SiriusDecisions’ Product Marketing and Management Model Sets New Standard for Creating, Launching and Growing B2B Products

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SiriusDecisions has found that sales and marketing spending increases from 23 percent of revenue in established markets to nearly double that amount -- 38 percent of revenue -- to support the launch of new product concepts or enter new markets.

Wilton, CT (PRWEB) February 2, 2011

When someone asks if you’ve seen “the new model,” you might think it's a new car or cell phone. Think again. SiriusDecisions, the company that created the “demand waterfall” concept to optimize lead conversion-rate success, is now giving product and solution marketers a nice start to the new year. The new SiriusDecisions Product Marketing and Management (PMM) Model is designed to optimize the B2B product lifecycle and business outcomes by orchestrating better alignment between product management, marketing and sales.

“Recent benchmark data demonstrates the high stakes of sales and marketing investments for B2B companies," says Marisa Kopec, director of SiriusDecisions' Product Marketing and Management Strategies advisory service. "SiriusDecisions has found that sales and marketing spending increases from 23 percent of revenue in established markets to nearly double that amount -- 38 percent of revenue -- to support the launch of new product concepts or enter new markets."

The SiriusDecisions PMM Model will enable organizations to maximize their return on sales and marketing investments by aligning each of the key activities and deliverables required to create, launch and grow a B2B product. “When a new product concept lands on a company's drawing board, a core product or solution team is established to work cross-functionally through all phases of the innovation lifecycle,” explains Ms. Kopec. “Our PMM Model includes three phases – strategy, execution and growth – and seven activity-based stages. Each of these activities is assigned to marketing, product management or sales to pinpoint where SiriusDecisions recommends primary ownership should reside.”

There are three stages during the initial strategy phase:

•     Discovery. When a product or service is merely an idea, shape it into a viable concept through market, competitive and customer segmentation analysis. It’s important to gather sales feedback at this time.
•     Design. Create the market and product requirements documents, as well as mockups or prototypes, when the product idea becomes more concrete. At this stage, the new concept should be market-tested.
•     Align. Establish a formal alignment checkpoint between marketing, sales and product management before the execution phase begins. The objective is to secure go-forward support from functional business unit leaders via a formal presentation that includes an executive summary of all completed key deliverables.

During the next phase, execution, product management must keep senior management updated on the product’s progress. The core product team will be assembled for periodic status reviews or if a significant issue arises. There are two stages in this phase:

•     Build. Product management assumes an oversight role while marketing creates campaign plans, sales content, tools and collateral. By the end of this stage, the offering has been functionally tested with potential buyers and marketing has delivered the launch plan and product/solutions handbook.
•     Launch. When it’s time for market release, SiriusDecisions recommends reviewing a launch checklist to determine if all the assets and programs (e.g. collateral, demos, trials, tools, sales training) are ready to go.

Once a new offering is released, the objective is to grow and retain customers by enhancing it. During the growth phase, the core product team should continue to be involved with the future product roadmap and decisions related to lifecycle management. The two stages in this final phase are:

•     Monitor. The product team should evaluate customer response to the new offering, gather feedback from sales and review early indicators of financial metrics (e.g. pipeline and early wins).
•     Enhance. The product team should determine the future roadmap and/or when to sunset (retire) an offering. When the decision is made to enhance an offering, the roadmap is revised and the team moves back to the first phase of the lifecycle.

“We recommend that companies customize the SiriusDecisions PMM model to fit their own functional structures," says Ms. Kopec. "They should also leverage the value of the model’s functional role categories to organize activities and deliverables required from marketing, product management and sales. Organizations without this type of structured framework in place will not have a well-synchronized workflow process, and this wastes precious time, effort and resources due to a lack of clarity in strategic direction, roles and responsibilities. It will also greatly increase the likelihood of failed offerings.”

To learn how your organization can leverage the SiriusDecisions PMM model to optimize product management, marketing and sales alignment, contact Marisa Kopec at mkopec(at)siriusdecisions(dot)com.

About SiriusDecisions
SiriusDecisions is the world's leading source for business-to-business sales and marketing best-practice research and data. SiriusDecisions Executive Advisory Services, Consulting Services, Benchmark Assessment Services, Learning and Events provide senior-level executives with the sales and marketing operational intelligence required to maximize top-line growth and performance. The unique combination of thought leadership, benchmark data, analytic tools, best practices and access to a peer and analyst network allow SiriusDecisions clients to quickly receive the critical insight they need to make decisions effectively. For more information about SiriusDecisions, visit: http://www.siriusdecisions.com.

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