marketing can adjust its approach to meet market demands. For instance, BYJU’s adapts its sales strategies based on geographical data to focus on regions where demand for ed-tech services is growing.
• Get Feedback from Sales: Feedback from the sales team on customer objections and pain points helps product marketing refine the messaging and product positioning. For example, Razorpay used sales insights to pivot its positioning toward offering comprehensive payment solutions for businesses of all sizes.

4. Customer Success

• Enhancing Customer Experience: Customer success is no longer a reactive process; it is proactive in the new age of product marketing. For instance, Zoho, a SaaS company, has focused heavily on enhancing customer experience by offering round-the-clock support and personalised solutions for small and medium businesses.
• Onboarding and Educational Materials: New age product marketing emphasises customer onboarding. Udaan, a B2B e-commerce startup, provided simple and easy-to-understand onboarding materials that helped small businesses adopt its platform faster.
• Gathering Testimonials and Case Studies: Showcasing success stories builds trust. A great example is ShareChat, which frequently showcases user-generated content and customer testimonials to build a strong community and brand reputation.

Why is Product Marketing Crucial in the Indian Startup Ecosystem?

India’s startup ecosystem is known for its speed, adaptability, and scale. With over 60,000 registered startups, the competition is fierce. Product marketing plays a critical role in helping these startups not only survive but thrive in such an environment.

Here’s why product marketing is crucial for Indian startups:

1. Rapid Product Evolution: Startups in India need to evolve their products quickly to match market demands. Product marketing helps bridge the gap between product and market, allowing faster pivots and iterations.
2. Customer-Centric Approach: Indian consumers are highly diverse, and their needs can vary dramatically based on geography, culture, and income. Product marketing ensures that the product remains relevant to various customer segments.
3. Scalability: As Indian startups aim for pan-India or even global expansion, product marketing ensures that their messaging, product features, and customer success strategies can scale.
4. Cost-Efficiency: For resource-constrained startups, product marketing provides a cost-efficient way to align product development with customer needs, thus avoiding costly product misfires.

Statistics: The Rise of Product Marketing in India

• According to a survey by Zinnov, the Indian SaaS market, driven by product marketing, is expected to grow to $10 billion by 2025.
• A Statista report shows that digital ad spending in India is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8.9%, reaching $7.14 billion by 2025, which highlights the increasing importance of effective product marketing strategies in a digital-first economy.
• Startups that adopt a strong product marketing strategy are 2.5 times more likely to achieve early-stage success, according to a report by YourStory.

Real-World Examples of Indian Startups Excelling at Product Marketing

1. Zomato: Initially, Zomato’s product was merely a restaurant discovery platform. However, through active product marketing, it expanded into food delivery, and more recently, grocery delivery. Zomato’s customer-first approach allowed it to grow rapidly, consistently iterating on its product based on real-time feedback.
2. Dunzo: Starting as a hyperlocal delivery platform, Dunzo successfully scaled its operations using customer-centric product marketing. By gathering data on customer needs, they diversified their offerings to include groceries, medicines, and even pet supplies, making them indispensable in the Indian urban household.
3. Licious: This meat and seafood delivery startup exemplified great product marketing by focusing on freshness and hygiene, which became a key differentiator in the market. Their ability to tap into customer sentiment during the pandemic, with safety and hygiene becoming a top priority, made them a go-to brand for meat lovers.

Conclusion

Product marketing is no longer just an add-on function; it has become a strategic necessity, especially for startups in India’s highly competitive landscape. The new age product marketing function integrates deeply with product development, customer success, and sales, allowing startups to not only survive but thrive.

By understanding the market, listening to customers, and quickly iterating on feedback, Indian startups can ensure product-market fit, build stronger brands, and scale faster. Whether you’re a founder, product manager, or part of a hustling startup team, embracing new-age product marketing is essential for your journey toward success.

Startups in India have already begun leveraging product marketing to make a mark, and those that haven’t will soon realise that it’s the key to staying relevant and competitive. The future of product marketing is now, and it’s evolving faster than ever.