How can you take your experience in growth marketing to transition to product marketing?
Totally! I’ve helped multiple growth marketers make this jump before. You’ve already got the marketing channel performance chops, so I would lean into that. If you’ve built out a strong understanding of what messaging works for your audience, that can also be highly applicable to product marketing.
In terms of areas for self-development, I've found that those moving from growth to product typically need to shore up their customer research & insights skills, as well as crafting positioning and messaging.
It’s all about how you position your skills and your ability to learn quickly to fill the gaps. There are some aspects that are directly transferable and other skills that will need to be developed. For example, skills such as data analysis and customer/user knowledge are relevant to both roles. However, while Growth PMM often focuses on post-launch strategies and user acquisition, Product Marketing spans the entire product lifecycle, involving aspects like market research, messaging and positioning, and go-to-market strategies. I would be sure to learn as much as you can about the distinctions between the roles (which I’ve highlighted in the answer to a different question) and highlight tangential experiences that you have that can showcase why you’d be successful in a traditional Product Marketing role.
I have moved between growth marketing and product marketing throughout my career. Here are two skills gained in growth marketing that I think are also important in product marketing:
User centric POV: Growth marketers have a deep understanding of user needs, pain points and motivations. This perspective is invaluable in product marketing as it enables you to develop the right messaging and value props.
Data driven decision making: Growth marketers rely heavily on data to make informed decisions about user acquisition and engagement strategies. This approach can be applied to product marketing, where market research, competitive analysis and customer feedback play a vital role.
Deep product knowledge: Marketers with deep product knowledge can position the product correctly and provide tailored solutions to meet specific needs.