There are many product marketing examples out there.
What’s wrong with most of them?
They use conventional and second-hand product marketing strategies.
In this article, I am going to show you how to beat that.
I am going to share with you 5 powerful product marketing strategy examples, and analyze each one of them.
So if you want to level-up your product marketing strategy, stick with me.
Product Marketing Examples
Example #1: Ahrefs
Ahrefs is one of the best product differentiation examples in marketing.
What do I mean by that?
That Ahrefs is doing things in a different way than its rivals.
First of all, let’s see which are Ahrefs’ main competitors.
To name a few:
- MOZ
- SEMrush
- Majestic®
If you do a simple Google search, you’ll understand that all three competitors are hard to beat.
For example, here is the monthly search volume on Google Search for MOZ:
For SEMrush:
And, for Majestic®:
Note: Monthly search volume is estimated with KeywordsEverywhere.
Which means that the Ahrefs marketing team has a lot of work to do.
However, Ahrefs’ competitors are not strong only in terms of brand awareness.
They also outweigh the company in terms of headcount.
For example, here is how many people work in SEMrush, according to its LinkedIn company page:
And, the same goes for MOZ:
Nevertheless, Ahrefs has managed to become an 8-figure ARR company with a team that’s under 50.
How did they manage to do it?
By applying simple (but effective) product marketing strategies.
The Ahrefs marketing team promotes its product in a way that is helpful for:
- Those who are close to making a decision,
- Those who are not aware of the product and its capabilities,
- Those already using the product, want to take it one step forward.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
Ahrefs is creating in-depth guides for people who want to learn SEO.
In almost all of these guides, Ahrefs is straightforwardly promoting the product’s features:
Simply put, you can’t perform SEO without having Ahrefs—this is the message that the company wants to instill.
What is more, the company has a YouTube channel with the intention of promoting useful content to their audience:
Also, the company offers exclusive courses for those who want to acquire even more profound knowledge on SEO:
And, publishes stories related to marketing on Medium:
The company also distributes their content on social media and dedicates some budget for paid promotion.
Last but not least, the company is periodically using Email marketing to reach their users—especially when there is a product launch or a new feature coming up.
In all of these cases (or all of Ahrefs’ marketing efforts) there is one thing in common:
The company is not trying to sell its product.
What they do is to educate you, so that when you try their product, you’ll be able to get the most out of it.
And, it works.
The company is growing fast, and without having to raise money from VCs or investors.
Of course, all these are based on the great product that the product team at Ahrefs has built.
However, the product marketing strategy that Ahrefs is following also shows us that the company really knows what their target market is and their buyer personas need and want.
Have no doubt about it: Ahrefs is a brilliant example of how marketing promotes a product people need.
Let’s move on to the next one.
Example #2: Airtable
Airtable is an amazing product marketing strategy example.
Recently, I included it in a list of the best product marketing tools.
It is also one of the best product positioning examples in marketing.
Airtable is perfect both for big companies and small businesses.
The product team has built a great product, and the product marketing team is just amplifying the work that has been done on a product level.
Besides a great product, Airtable is a very interesting case study as well.
Instead of running traditional marketing campaigns, Airtable is using another approach to growth.
For example, take a look at the messaging Airtable is using in their home page:
Airtable is “part spreadsheet, part database…”
Which means that the Airtable is something between:
- A Google spreadsheet,
- A CRM,
- A project management system,
- A tracking inventory system,
- A project planning tool, or
- A task management tool.
All these sound a bit confusing, right?
After all, how can you—as a novice user—take the most out of the product without having to spend hours in front of your laptop?
Well, here is where Airtable’s product marketing strategy comes in.
One of the best things about Airtable’s product marketing strategy is their library of ready-to-use templates:
You can find templates for pretty much any need you may have:
- Product management
- Market research
- Marketing campaigns
- Content marketing
- Marketing strategy
- Email marketing
At the left, you will see a list of categories, along with a search box at the top of the list:
Click on one of the categories, and you’ll get a bunch of templates that are ready to use.
For example, here are the templates in the marketing category:
And, if you were to click on one of these templates, you would get a quick view of how the template looks like on a perfectly designed landing page:
Along with a button—at the top right corner—to use the template on an instant:
The visitor can easily be intrigued by the wide variety of templates she can use right away, simply by signing up for a free trial.
The perceived value for the visitor (or user) is very high, and this is something that you can’t beat.
