MARKETING MANAGER – PRODUCT

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Reports To: Chief Marketing Officer

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and commercially driven Marketing Manager – Product to lead the positioning, go-to-market strategy, demand generation and commercial marketing of a diverse product portfolio.

This role is responsible for translating products and customer needs into compelling market propositions, developing go-to-market strategies, driving product awareness and adoption, and equipping Sales teams with the tools and messaging required to win customers.

The successful candidate will work closely with Product, Sales, Commercial, Marketing and external partners to develop and execute campaigns that support product growth, customer engagement and revenue generation.

This is a Product Marketing role, not a Product Management role. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience in product positioning, go-to-market planning, product launches, demand generation, sales enablement and customer-focused marketing.

Key Responsibilities

1. Product Marketing Strategy

• Develop and execute product marketing strategies aligned with commercial and business objectives.
• Own the marketing strategy across assigned products and product portfolios.
• Define target markets, customer segments, personas and buying audiences.
• Develop clear product value propositions and differentiated positioning.
• Translate product features and capabilities into compelling customer benefits and messaging.
• Develop go-to-market strategies for new and existing products.
• Identify opportunities to increase product awareness, adoption, engagement and revenue.
• Develop product marketing plans across the full product lifecycle.
• Ensure consistent product messaging across all relevant customer touchpoints.

2. Product Positioning & Messaging

• Develop and maintain clear positioning and messaging frameworks for products.
• Translate complex product offerings into simple, compelling customer propositions.
• Develop messaging tailored to different customer segments and industries.
• Conduct competitor analysis to identify product differentiation and market opportunities.
• Develop competitive positioning and battlecards for Sales teams.
• Ensure product messaging remains relevant as customer needs and market conditions evolve.

3. Go-to-Market & Product Launches

• Lead marketing planning for new product launches and major product enhancements.
• Develop launch strategies, timelines, campaigns and communication plans.
• Coordinate cross-functional launch activities across Product, Sales, Marketing and Commercial teams.
• Develop launch messaging, collateral and customer communication.
• Coordinate internal launch readiness and Sales enablement.
• Monitor launch performance and recommend optimisation opportunities.
• Conduct post-launch analysis to evaluate awareness, engagement, adoption and commercial performance.

4. Demand Generation & Campaigns

• Develop and execute integrated product marketing campaigns across digital and traditional channels.
• Create campaigns designed to generate awareness, engagement, qualified leads and product demand.
• Work with digital and creative teams to develop campaign assets and content.
• Manage campaign planning, execution, optimisation and reporting.
• Develop targeted campaigns for specific customer segments, industries and market opportunities.
• Use campaign performance data to improve targeting, messaging and conversion.
• Work closely with Sales to ensure marketing activity supports pipeline and revenue objectives.

5. Sales Enablement

• Partner closely with Sales teams to strengthen product knowledge and commercial positioning.
• Develop sales presentations, product brochures, pitch decks, battlecards and product guides.
• Develop competitive comparisons and objection-handling resources.
• Provide Sales teams with clear messaging and value propositions.
• Support Sales training and product marketing enablement sessions.
• Gather feedback from Sales teams to identify gaps in product positioning and marketing support.
• Support major customer presentations, pitches and commercial opportunities where required.

6. Customer & Market Insights

• Conduct market research to understand customer needs, market trends and competitive dynamics.
• Develop customer insights to inform product positioning and marketing strategy.
• Analyse competitor offerings, pricing, positioning and campaigns.
• Identify emerging market opportunities and potential customer segments.
• Work with Product and Commercial teams to translate market insights into actionable recommendations.
• Monitor customer feedback and market sentiment.
• Use data and insights to continuously improve product marketing effectiveness.

7. Content & Product Communications

• Develop and oversee product-focused marketing content.
• Create briefs for product brochures, presentations, case studies, videos, website content, email campaigns and digital assets.
• Work with internal and external creative teams to ensure high-quality execution.
• Develop product launch and campaign communications.
• Ensure all content accurately communicates product value while remaining customer-focused.
• Maintain consistent product messaging across marketing and sales channels.

8. Digital & Channel Marketing

• Work with digital marketing teams to develop product-focused digital campaigns.
• Support website and landing-page content for relevant products.
• Develop product-focused social media and email campaigns.
• Identify appropriate channels to reach target customer segments.
• Monitor digital performance and optimise campaigns based on data.
• Support SEO, paid media and other relevant demand-generation initiatives where required.

9. Partner & Vendor Marketing

• Build and maintain relationships with strategic partners and external marketing agencies.
• Develop joint marketing initiatives and co-branded campaigns where relevant.
• Coordinate partner marketing collateral and promotional activity.
• Manage external agencies and suppliers to ensure quality, timelines and budgets are maintained.
• Develop clear briefs, objectives and deliverables for external partners.

10. Budget & Performance Management

• Manage assigned product marketing budgets.
• Monitor expenditure against approved budgets.
• Track campaign performance and marketing ROI.
• Develop KPIs for product marketing initiatives.
• Prepare regular performance reports for senior leadership.
• Use data and insights to optimise marketing investment.
• Identify opportunities to improve marketing efficiency and commercial impact.

11. Stakeholder Management

Build strong relationships and work collaboratively with:

• Product Management
• Sales
• Commercial
• Marketing
• Finance
• Operations
• Customer-facing teams
• Executive Leadership
• External agencies
• Strategic partners
• Suppliers

Act as the key marketing link between Product, Sales and the broader Marketing function.

Experience & Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Management, Communications or a related discipline.
• 8–10+ years' experience in Product Marketing or a closely related commercial marketing role.
• Proven experience developing and executing product marketing strategies.
• Demonstrated experience with product positioning and messaging.
• Proven experience developing and executing go-to-market strategies.
• Experience managing product launches and product campaigns.
• Strong understanding of B2B marketing principles.
• Experience working closely with Sales and Product teams.
• Experience developing Sales enablement materials.
• Experience managing marketing budgets and external agencies.
• Strong project management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple products, campaigns and stakeholders simultaneously.

Advantageous

• Postgraduate qualification in Marketing, Business Management or a related discipline.
• Experience within B2B environments.
• Experience marketing technology, SaaS, financial, telecommunications or other complex products.
• Experience within franchise, channel or multi-site environments.
• Experience working with both local and international brands.
• Experience in demand generation and lead-generation marketing.
• Experience with CRM, marketing automation and marketing analytics platforms.
• Experience developing partner or channel marketing programmes.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a commercially minded Product Marketing professional who understands how to take a product from proposition through to market adoption and revenue growth.

They should be comfortable working across the full Product Marketing lifecycle:

Market Insight Positioning Messaging Go-to-Market Launch Demand Generation Sales Enablement Adoption Performance Measurement

They should be able to translate complex products into clear, compelling customer propositions and work effectively with both technical/product teams and commercial/sales teams.

The candidate should be strategic enough to develop a product marketing strategy but hands-on enough to execute campaigns, develop messaging, brief agencies and analyse performance.