One of the most critical components of product management is product marketing. Product marketers play a crucial role in new product development and product launches. Their efforts can be the
difference between a successful product and a failed product. Therefore, it’s essential to hire the right person. To do that, you need to have the right product marketing interview questions. Show Asking the right questions during a job interview will help to set the best candidates apart from the other ones. This doesn’t only make the interview process more efficient but it also affects the entire hiring process, including
onboarding. Situation-Based Questions1. Describe one product that you think is marketed poorly. Also, explain what you would do differently, and why.Every new product needs an excellent marketing campaign that’s derived through inspiration from multiple sources. Alternatively, bad or failed marketing campaigns and efforts can be equally inspiring.
They provide insight into what works, what doesn’t, and what could have been done differently. The question above is a test to see how aware the candidate is and how creatively they can fix a bad situation. 2. How would you inform customers of new product feature launches?About 80% of new products fail because teams are often too focused on the development side of the product and end up failing to communicate effectively with customers about the upcoming changes. 3. How would you justify any price changes to old customers?With new product features, there is often a price change involved. Although product improvements are beneficial to users, the price change can lead to negative reactions and churn. 4. You believe the market is too saturated to profit with a new product. What would you do in this case?The customer perspective is often overshadowed by excessive research and development. Many organizations move forward with a product because they’ve invested so much time and money into it. They often overlook how the customer would perceive it and end up suffering a sales crunch. It’s a product marketer’s job to make sure the right product reaches the customer with the right message. It’s also their job to explain the market situation to the on time. Product Marketing Role-Based Questions5. How does your PM background look like?Many good product marketers have work experience with several marketing jobs. Many of them have been a part of the sales team, the customer success team, or even the product development team. Their combined experience makes them an excellent product marketing candidate. 6. What do you expect from this PM role?This question gives candidates the opportunity to show hiring managers about how much they understand about the product marketing job in general but also about how in-depth they went about the role for the specific they are interviewing for. 7. What products have you previously marketed, and how?Such questions are purely there
to gauge how well candidates understand product marketing, and how much they have been involved in it. An active ability to recall all the products and projects they have worked on is a positive sign. It shows that they were always involved, provided substantial input, and followed through. Furthermore, it’s also a chance for them to sell themselves by mentioning successful products and their contributions to its success. 8. What’s the best way to measure the success of a product launch?Every interview has its share of technical questions, and this is one of them. While talking about past product experiences gives insight into how well you, as a potential PM, can articulate yourself, such questions show how much you know. These questions show how
much marketing and product knowledge you have. It also shows how up-to-date you are with current marketing and industry trends. 9. How do you make sure that the sales team understands how to present the product in an engaging manner?Product marketers should understand that the marketing and sales teams need to work together. Product marketers have to help sales teams understand the product and marketing positions to make sure the right sales approach is adopted. Since product marketers are responsible for how a product is perceived in the market, it’s their job to convey that to the sales team. They have to
validate value propositions and explain them forward. Behavior-Based Questions10. Have you been involved in a failed product marketing campaign? If yes, what do you think went wrong, and what was your lesson from it?Such questions are the perfect opportunity to talk about previous
failures in a prosperous way. Every product marketer has been a part of a failed product marketing campaign. If not failed, then a campaign that didn’t do as good as it was supposed to do. Those experiences help you understand what to do and what not to do. They’re valuable and help you grow, and become more aware. 11. How do you make sure you and your team members communicate effectively?A large part of why products succeed is effective communication among teams. Interdepartmental communication and collaboration are vital to every product’s success. Everyone has to be on the same page to avoid any issues and discrepancies. Product marketers are the most crucial team players because they’re responsible for communicating effectively with customers. 12. How do you keep up-to-date with the latest industry and market trends?Such a question aims to check how involved you are with your industry. It helps paint a picture of how much you know, how much effort you make to be on top, and how aware you are of your surroundings generally. It’s also an opportunity to portray your understanding of product marketing, the industry, and the market. Acing Product Marketing Interview QuestionsMost product marketing interview questions tend to be more marketing-oriented rather than product-oriented. Therefore, you should brush up on your marketing knowledge. If you are new to product management and are looking to break into your first product role, we recommend taking our Product Manager Certification Course, where you will learn fundamentals of product management, launch your own product, and get on the fast track towards landing your first product job. Josh Fechter is the co-founder of Product HQ, founder of Technical Writer HQ, and founder and head of product of Squibler. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here. Why are you interested in marketing?Marketing is all about ascertaining the best way to engage with people. Through a combination of commercial awareness and insights into different personality types, you'll gain the ability to be tactful in your approach – something which is extremely useful in every career, not to mention all areas of life.
Why do you want a job in marketing answer?Try to craft an answer something like this: “This would be my first professional marketing position, and I want to work hard and learn everything I can. In five years, I hope to have had one or two more senior marketing positions and determine what area of marketing I would like to specialize in.”
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