Yes, every company can offer a free trial, but not many companies can display the value of their product in such a direct way.
Let’s move on to the next product marketing example.
Example #3: Drift
I couldn’t have missed to include Drift in this list of product marketing examples.
If you are a regular visitor in our blog, then you know that I mention the popular conversational marketing company whenever I have the chance:
- Product-Market Fit Myths and Facts (You Wish You Knew Earlier)
- Startup Idea Validation: 5 Successful Examples
So what makes Drift’s product marketing strategy so unique?
The fact that the Drift team communicates the value of its products through results the products gets for Drift itself.
In other words, Drift is using Drift (a lot)!
They talk about it as much as they can via the website’s blog section:
And, they also shoot videos from inside their premises in Boston to showcase the same thing:
That their product works for them in the first place.
Now, you may be wondering why this is important.
Well, let me ask you a question…
Would you trust a personal fitness trainer who:
- Smokes
- Eats unhealthy food
- Doesn’t exercise and is overweight?
Probably not.
To be convinced about the value of a product, you need to see it working for the company trying to sell it first.
And, this is what Drift does.
Ingenious.
If you start following one of their sales, marketing, or business development team members on LinkedIn, you’ll be convinced too.
Let’s move on to the next example.
Example #4: Close
Close (prev. Close.io) recently acquired the close.com domain.
The company is growing fast, and for those who know the founder and CEO, Steli Efti, it is only natural that Close grows at such a fast pace.
Why have I included Close in this list of product marketing strategies examples?
To begin with, Close has a stellar product.
Having said that, no matter how good your product marketing strategy and execution is, if your product is not great, you won’t be able to move the needle.
So what makes Close so special?
To begin with, Close is serious about educating their prospects and customers, by giving them access to an extensive library of resources:
As you can see, these resources include:
- Courses
- Motivation videos
- Books
- Emails
- Templates
- Checklists
- Sales scripts
- Newsletter
- Webinars
That’s quite a lot, right?
What is interesting is that—according to a YouTube video by founder and CEO, Steli Efti—the company’s growth has come exclusively from the content they produce:
Which makes sense.
Close is genuinely trying to help sales professionals get better results by giving them access to its educational material.
You may say that many other SaaS companies have tried to do the same and failed.
The truth is that not many companies are consistent with their product marketing efforts.
Which is why Close is growing at such a fast pace:
Note: The above results are for the Close.com, which Close started using almost three months ago.
Think about it: what is the next thing someone who has downloaded and read “The Follow-up Formula” would like to do?
They would like to follow-up to their prospects.
And, to do so, they will need software—your software.
This is a beautiful way to convince your prospects to try out your product.
And, it is why Close is one of the best product marketing examples right now.
Let’s move on to the last one.
Example #5: Typeform
If you’ve ever sent a satisfaction survey to your customers, then you know Typeform.
Typeform is a pioneer in online forms, and one of the most trustworthy solutions when it comes to surveys.
What I like about Typeform is that they genuinely care about their users.
And, when I say users, I mean both the paying ones (customers) and all the other users who are on their freemium plan:
In product marketing—and marketing in general—caring about your prospects and customers is the most effective way to grow.
And when I say “caring,” I don’t mean just doing the best you can for them, but also asking their opinion on things.
Typeform is about to change its pricing, and thus offer you the chance to win iPhone XR, simply by taking their survey:
The incentive to take the survey is strong, and this way, Typeform will get as many people as possible spend 5’ of their time to take the survey.
When you click “Take the survey,” you get asked a dozen questions about different pricing combinations such as this one:
Or this one:
When you complete the survey, you get to see the following message:
If you think about it, it’s a win-win situation where:
- Typeform gets the information it needs about their pricing, and
- The user has the chance to win an iPhone XR.
However, more than that, Typeform shows that at the heart of everything that it does, there is the user.
By constantly asking for user feedback, you can enhance your performance since you acquire product marketing intelligence that is essential for growth.
Well done, Typeform!
Now I’d Like to Hear From You
Product marketing is the new way companies do marketing.
This is why more and more companies are looking to hire a product marketer, rather than just a marketer.
Knowing these product marketing examples will help refine your product marketing strategy and communicate the value of your product in the best possible way.
Now I’d like to hear it from you.
Which one of these product marketing examples resonate with you the most? Is it Ahrefs, or maybe Typeform?
Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below!
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